From Down Here Chapter One
As the delicious aroma from the kitchen reaches Kojo's nose, he's instantly awake. He gets to his paws, his tail wagging madly. Tim is home and he's cooking! That means a warm and delicious treat as well as Tim's company. Maybe Kojo will get really lucky and Lucy will join Tim in his den.
Kojo liked living with Lucy, even if she got upset at some of the things he chewed. She was nice to him and gave him good pets. She still does. But living with Tim is even better. Tim cooks him breakfast and takes him for longer walks. Tim also makes it very clear what Kojo is allowed to chew. But the squeaky toys and rawhide bones are at least as good as anything Kojo found at Lucy's place, and no one gets mad at him.
He can scent Lucy before she comes through the door. She uses something that smells like a garden to wash her hair. And the rest of her smells like – he's not sure what it is, but it's nice. Tim seems to think so too, although he doesn't lick her, at least not that Kojo's seen. Humans do a thing where they press their mouths together instead of licking. Kojo has no idea why, but they seem to enjoy it.
Lucy is wrapping her front paws around Tim's neck and they're doing the mouth-pressing thing now. Kojo wants Tim to be happy, but he hopes what they're doing doesn't slow down his breakfast. Sometimes when they get to touching each other like that, they forget all about Kojo. Sometimes they even mate and he can't get their attention until later. He'd love to jump on Tim's bed with them, but Tim won't allow it. There are a lot of things Tim won't allow, but at least he makes sure Kojo knows what they are. That way Kojo never gets yelled at anymore.
Before Kojo went to live with Lucy, he was yelled at a lot. Sometimes he was hit too, and once, someone touched him with a little roll of paper that was hot on the end and smelled awful. That hurt so much that Kojo was almost glad when he was taken somewhere and left alone. But he hated being alone. There wasn't enough to eat, although people threw some food on the ground, and sometimes they'd even give him some. But mostly, he was lonely. When someone took him to what they called a shelter, he wasn't lonely anymore. There were lots of dogs. He wasn't hungry either. But most of the time he didn't have much room to move around. And his friends kept disappearing and not coming back. That was scary. So when Lucy came and took him home, it was a great day. And when Tim took him, it was even better.
Tim and Lucy stop pressing their mouths. It looks like they're not mating right now. Tim fills Kojo's dish with food and his bowl with water. Tim and Lucy eat too, but they're doing it fast for humans. Lucy says something about "shift" and Tim says "Metro". Tim lets Kojo into the backyard. He and Lucy give him final scratches behind the ears and say goodbye. Kojo's pretty sure they won't be back for a while. It could be a long time. But if Tim doesn't come, Genny will, and sometimes she brings her young ones. They're a lot of fun to play with and sometimes they sneak him treats. In the meantime, there are scents of the things with the fluffy tails to follow. And he can smell the animals that make holes in the yard too. If he can chase those away, it will make Tim happy. Kojo likes it when Tim's happy. He likes it when anyone's happy, but especially Tim and Lucy.
Kojo can hear the voice of the young one called Tyler, but he doesn't sound very happy. "I wanted to have pizza with the team. Couldn't we feed the dog later?"
Kojo can't understand Genny's words but her impatience is clear enough. "No, we couldn't. I have a Zoom for work and I'll barely have time to feed you guys."
The littler one's feet make funny sounds as they drag across the floor. "How come Uncle Tim can't feed Kojo himself, or have Lucy do it?"
Genny sounds madder. "Because they both have some kind of assignment. I don't know what it is, but Tim said they might not be back for a few days and wanted us to take care of Kojo."
"Assignment? Like for school?" the littler one asks.
"No. Police stuff," Genny says. "They have to catch some bad guys."
Kojo recognizes the words "bad guys." Tim and Lucy use them a lot. So do some of the other humans who visit sometimes. Kojo's not sure what they mean, just that whatever it is isn't good.
Tyler fills Kojo's dish with the stuff from the big bag. It doesn't smell or taste as good as what Tim made for him that morning, but it's still pretty good and the dog is hungry. As Genny puts more water in his bowl, he gratefully sticks his nose into his supper.
"Come on," Genny urges the young ones. "I've got to get on my call and you guys need to make sure your homework is done. We should get here early tomorrow to feed Kojo again and take him for a walk before I drop you guys at school and go to work."
Kojo gives a happy bark at the sound of the word, "walk." But nobody gets his leash. Genny just rushes the young ones out.
Kojo recognizes the man who shows up in the morning as the one Tim calls Nolan. Kojo doesn't understand much when Nolan says, "Genny had a work emergency this morning and couldn't come or bring the boys. So she called me. Usually when she calls she needs me to fix something at her house, but today she asked me to take care of you. And Tim gave me a key for when I fix some stuff here. I'm off work today, but Bailey's at the firehouse. So it's just you and me, keeping each other company. Want to go for a walk?"
Kojo barks his approval at one of his favorite words. Nolan gets the leash and attaches it to Kojo's collar. They leave the house together. Nolan's about the same size as Tim, maybe a little bigger. He doesn't walk as fast, but it's fast enough for Kojo to enjoy and even get close to a furry-tailed thing before it takes off up one of the few trees around. A car rushes by, faster than Kojo usually sees them go. Nolan stops and seems to be looking at it as it moves away. Nolan mutters something to himself before pulling what Kojo recognizes as a phone, out of part of what male humans seem to wear, and starts talking into it. Once Nolan puts the phone away again, he gets down on one knee to stroke Kojo and scratch him behind the ears. "Good thing we came this way for your walk, boy. The plate on that car matches one the division's been trying to find for days. It's suspected of being involved in a string of robberies, and now we know at least in what area to find it."
Kojo doesn't understand much except the words "walk" and "car," but the way Nolan says them sounds like he's happy – and happy with Kojo. Maybe he'll be happy enough to give him one of the rawhide bones Tim keeps up high in the kitchen. Kojo hopes so.