"When we find him, he's going to be in so much trouble!" Evi muttered, "You know how many times I have to cover for him, or lie him out of a fight?" she asked, flipping open her wallet with one hand. She pulled out a torn picture of her brother, when he was little. He had the goofiest smile, and was holding up a huge fish right next to his face. Adam gasped when he saw the picture. "That's uncle Jonathan?"
"Sure is! It's the only decent picture I have of him." she grinned.
"And by decant, you mean one where he's not beside an angry cop, or surrounded by mobs of furious gamblers?" Rick laughed.
"Yes, unfortunately so." she sighed.
"So what's he doing?" Adam giggled, looking closer to the picture.
"Well, our grandfather took us out on his boat to fish, and... Uh-"
"What?" Adam and Rick both smiled.
"to get his 'big catch' he had to first throw me off the boat, into the water, almost freezing me to death." she sighed, probably not the best memory to share.
"Wow. Every day I learn something new about you." Rick said. "You can imagine the things I did to that boy after I got back onto that boat," she whispered.
"Grandmas told us things about her life, what about you?" Adam asked curiously, wanting to pass the time. Rick leaned back in his seat. "There's nothing to tell." he shrugged.
"Common, everyone's got something they remember!" Adam persuaded, "what about your dad?" he suggested.
"ahh... Well, nothing much, he left when I was ten." he said dryly.
Evi put out her hand for him to hold. "That's horrible, why?" Adam whispered.
"Honestly, I don't know. And I could care less about him now." he said, glaring at his thoughts. Adam thought about what he said. "Well, his loss," Evi whispered, giving him a warm smile. "Look out!" Adam cried, pointing towards the windshield. Evi turned he head back around, to see a huge dog standing in the middle of the road. She slammed the brakes, making the car jolt forward. "You killed him! You killed him!" Adam screamed, opening the door. They ran out to the front of the car to see the dog hiding beneath the car. "See he's not dead!" Evi said, breathing a sigh of relief. Rick laid down, and reached his arms out to the animal. "Come on, just a little closer," he grunted, feeling around for his collar. "He must be a stray." Evi said.
Rick let out a cry, holding up his hand. "it bit me!" he shouted, muttering curse words by the minute. He got up, and got back into the car, slamming the door shut. Evi moved two big steps backwards from the dog. Rick pressed the horn as hard as he could. The dog ran out from the car and hid behind the nearest tree. "You scared him!" Adam cried, running towards him. "Don't!" Evi yelled, going after him. "We don't want him to hurt you!"
"Oh don't be a sissy." he muttered, putting out his hand. The black dog came out quickly, nudging his side. "he likes me!" he laughed, putting his arms around him. "That thing could be rabid or something!" Evi said, glaring at the dogs huge brown eyes. "Common, he's cute!" Adam smiled.
"I don't like dogs." she said, getting up. She got back into the car, and looked at Rick's hand. "Looks pretty bad," she sighed, getting out her purse. "you're lucky," she grinned, pulling out three band aids. "Dinosaur, Spongebob, or princess?" she smiled, showing him each design. "Hmm..." he said, looking over his choices. "I'll have to go with the dinosaur, though princess comes in a close second."
Evi pulled off the plastic covering, and placed it on his hand. She kissed it softly. "All better?" she asked.
"Now it does!"
"Don't worry about my grandparents; they'll warm up to you soon." Adam said to the dog. "Have you ever had a home? Do you like treats?" he asked, as if the dog could hear him. "I'm sure you do. We don't have any though, we barely have enough food for ourselves!" he sighed. "You're the only one at the moment that I can really talk to,"
The dog laid his head on his legs, and closed his eyes. "I'll name you Max!" he grinned. The dog instantly perked up, like he recognized the name. "Oh, I can't leave you here!" Adam said, thinking up a plan. "Here's what we'll do,"
"Grandpa! There's a bear over there!" Adam yelled, pointing towards the sun. "Bear?" Evi and Rick both shouted, unlocking the door.
"I saw it behind that bush!" he added, trying his hardest to keep the act going.
"I don't see any bear." Rick said, moving slowly towards it. While their backs were turned, Adam quietly opened the trunk door, herding Max into the car.
