Chapter 8: Dizzy Down
I let out a breath of relief upon taking my first steps into the Dalmatian house, escaping the heavy rainfall outside with the sky blanketed in an army of clouds thicker than sheets of fabric. The clouds themselves were smaller in numbers this morning but over the course of my shift at work, I'd often notice the sky getting greyer with every hour. It wasn't until I left the art shop at the end of my shift that I felt the first drops of rain land on me. How I wish I hadn't forgotten my umbrella. By the time I reached the door, I was completely drenched like I had just swam through Niagara Falls. Out of instinct, I shook myself to try and get any excess water off much like my siblings do whenever their fur is soaked, whether it be after playing in a swimming pool or having been outside in the rain like I had. Thankfully, whilst completely wet, I only felt a little chilly so I had little chance of catching a cold.
I paused as the sound of me closing the door was followed by the faint sound of groaning from upstairs. Seems like the source of that sound had heard the door close and realised that I was home. I temporarily shrugged it off, thinking they could wait for a moment as I waited for my clothes to stop dripping onto the welcome mat before calling out.
"Guys, I'm home!" My call was soon followed by a bit of rumbling as I smiled a little to see some of my brothers and sisters run into the hallway and tackle me into a group hug, a thing that they often used to do to dad when they were younger. Old habits never truly die out.
Within the pile of anthro dogs, I heard another groan, this one more louder and dramatic. I rolled my eyes at this before standing up, taking a towel one of my siblings had provided me with to dry myself off with, making my way up the stairs and soon reaching one of the bedroom doors. The door to Dizzy and Dee Dee's room. I turned the door handle and opened it, the slight creak being audible enough to have anyone in that room hear it. The inside of said room was devoid of any bright light, the single window in the room trailing with rain drops and giving view of the dull sky outside. Whilst Dee Dee's bed was vacant and made with the blanket straightened, no doubt courtesy of Dylan, her sister's was occupied with a lump in the middle of the mattress, covered in the blanket.
"How are you feeling, Dizzy?" I asked my eighteen year old sister, getting a long pained whine in response.
"I'm… dyiiiiiiing!"
"You're not dying!" I groaned a little, pinching my nose at how melodramatic Dizzy was being.
"I am! Can't breathe, my chest hurts, my stomach is all tied up and my neck feels like it has a saw blade inside! I'll never be able to eat anything again without throwing up! I'll choke on my own barf before my next birthday!" Dizzy's pained whining was muffled from the blanket but the fabric wasn't thick enough to render the words incomprehensible.
"You have a stomach ache, Dizzy. Not the Norovirus." I told her bluntly.
During my shift at the art shop, I got a phone call from Dylan whom had told me that Dizzy had gotten the stomach ache I had mentioned from a bet she made with Trevor. Remember that selfie the Triple D took with him? That spread like wildfire on social media mostly because, well, it's the Triple D. Dizzy and Dee Dee had of course seen the post and gone to find and meet Trevor at the canal. According to what Trevor told me when I confronted him on the way home from work about Dizzy's current state, Fergus was at the time teaching him how to be tough like he usually claims his species to be and a part of that training involved never backing down when challenged by someone. With the two girls being Dolly's proteges in being fun and rebellious, they decided to play a little betting game with Trevor who came up with the idea to eat as much chocolate he and Fergus had snagged as possible and the one to give in to an upset stomach was deemed the loser with Dizzy deciding to be Trevor's opponent. You can guess who lost.
If Dizzy was a feral dog, the situation would've been much more serious and possibly life threatening but from what I had learned from reading a few books, due to an anthro dog's bodily organs being a mix between a dog and a human's, the worst they'd get is a stomach ache on account if they ate too much chocolate. A single bar was safe enough as a treat and of course Dizzy just had to keep going, giving in after five bars.
The Dalmatian in question hiccuped and gagged a little, either a gag reflex or a sign that she was gonna vomit. One good thing that mum told me is that when an anthro dog suffers a chocolate-induced stomach ache, their body often contracts to make the victim regurgitate to expel the large amount of theobromine inside of them to speed up the recovery process. In case if it was the latter, I grabbed the bucket that was provided next to Dizzy's bed and held it up her as she hovered her face over it and I looked away, cringing at the sound of her retching and the liquid bile splashing against the bucket's inside.
