Chapter 8 – My Fair Tommy – Part 2
Dolly peeked out through the open doorway of the house opposite of hers before padding out with Grandpa Lou following behind, Tommy in his arm, a bag in his other, whom was in his regular clothes just in case if his mom or dad noticed.
"Now, we need to get there as quietly as possible. If we make any noise and Dylan or Tommy's parents see us, we're done fo-" Dolly muttered, only for the front door to slam shut anyway, making her turn to glare at Lou. "I said we have to be quiet, old man!"
"Well, dagnabbit, you made me nervous!" Lou remarked in protest as the two continued on.
"Okay okay, look, the sooner we get to that contest, the better, just don't let anyone see us." Dolly explained as right after saying that, the front door opened again. Dolly nearly yelped before leaping into some nearby bushes to hide.
"Pop, where are you going with Tommy?" It was Didi standing at the doorway as Lou turned to face her.
"Oh, I'm just taking him with me to see Ol' Regent's Park, figured I'd give the sprout some fresh air." Lou managed to lie in a manner that wouldn't make Didi suspicious of anything.
"Well, did you bring enough diapers, and a bottle and something to play with?" Didi asked, wanting to make sure that he and Tommy were ready for anything.
"Y-Yeah yeah, it's all in here." Lou reassured, lifting the bag up a little before turning and continuing onward to where the contest was being hosted whilst Dolly followed behind, making sure to keep out of not just Didi's sight, but Dylan's also.
"I wonder if he remembered his rice crackers..." Didi pondered to herself.
The pageant itself was indeed being hosted at Regent's Park, under what had to be the frilliest pink tent imaginable, countless fathers and dog owners surrounding the area, of which would be joined of course by none other than Dolly, Tommy and his grandpa. Of course, they suited up Tommy just before approaching the area so instead of seeing a baby boy with them, they'd instead see a baby girl.
Dolly meanwhile, prior to arriving had consulted Dawkins on how to have petiquette for the contest and to do so meant going through resistance tests such as refraining from going after the postman or innappropriate dog behaviour such as growling. Needless to say, it was rough for her but if that was what it takes to wipe Clarissa's smug smile off her face and make Angelica eat the words she spat at her, then so be it.
Of course, that would likely mean that she'd need Tommy to go with these types of mannerisms to solidify their chances of winning.
"Hey Dolly!" Dolly nearly flinched upon hearing two young voices in unison to find Dizzy and Dee Dee running up to her, joined by Chuckie, Phil, Lil and Dil.
"Work with me here." Dolly whispered to Tommy before feeling her two young sisters wrap their forelegs around her in a hug.
"We wanted to wish you good luck in the contest." Dizzy said. Hearing those words was almost enough to make Dolly crack a heartfelt smile, but remembering the petiquette training she went through, she held her ground.
...And pushed the two off of her.
"You're messing one's coat! As you were." Dolly remarked in a very uptight tone, as she shooed the two away with a front paw. Tommy was about to tell Dolly off for being mean to her sisters when he felt a pair of arms wrapped around his leg, making him look down to see Dil smiling up at him.
"Tommy!" Dil said, perhaps wishing Tommy good luck in his own way. Tommy was about to return the gesture, only for Dolly to intervene, pressing her nose against his face and giving him a stern look.
With no other choice, Tommy shoved Dil away from him and repeated what the glammed up Dalmatian next to him had said seconds ago.
"Uh… You're messing Juan's coat! As you was." After that, Tommy continued onwards with Dolly next to him, both sticking their heads up high.
"Jeez, when did Dolly get so mean?" Phil muttered in slight ire as he watched the two in a glare.
"Yeah, and who was that baby with her?" Chuckie pondered.
Dil meanwhile, hurt by how Tommy had treated him whimpered and looked down sombrely. Luckily for him, a certain infant spotless Dalmatian whom had come along with Dizzy and Dee Dee noticed and walked over to Dil to comfort him.
Alongside several other infant girls in dresses, Tommy was currently waiting in backstage. A part of him felt absolutely awful of how he had mistreated his younger brother and was disappointed in what Dolly had done. He was starting to believe that all this just wasn't worth it just to put Clarissa in her place.
"My country tears of thee..." Tommy then heard a familiar voice singing not far from him as he spotted Angelica in a pink frilled dress that sported a lighter pink bow on the front, her father Drew mentoring her.
