The Adventures of Cocoa chapter 3

As Cocoa is well adjusted to her new cozy life, she is met by a visitor.

Barbara closed the blinds, shooing Cocoa away saying "No!" as Cocoa's nose demanded answers. John was just boarding his flight back home when Barbara called. He sent his father John Senior to check on things. He lived a few streets away on Wells Street.

There was a knock on the door interrupting Cocoa's nervous thoughts. Barb let Grandpa in the house and listened to him explain that he hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary around the property. He offered to pick Maggie up from school.

"Thanks." Barb said, holding her arms for self-comfort. Grandpa knelt down and patted Cocoa on the head. "You hold things down here." he said. Cocoa's eyes glistened. She loved Grandpa's visits. He held the record for best ear scratches.

His old blue pickup truck reversed out of the driveway and Cocoa watched as Barbara sat on the couch, her shoulders relaxed and opened her book again.

Cocoa snuck out the back doggie door to satisfy her curiosity of the faint, yet familiar smell in the air earlier that she couldn't quite place. It was the missing puzzle piece she needed as she ran around to the front of the house only to see the same line of twigs again! And there was the culprit!!

It's mouth full of twigs, laying out each one carefully in between calculated steps. Twig drop... claws kick it in line... two steps forward... twig drop. Yes the smell of a creature Cocoa knew all too well.

"Can I help you!?" She barked loudly.

Twigs spilled out on the sidewalk. "You scared me!!" said a midnight black beak framed by a pair of dark eyes.

"What are you doing!" Cocoa barked, her eyebrows furrowing as she took slow, angry steps toward the audacious ball of feathers.

"I knew that you lived here, I...I was just trying to help... again." said the blackbird annoyed with herself that she was actually a bit scared of the same beagle she knew as a pup.

Cocoa glared at her. "Help?? Do you know how scared my human is? She's practically hiding in the house."

"Okay, Calm down." Said the crow, her feathers spread wide and backing away from Cocoa's pearly teeth. "I wasn't trying to scare anyone. It was meant as a map."

"Well it's giving 'Haunted House'." Said Cocoa unamused.

"I came to you because I have another "you". I still don't know why these animals keep seeking ME out for help. My studio doesn't exactly say 'Animal Shelter'. You should be thankful I'm not a hawk, otherwise she would have been my lunch. Come to think of it so would you."

"Well you're not a hawk. You are a rat-eating little crow who didn't care if I drowned or not. 'Sink or swim', remember? WELL I SANK BY THE WAY! Not that you would even care. Why should I help you?"

The crow shooed away Cocoa's words to the wind. "Nevermind all that now. There's a dog that needs help finding a home."

Cocoa's face turned from anger to concern.

"These twigs were meant to continue up the driveway to point out your fancy home since the pup doesn't seem to know it's east from its west. I was simply giving directions!" The crow said, shrugging her wings

"Well where is this pup?" Cocoa asked smelling the air carefully, getting hints of pine and dandelion and... There it is! Baby beagle. Nervous shaking little paws slowly tip-toed out from behind the big oak tree and curled up in the cutest ball of fur Cocoa had ever seen: A puppy with big brown eyes and white tipped tail!

Cocoa rushed up to her, smelling her cautiously. The puppy looked up at Cocoa, locking eyes with her. Cocoa couldn't look away! She was captured by the cuteness of this little baby in front of her, dirty and needing love. She lowered herself close to the ground to let the pup come closer without fear. "Don't be scared. What is your name, little one?"

The pup let out the tiniest yip. Cocoa leaned in close to wipe the dirt off her, allowing the little dog to lean against her and exchange scents.

The blackbird saw its work was done and flew away without a word, thankful not to have been clawed and feathered.

"Follow me, kid. I won't let anything happen to you, okay?"

The pup nodded at her new mentor and marched behind Cocoa obeying all orders. Cocoa's chest hit the ground and crawled on her belly like a leopard on it's hunt, through the grass, army style, so as not to alert Barbara. She was certain Barbara would keep the new find but Cocoa knew the rules: absolutely no mud in the house. First mission: bath time.