As soon as she was done, her head flopped back onto the mattress as she let out a sickly groan and I could see her face, her fur matted and dishevelled as her ears hung limply, complete with bags under her eyes. "Uuugh… I'm never eating chocolate again." She sighed as I gently stroked one of her ears, starting to feel a little bad for her. At the very least, she had learned her lesson from this and then I noticed her look up at me. "...If you see Trevor, don't be mad at him. I brought this on myself." She pleaded, unaware that I had actually come across the teen on the way here and whilst I was a little peeved at him for choosing such a challenge, he explained that he had actually been looking for me and wanted me to give Dizzy something he got for her. That reminded me of the small paper bag I had put down on the floor next to me when I grabbed the bucket. The bag being what Trevor had given me as I picked it back up.
"Funny you should mention him, because he wanted me to give you this. I guess it was his way of saying sorry for getting you sick." I placed the paper bag onto the mattress as I said this. Dizzy curiously open the carrier and looked inside, her face suddenly changing into a huge grin.
"Oh my dog, Skate Magazine issues one to five?! How did he know?" Dizzy exclaimed, taking out five magazines, the front covers having different photographs of human people engaging in the activity of roller-skating, something that Dizzy and Dee Dee enjoyed doing, having taken inspiration from Dolly's love for skateboarding. It only took a second later for me to lose Dizzy to the magazines as she buried her face into the pages of the first issue, the silence being broken by her wagging tail thumping faintly against her mattress. I opted to stay however should she need the bucket again or anything else, often checking my phone to pass the time.
It would may be an hour or so later when Dizzy had finally finished the fifth issue and as she put the magazines away for safe keeping, I noticed that her face had started to get better a little, signalling to me that she was now on the straight road to recovery and that she'd no doubt get better by tomorrow morning. I didn't even need to use the bucket once during her reading time. I did notice something else however.
"...Where's Dee Dee?" I looked around as I asked this. With the sister she hung out the most with, it was very surprising to see that she hadn't come to check on Dizzy even once. "Oh, she did offer to take care of me. Buuuut I told her she shouldn't worry about me so much and that she should go do something to take her mind off me." She explained with a chuckle. Yeah, says the girl who was groaning loud enough to wake the dead and claimed that she was dying. Oh, this sometimes forgetful but lovable sister of mine. "Well, at least you're getting better." I pointed out as she pulled on a proud grin. "Yep! If nothing can stop Dolly than nothing will stop me!" I rolled my eyes playfully at her idolising Dolly again. If I had known better, I'd assume that Dizzy and Dee Dee were the founders of Dolly's fan club, if she had one that is.
Looking at the bucket still full of Dizzy's digested fluid, I picked it up and was about to head downstairs to dispose of the contents so that Dizzy's sleep wouldn't be disturbed by the smell of stomach acid and digested meal until I heard her call out to me.
"...Cody?"
"Hm?" I turned to face Dizzy as she scratched one of her ears with a light blush on her face. "I know I might be a little too old for it now, but… Can you sing that song you sang to Da Vinci once when you were ten?" How on earth did Dizzy know about that one time? Had she gotten out of bed and happen to eavesdrop on us? The song she was referring to was one that my biological mother used to sing for me long before the Dalmatians adopted me which I had sung once to Da Vinci after she had a pretty nasty nightmare. After getting over my small initial shock on Dizzy knowing about that time, I nodded as Dizzy got into a better sleeping position as the lyrics started to flow out of my mouth.
The other night, dear as I lay sleeping
I dreamed I held you, in my arms
When I awoke, dear, I was mistaken
So I hung my head and I cried
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know, dear how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
I'll always love you and make you happy
And nothing else could come between
But if you leave me to allow another
You'll have shattered all my dreams
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know, dear how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
As soon as my singing ended, I opened my eyes and noticed that Dizzy hadn't said anything. I looked down to find the Dalmatian fast asleep, her gentle snoring being the only thing that filled the atmosphere and all I could do was smile warmly at her. Even as an adult, Dizzy was and always will be a kid at heart. In the end, I guess we all are. I gently rubbed one of her ears, hearing her tail thump against the mattress again as a sleepy smile formed on her face. I then picked up the bucket and headed out of the room to let Dizzy rest.