"That's "Tis of thee", Pumpkin." Drew corrected in a whisper.
"Angelica!" Tommy whisper-gasped in horror before grabbing his wig and turning it around so it would cover his face.
"Sir, I'm afraid you'll have to take your seat now. We're about to begin." One of the judges of the contest said approaching Drew and Angelica before they could resume practice.
"Now remember honey: Smile and move. Smile and move." Drew whispered to Angelica before making his way to the crowd seats. Tommy pulled some of the wig locks away to peek to see if Angelica was gone.
"Doesn't one know you from somewhere?" Tommy nearly flinched upon hearing an older uptight voice speak to him as he noticed the very corgi Dolly had mentioned glaring directly at him.
"U-Uh no, I don't think so!" Tommy replied, putting on a feminine voice to avoid suspicion as Clarissa was now up close to him, her face inches away from him.
"Well, know this, human ruff raff! Next to Angelica, you appear to be the most endearing human baby of this show!" Clarissa commented with a bit of disgust in her tone.
"Uh-You really think so?" Tommy asked, still pulling on the feminine voice.
"Very humorous, infant! But remember this: If you and your ruff raff companion win, one will live to regret it!" Clarissa threatened before walking away to join Angelica as she wondered something: Did that baby actually understand her?
With both threats out of the way for now, Tommy took the time he had before he and Dolly were up to peer through the curtains and watch the other contestants in amazements. His grandpa and the Dalmatian in question were just at the backstage staircase as the former laughed.
"I can taste the bug-eyed carp already!" Lou eagerly said, rubbing his hands together.
"I'll just tell Dylan we got that and the kibble on a uhh… that game with a rolling ball full of little balls inside it." Dolly suggested.
"Ya mean "Bingo"?" Lou chuckled.
Tommy meanwhile felt a finger tap his shoulder, making him look in horror to find that it was Angelica.
"Having fun, Goldilocks? Just remember what Clarissa told ya!" Angelica snarled, holding a fist out towards Tommy in a threatening manner.
"Angelica, you can talk to your little friend later. It's you and Clarissa's turn." One of the judges said, approaching the three year old in question whom strolled away excitedly.
"Thanks for coming on short notice, Didi." Drew said to Stu's wife as she sat down next to him.
"Well, since Grandpa has Tommy for the day, I had a little extra time on my hands." Didi replied with a smile as she and Drew turned to face the stage.
"And now ladies, gentlemen and canines! Our next contestants… Little miss Angelica and her Corgi companion!" The spokesperson announced as the toddler and corgi in question walked up on stage.
"Drew, who is that dog with Angelica?" Didi asked, rather dumbfounded.
"Oh well, Angelica really wanted to enter this contest with her. Said she was a neighbour opposite of our house." Drew explained whilst Angelica pranced and twirled around on stage with Clarissa bounding next to her in the most lady-like strut possible, the former flashing smiles towards the judges on occasion, whom all nodded to each other in approval.
Dolly could only watch from backstage with a scowl until she noticed something from her blind spot as she turned to find the very last dog she'd expect to see at the entryway. It was Dylan talking to the other babies whom must've told him about how she had acted towards Dizzy and Dee Dee as she yelped.
"What's up with ya, if you wanna go, you know exactly where to go!" Lou said, assuming Dolly yelped because nature was calling for her.
"No, not that…! DYLAN'S HERE!" Dolly exclaimed.
"Do the song! Do the song!" Drew whispered to Angelica before the spokesperson began to speak again.
"And now, for our final contes-"
"WAIT A MINUTE!" Angelica screamed out loud, nearly catching Clarissa off-guard from how loud she was, the spokesperson flinching and dropping the call cards in his hands.
"I still got to do my song!" Angelica explained, her sweet tone returning before she cleared her throat and began to sing, with Clarissa yipping and howling a little in tune with her.
"My country tears of thee. Sweet land of lizardy. I'll be icing."
"Land not my father buys, land of my chill and pies…
Meanwhile, Dolly who had given into the fear of being found out by her brother finally decided that none of the contest was worth it as she grabbed one of Lou's trouser legs by her teeth and tried to drag him away.
"Come on, we have to find Tommy and get out of here!" Dolly exclaimed through her teeth.
"What about my boat?!" Lou protested in anger.
"Land of the no bell..."
"FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Unfortunately, Angelica had sung the last word too loud and too high pitched as Clarissa flinched and folded her ears down, cringing as did the judges. Angelica's voice was enough to make the lens on Drew's glasses break. Angelica was oblivious however to the crowd's reaction to that final note mess up as she pranced into backstage, waving bye to the crowd with a grin, while all Clarissa could do was sheepishly follow her.
Tommy who had been watching from behind one of the stage curtains applauded Angelica, only for him to shove him aside before leaving with the corgi. That was when one of the judges approached Tommy once more.
"It's you're turn, little lady!"
"Come… on… Lou!" Dolly urged, trying to push Lou forward to the stage, still tugging at his trouser with her mouth.
"No! I want that boat!" Lou protested again, making it clear that he wasn't moving. Dolly growled before letting go and rushing behind the old man and with as much force as possible, leaped forward and rammed her head into Lou's back, making him stumble up the stairs to backstage and they both toppled over, falling flat onto the floor.
"And now… Our final contestant: Little miss Tonya and her Dalmatian Diva!" The spokesperson said at that very moment.
Dolly gulped, praying that Dylan wouldn't see her on stage as she apprehensively joined Tommy on stage, keeping an anxious eye towards the crowd for her brother.
A spotlight then flashed directly onto the two, making Tommy gasp before one of the crowd brought of a camera and took a picture, the flash disorienting Tommy as he started to stumble in place, the wig covering his eyes at some point. All Dolly could do was watch nervously at this before quickly standing on her hind legs and taking a hold of the baby to stop him from falling over. She lost grip on Tommy however as he grabbed a nearby microphone stand and began to swing round and round from it to the shock of the judges and the crowd.
Dolly tried again to help him, managing to grab Tommy by the dress which made him let go of the mic stand and do a flip in the air before landing right on Dolly's back, causing her grunt as she struggled to stand up with Tommy on her, earning "Awww"s from the judges.
"That… is the sweetest little girl I've ever seen!" One of the judges said, absolutely adoring the show Tommy and Dolly were performing.
"You know, Drew… That child looks so familiar..." Didi uttered to a sniffling Drew.
Tommy then tried to get off of Dolly but began to wobble, nearly falling but managing to land on one foot which made him spin around and nearly collapse but he just managed hold his hands out to stop him falling to the floor, showing his diapered rump as a result much to the delight of the crowd which applauded as did the judges.
"Woah… They love us!" Dolly muttered under her breath in astonishment as she stood upright and smiled proudly as Tommy did a somersault, sitting on the stage as he looked at the crowd behind him.
"That's my girl! Err… Boy!" Lou cheered, still standing in backstage, having witnessed the whole thing.
It was only there and then that Dolly remembered what had made her anxious about coming up on stage. She spotted Dylan pacing through the crowd, seemingly having not found her yet as she gasped and galloped off stage, leaving a confused Tommy behind.
"Ladies and gentlemen… The judges have made their decision." The spokesperson announced before taking an envelope from one of the judges.
"And now… the holder of the Little Miss Pooch and Baby Face Pageant Cup..."
"Come on, Angelica!" Drew begged in a hushed voice, his hands together in a prayer.
"Kingfisher nine thousand! Kingfisher nine thousand! Kingfisher nine thousand!" Lou repeated which his eyes shut and his fingers crossed in dire hope, all the while Dolly had a front paw to her face, biting away at her claws anxiously.
"Little Miss Tonya Pickles and Dolly Dalmatian!"
"TONYA PICKLES?!"
"DOLLY?!" Didi and Dylan respectively exclaimed in shock, their attention fully directed to the stage.
"Little Tonya was entered in our contest alongside her canine companion, Dolly by her grandfather!" The spokesperson explained as Lou with a huge open smile on his face walked directly onto stage, taking Dolly with him despite her protests.
"Why of all the nerve!" Didi yelled with growing anger before making her way to the stage.
Lou and Dolly joined Tommy seconds later with the spokesperson, the former about accept the prize when he immediately gasped to find Didi glaring at him.
"What's this about, ma'am?" The spokesperson asked upon noticing Tommy's mother.
"I'll show you what this is about! Does THIS… look like a "Tonya" to you?!" Didi shouted as she yanked the wig off of Tommy's head mid-sentence, exposing him to the crowd to their shock.
Angelica and Clarissa whom stood nearby were absolutely dumbfounded, the former however instantly forgot however after the spokesperson instead gave the winning crown to her, due to her having the second highest score, Lou looked down at Angelica in thought.