"be careful," Evi whispered. Rick lunged into the bush. There was utter silence for a brief moment, then Rick shouted, and began struggling in the thick brush. "Rick!" Evi yelled, hearing no response.
He stood up, his back towards his wife. "What, are you hurt?" she asked, turning him around. He began laughing, which made Evi scowl. Rick was holding a stuffed bear in his arms. "You're mean!" she said, trying to hide her laughter. "The dinosaurs must've scared him!" she grinned. He handed the brown bear to her, and walked back go the car. "Very funny Adam!" Rick laughed, throwing the stuffed animal back to the trunk. A small yelp came from behind Adam. "What was that?" Evi asked.
"Sorry, just missing M- the dog, that's all!" he smiled.
Max got bored of being stuck in the trunk for almost six hours straight. He began chewing the back of the seat apart. Evi noticed something was up from the minute Adam started stinking up the backseat. "You smell like a sewer!" she said through with a plugged nose. "Sorry... Stepped in something back there!" he said, getting better at winging things. "Were you rolling around with that dog?" she demanded.
"No, why do you say that?" he tried to laugh. Evi got out a can if air freshener and sprayed the whole car down. She was about to open the back door, and Adam had to find a way to stop her. "Hey guess what?" he began suddenly, trying to get her attention. She stopped for a moment and smiled. "What?"
"The sooner we find Uncle John, the sooner we can get home!"
"Okay," she said, turning back to the spray can.
"No!" he shouted.
"Now what?" she sighed.
"Uh..." Adam said, completely out of ideas. He closed his eyes as the peered over to the trunk to see his new friend piled in clumps of fuzz and leather. "Rick, get your butt over here!" Evi shouted.
"Yes dear," he sighed, unbuckling his seat belt. She got out and flipped open the trunk. "Shoo you mutt!" Rick yelled, once he saw half the seat missing.
Max stayed put where he was, perfectly comfortable. "Don't make him leave!" Adam wailed, coming to his aid.
"We can't have a dog following us around Alex!" Evi yelled.
"Alex?" Adam said, confused.
"Adam. Sorry, it's a force of habit."
"Max is my only friend, and I think he can help us!" he persuaded.
"Oh no. Don't name him sweetheart, it'll just make it harder." Evi sighed.
"We need him to help find Jonathan! He can sniff him down or something!" Adam cried, holding onto him tightly. Rick glanced at Evi. "Well, it's worth a shot," he shrugged.
"I still don't like the idea." Evi said, folding her arms.
"Please..." Adam said, doing his last minute resort pouty face.
"Fine. I'll give him one chance." she gave in, turning her attention to the dog. "But one pee stain on any of my things, and you'll be wishing you never crossed that road... Max." she glared.
"Thank you!" Adam cried, throwing his arms around her.
"Okay, okay. But where is he going to sleep?" she asked.
"He can share my seat in the back!" Adam smiled.
"Fine, but no staying up late you two!" Rick said, getting back into the car.
"Did we bring anything of Jonathan's with us?" Evi asked, searching through their clothes. After ten minutes, Rick finally got something. "I must've picked up one of Jonathan's socks by mistake!" he laughed. Evi took the sock from him, and smelt it. "Phew, that sure passed the test!" she laughed, making sure there was at least two feet between her and the stinky sock. She opened the back door, and let Max out for a break. He came back shortly after, instantly catching the scent. "I know it doesn't smell to hot, but can you find him?" she asked the dog.
He turned his head to the left and started to wag his tail. "I guess we can leave the car here." Rick sighed, saying his goodbyes to his 1956 vintage Volkswagen. Max started off towards the sinking sun, determined to successfully sniff out the old jokester with smelly sweat socks. Everyone else followed, first at a jogging pace, then to barely a walk. "Can we take a break Max!" Adam whined, looking like he could fall over any second. Max turned around to wait for his new family. While Rick was getting Adam some water, Evi stared at the sleek, black mastiff looking mix that they've befriended. She almost jumped when his lips curled up into a smile. She stood in front of him, completely immobilized. He nodded his head slowly, and Evi almost smiled herself when she saw him wink.
