Chapter 3 - Loni's Plan

PARTIII:Loni’s Plan
CHARACTERS
Loni Barkin
Falia Barkin
Tom Barkin
Hart Barkin
Charlie Barkin
Christy Fannoila
Flo Collieon
Eric King
Jane Coffman
After all of her puppies were out of school, Loni put her plan into action. She asked Falia if she would join her, and she agreed. Falia created invitations that looked something like this:

REUNION IN PROGRESS!
DATE: 6/15-whenever
TIME: 2:00 PM-who knows
PLACE: 1386 HALO CREEK RD, FALLS BROOK, LOUISIANA

Please bring anyone special to you. No parent supervision will be available. I look forward to seeing everyone!
-Falia Barkin
Loni decided not to come because she had planned this whole thing knowing how much Falia missed Charlie and she had figured that if she were there, Charlie wouldn’t come. Well, Falia sent the invitations and everyone received theirs, including Charlie.
Well, Charlie had almost finished high school without being held back, thankfully. He didn’t dare attend college because 1. He had only barely gone to high school and 2. He did not like it there. Well, he spent his days in the alleys, looking to find any food in the dumpsters and supposedly the rare opportunity of a human passerby feeding him. His life was quite simple, when he wasn’t at a casino or nightclub, he was visiting Flo. He didn’t realize how messed up his life had become, except for the occasional homesickness. He would soon get over it temporarily and head off to a nearby casino or nightclub.
Falia’s life was quite different, though. She had moved to a small town and found an old, run down house in a peaceful valley. She fixed it up to its original Victorian beauty and was happy. She met Eric King. They fell in love and soon Eric moved in with Falia. For food, she would find a loose chicken, beg for food, or catch a mouse or two. She was happy, but she missed her brother Charlie.
Well, the day of the party arrived and Tom and Christy were the first to arrive. Falia greeted them cheerfully and she and Christy became fast friends. After a while, Hart and his girlfriend, Jane, arrived. Falia and Jane also became fast friends. So did Jane and Christy. Everyone arrived and Falia was so happy to be reunited with her family.
The house became too crowded, so Falia moved everyone out. When everyone was going outside, Falia noticed that Charlie wasn’t among the enormous crowd. She couldn’t help but shed a few tears. Then, a paw wiped a tear from her eyes. She expected this to be Eric’s paw, but it wasn’t.
This paw was Charlie’s paw. Falia was delighted to see her brother again. She hugged him, then she saw Flo looking at her in a strange way. “What?” Flo continued to stare. Charlie looked back and forth, wondering the same as Falia. Flo then said “You’re a collie too!” Falia was relieved to find out it was only this. She studied the couple for a bit, then noticed how thin they were. “When was the last time you ate?” Falia asked. They looked at each other for a bit, as if they had never thought about it before. “Well, I think the last time I ate anything besides garbage was about two weeks ago.” Charlie said. “I think the last time ate was when you visited me, Charlie. When was that? A month?” They discussed this for a bit, and Falia finally got the point. She then rose another question “What do you drink?” “Rain water, any type of water I can get my hands on.” was Flo’s reply. “Lotta stuff.” Said Charlie. Falia didn’t know what to make of this, so didn’t push the subject any further. She took Charlie to the males’ group and Flo to the females.
When everyone left, Falia asked Charlie and Flo to stay. They accepted, in no hurry to return to the city. That night, Falia and Charlie were talking. “So Charlie, how’s life?” Falia asked. When Charlie didn’t respond, she realized he wasn’t going to tell her. After a while, Charlie asked her the same question. She responded with this: “Well, my life’s pretty normal. I moved here, met Eric and had this party. Nothing special.” Just then Flo walked out. Falia didn’t want her interfering with their conversation, but she let her. “Itchy called. One of the pups caught a cold. Should we leave?” Flo asked. “Which one?” Charlie asked. “Joey.” Flo replied. “Who’s Joey?” Falia asked curiously. “One of our pups. He’ll be fine.” Said Charlie. “You two had puppies?” Charlie and Flo laughed when she said this. “What?” Falia asked them. “I run an orphanage.” Flo told Falia. “Oh.” Falia blushed. She was embarrassed for asking. “Sorry for thinking you two were married.” Falia said. “S’ok.” Flo said before kissing Charlie, then leaving.
When Falia was sure that Flo was gone, Falia asked, “Why don’t you ever call?” “Why d’ya think?” Charlie asked, sounding a bit irritated. Falia didn’t know he had developed a temper and was a bit scared. Charlie realized this then said “Sorry, I didn’t mean ta scare ya.” He said before hugging his sister closely. Falia didn’t know what to make of this either, which made Falia wonder more about what he had been doing lately. She decided to ask Flo if she knew anything or anyone who would know, since Charlie obviously wasn’t doing to tell her.