"Hmm… Well… Angelica is my granddaughter after all." Lou said to himself, unaware at this point that Dolly was trying to get away and was just about to reach the entryway of the tent.
"DOLLYYYYYYY!" She immediate froze in her tracks upon hearing Dylan scream out to her in anger as she slowly turned to him with a nervous smile on her face.
"U-Uhhh- Oh, Dylan! What… What a surprise!" She chuckled sheepishly as Dylan advanced towards her.
Meanwhile, Tommy who had gotten off stage, still in the dress, approached the other babies who were just as awestruck.
"Tommy?!"
"You were that girl?!" Phil and Lil asked respectively as Tommy nodded and explained everything and why he and Dolly did all this before walking over to Dil and hugging him.
"I'm sorry, Dil. I didn't mean to be so mean to you." Tommy apologised to his little brother who returned the gesture… and then reached for some mud and splatted it onto Tommy's face as like a bit of a punishment.
There was silence for a moment between the two… before Tommy burst out laughing as did Dil. This bout of laughs was joined by the other babies, Dizzy, Dee Dee and Dorothy before Tommy noticed the mud puddle and jumped right in, with the other babies and Dizzy, Dee Dee and Dorothy joining him.
Clarissa and Angelica meanwhile were still receiving their prizes, the corgi's two friends weren't paying any attention to her, their attention instead brought to the babies and three young Dalmatians playing and laughing in the mud, throwing blobs of it everywhere in excitement. And it was slowly getting the attention of the other dogs as well.
"Mud bath is the new TREND!" Arabella exclaimed, enthralled upon seeing the former winning baby of the pageant in the mud.
"Petiquette? So last week!" Arabella and Prunella scoffed before leaping into the mud with the infants to Clarissa's newfound horror.
"WHAT ABOUT MOI?! I WON!" Clarissa screamed in rage, only for her complaint to not reach anybody.
"Aw, quit your bellyaching. At least Floppy or that dumb baby didn't beat us." Angelica said with her arms crossed before a blob of mud got her directly in the face, knocking her backwards. The impact making the translator device fly out of her ear and bounce over to the babies, Tommy of which was the first to notice.
"Chuckie! It's your doggie talk thingy!" Tommy called out happily before picking it up and handing it to Chuckie who put it in his own ear.
"Thanks, Tommy! Gosh, it feels great to finally be able to know what other doggies is sayin'!" Chuckie said gratefully as he and Tommy went back to rolling around playfully in the mud.
Much later after the contest was over, Didi was taking the babies, pacing along a roadside walk. Didi still having a disgusted scowl with what Lou did.
Dylan, Dolly, Dizzy, Dee Dee and Dorothy meanwhile were following them just a few meters behind, what with their home being opposite of Tommy's. Dolly had her head hung low in shame as Dylan kept a glare on her.
"I didn't quite hear that." Dylan urged firmly, requesting that Dolly repeat what she had said.
"I'm sorry..." Dolly groaned, knowing just how much trouble she was going to be in should Dylan make it known to their parents.
"And?" Dylan urged further.
"I know I lied and took it too far." Dolly answered.
"Hey, Dylan. Where's Tommy's grand dad? I don't see him with his mum." Dizzy pointed out as she looked over at Didi and the babies.
"Lou was an accomplice to Dolly's little scheme. He can make his own way back home." Dylan retorted, evidently voicing Didi's current thoughts.
That was when they heard a car drive by them as they looked to see it was Drew's with Angelica in the passenger seat.
...And then they all saw the boat filled with toys hooked up to the car with none other than Lou in the front, wearing a captain hat, giving out a hearty smug laugh as the car and the boat continued down the road, the Dalmatians and Didi all watching with their mouths wide open in shock.
A/N: Hey everyone, finally glad I was able to get another chapter out. God, it feels like a weight's been put off my back for now. Lack of motivation's been real hard on me these few weeks but rest assured I'm going to try and get back into the writing groove as soon as possible.
In the meantime, if you want more frequent content from me, feel free to check out my YouTube channel and/or my Twitter, both of which are "JackTheCryogonal". I do Uberduck ai song covers and dubs, occasional YouTube Poops and other various videos on my YT channel.
And from now on, I won't be splitting any future chapters of this fiction into parts as writing the conclusion to them will likely take as long (or even longer) as it did to conclude this part of the story.
With that being said, see you all next update. -JackCryo