Behind her the puppy crawled on her belly trying desperately to keep up, her tiny ears flopping up and down watching frantically as her older friend already made her way to the backyard.

Cocoa crawled past the pool and remembered the day she jumped in when she was this little pup's age. All because a little crow told her to. Not her proudest moment. Although it brought her right to the best family she could ever ask for. This little puppy didn't know yet how lucky she was to arrive here at the Stroble home.

She looked around for the pup who was almost to the backyard, her tiny face barely visible panting in the grass, her pudgy little legs pushing with all their might through the tall weeds. Cocoa moved a lot quicker than her, being larger and stronger. She ran behind and nudged her telling her to hurry up before any hawks see her.

"What's a hawk?" the puppy shouted, abandoning her crawl, scrambling on all four legs bolting the rest of the way. She made it to the shaded patio and sat down on the cool pavement, panting hard and anxiously awaiting her pup scout badge of honor for such a grueling task.

"Stay right here." Cocoa instructed.
She trotted over to the garden hose, gripped the nozzle in her teeth and dragged it over to the patio. She had lots of practice playing in the water and knew exactly how to use her dewclaws at just the right angle to keep the water flowing. Water shot out of the hose on full blast knocking the poor pup off her hind legs and back into the grass. The pup fought against the strong jet stream and tried to shower as best as she could.

Cocoa doused her from head to toe rinsing all the dirt away, watching it gather into a liquid line flowing directly into the pool. She let go of the nozzle and the water cut off. The little pup sat drenched, shivering from the cold air on her wet fur. Her teeth chattered and she let out a weak "I'm c-c-c-cold!"

"I know," Cocoa said, "but you have to be clean before I bring you in to meet the family. You're going to love Maggie! She's my person! And Barbara too. And John. He's not here right now though but..."

"Uh-oh!" said the puppy looking up at the window behind Cocoa. "I think we're in trouble!" A little girl's face appeared in the window and looked down at her with wide eyes and quickly disappeared again.

"What are you talking about?" Cocoa quickly looked behind her up at Maggie's window and didn't see anything. Just the reflection of the dull bluish sky. "You silly pup. All is well here at the Stroble residence. Now then, follow me."

Cocoa led the way. The cold, shivering puppy followed, her sopping wet paws squishing through the doggie door and into the carpet of John's study. She had never felt ground so soft before, it was like walking on a cloud! 'No wonder this dog was so smart, she was trained in the goings-on of pure luxury! Only the finest ground for her beautiful paws to step on. Not like us homeless puppies who live behind trash cans.' She thought to herself. She admired Cocoa's lovely steps, her well combed fur glistening in the light like a cobra in the desert. There was a sense of gratitude beginning in her heart she had never known before. She somehow trusted this older, wiser...friend?

They were met by Grandpa looking down at both of them. Cocoa froze. Puppy looked up at the giant human and saw Cocoa had stopped. She followed suit, turning into a tiny shivering statue.

"Why on earth am I looking at two beagle statues?" Said Grandpa over his shoulder to Barbara.

Just then, Maggie came rushing in, still wearing her backpack, and squealed with excitement, "We got a puppy?! I saw you from my window! I love you already!"

"What?!" Barbara said running into the office to join the party. "What puppy?" she said locking eyes with the prettiest little doggy she had ever seen since finding Cocoa. The scared pup, still frozen, her tail tucked but twitching with the desperate urge to wag. Cocoa, serious and anxious, looked up at Barbara's stunned face and then to Grandpa's silly grin, awaiting their approval. Maggie's approval was obvious. She dropped her backpack, her face glowing and clapping her hands with excitement.

Barbara knelt down and scooped up the wet puppy and asked Maggie to get a towel. Her eyes melted into that look Cocoa knew all too well. This new pup had her tied around her little paw. Barbara scratched her little chin and asked gently, "Where in the world did you come from?"