After another hard day of work at his office, Perry did what he said he would – call his mother and mention the gang to her.
"Hi, Mom."
"Hello, Perry."
She was still taking it hard, he could tell from the tone of her voice, and he really didn't blame his mother.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there to say good – bye to Dad when this happened, Mom."
"I know. Sometimes we don't have a choice, Perry."
"Oh, Mom, there's something I would like to share with you."
"About what?"
"You and Dad."
"What about us?"
"Well, my private investigator is holding a contest. The winners just arrived."
"What sort of contest is this?" Mrs. Mason asked.
"Something to with you and Dad. I guess he was only trying to make something fun to catch people's attention. It looks like it's working."
"How many winners do you have?"
"Four. They're a group of kids and they bought their dog with them."
"Where are they from?" Mrs. Mason asked.
Perry told her.
"Maybe they could have their own law firm."
"I don't think those kids are interested in a job like mine," Perry said.
So she asked how old the gang were.
"I'm not sure how old they are, but way younger than myself."
They kept talking about this for a while and then moved on to something else.
"Before we change the subject, Mom, would you want to come out here and meet them instead of us coming to you?" Perry asked.
"That would be a good idea, Perry, but let me think about it for a while first."
"Take your time. We'll be looking forward to what you're going to say on the answer."
"You will. Hope your winners will have a fun time with this one."
"I'm sure they already are having fun on their first day. Being in law enforcement is a hard job, Mom."
"I haven't forgotten."
They chatted for a while longer, and then the conversation ended.
Now that was taken care of, Perry decided to wait until tomorrow to share with Della and Perry on his mother's reaction about this contest.
He was hoping his mother would help give Fred, Daphne, Velma, and Shaggy a good opportunity for this contest. At least the kids would be here with them as well so Perry could tell them at the same time too.
That was going to happen at lunchtime tomorrow, Perry decided, since this day was already over. Now it was up to Paul to take over tonight with the kids. Perry offered to take Scooby with him. He could use the company from the dog.
Perry didn't really grow up with animals as a kid, but always got along with them.
"Thank you for keeping me company tonight, Scooby."
"You're welcome."
Now Perry heard for himself that the dog proved he could talk like a person.
"So it is true you could talk."
"Yes."
"Did those kids teach you how to talk?"
"No," Scooby answered.
"How did you learn to talk?" Perry asked.
Again Scooby shook his head, saying, "I don't know."
"Well, this is an interesting conversation with a dog who knows English. This surely is funny. I don't think my own mother would believe it."
Perry kept talking with Scooby, but at least he was thankful he wasn't the only one doing all the talking.
He didn't seem to remember hearing that there was a dog that talks was part of the group.
He could talk about this with the kids tomorrow. That would be on his list for sure. The kids know more than he, Della and Paul do about Scooby.
"Did you have dogs when you were growing up?" Scooby asked.
"Not really. I've been around them, but that's about it."
"We're good company."
"From what I've been seeing right now, it looks like it."
The two kept their conversation going for a while longer.
"When was the last time you talked with your mother?" Scooby asked.
"Not too long ago," Perry answered.
Perry decided to show the dog where he was spending the night, and Scooby seemed to like the idea.
Perry stayed up for a while longer and watched the news before turning the lights out. He would be busy in bed tonight, which was thinking about how Scooby learned to speak his language. That sure is a mystery. One of the things we can't figure out, he told himself.
Mysteries were what he's always enjoyed, but this one was different. It involved the dog.