The next morning, Falia and Eric went out to catch breakfast while Charlie and Flo stayed behind. “She doesn’t know, does she?” Flo asked. “No. And I don’t really plan on it.” Charlie said. They were discussing things when Falia and Eric returned, laughing. “What happened?” Flo asked them, seeing how hard they were laughing. “There…was…a…” Falia couldn’t continue, she was laughing too hard. Eric said, “It was smart.” This made Falia laugh more. Flo repeated her question, this time to Eric. “A giant rodent attacked.” Falia, who had finally managed to calm down, laughed again. After about an hour, Falia managed to calm down. “There was a mouse and Eric jumped at it. It escaped. It was also a baby. Eric couldn’t catch a baby mouse!” She then began laughing again.
If you don’t get it, don’t worry. Charlie and Flo didn’t get it either. They looked at each other, confused. Eric was sure that they’d laugh at him too. When they didn’t, he was also confused. Falia noticed that everyone else wasn’t laughing and was confused. She stopped laughing and they discussed that day’s plans. “So, why don’t me and Flo go to the beach for some girl time while you boys do something else?” Charlie nodded. “Okay…” Eric said. “Yeah!” Flo said.
Eric went over to Falia and said, “Falia, we hardly know these two. Are you sure it’s all right to do this?” Eric asked nervously. He didn’t completely trust Charlie or Flo yet. While he was glad that Charlie wasn’t going with Falia, the arrangement made him nervous. “Don’t worry. You just don’t know Charlie yet. I think you two will be great friends.” Falia said happily. Eric wasn’t so sure, but he went along with it.
When Falia and Flo headed off for the beach, Charlie and Eric stayed behind. When the two females were out of sight, Charlie went inside and up to his room. Eric followed secretly wondering what he was up to. He heard Charlie doing something, but he couldn’t quite make sense of what he was doing. When the noise stopped, Eric was glad, but when he looked into the room, Charlie was gone. He saw the window open and he raced downstairs. He saw Charlie on the roof, trying to find a place to land. “What in the world are you doing?” Eric called to Charlie. Charlie looked at him, growled, then returned to his activity. Eric watched him for a while, then gave up.
When Charlie finally found a way down, he jumped and then he went over to where Eric was sitting. “What were you doing?” Charlie hadn’t said a word to Eric yet and Eric hadn’t heard him speak to anyone yet. Eric was much bigger than Charlie was, even though Charlie was bigger than most dogs. Charlie felt a bit intimidated by Eric’s size, but showed no sign. Charlie just sat there, staring into the distance, licking his paw. Eric looked down at Charlie and asked “What were you doing up there? It’s my house, and I’d like to know!” Eric said, trying to stay as calm as possible. “Hey, it’s Falia’s too.” Eric wasn’t happy about this reply, but tried to ignore it. “Are you always like this?” “Like what?” “Well, you know. You never tell anyone what you’re doing, you just so antisocial. Your tone isn’t too pleasant either.” Eric said, trying to sound as nice as possible. He hadn’t heard any of Charlie’s way of talking yet, so he was surprised and annoyed when Charlie began speaking with informal language.
“There somethin wrong with it?” Eric hadn’t expected Charlie to say this, so he backed off to let Charlie cool down a bit. “Sorry if I offended you.” Eric said to Charlie after a while. When a reply didn’t come, he said “So, would you like to tell me what you were doing up on the roof?” “Why are ya so interested?” “No reason. I was just curious.” “Well, forget about it.” Charlie snapped. Eric was finding it hard to figure out Charlie. Then he remembered last night. He had seen Charlie hug Falia and didn’t like that at all. “About last night, what were you doing hugging Falia?” “She’s my sister, ain’t she?” Charlie asked. “Well, yeah, but, you barely know each other. I just don’t feel comfortable with you doing that stuff.” “Fine. Be that way.” Charlie said before walking off. Eric followed.
“Charlie, what’s life in the city like? I’ve always lived in the countryside and wondered what it’s like.” Eric said after they had walked quite a bit, trying to get along with Charlie. That wasn’t as easy as it was to get along with most dogs. Charlie ignored him for a bit, then said, “It’s not great or anything. I basically look for food in dumpsters and sometimes get food from people. Occasionally I visit Flo and her puppies. That’s pretty much it.” Charlie told Eric. “What do you do for fun?” Eric asked. Charlie stared at him, looking a bit startled. “You don’t wanna know.” Charlie said. “Sure I do. Why else would I ask?” Eric paused for a second. “You don’t do anything bad, do you?” “Depends what ya consider ‘bad’.” Charlie said. Eric was now even more curious about Charlie now than he had been before.
“Well. Shoot.” Eric said. Charlie didn’t speak right away. “Fine, if ya really wanna know. Just don’t tell Falia. I don’t want her worryin ‘bout me.” Eric nodded and Charlie told him how he went to casinos and nightclubs often. “You’re not serious.” Eric said. He couldn’t believe that Charlie went to casinos or nightclubs. He had heard about them from his parents. “Never go into any nightclubs.” They would tell him firmly. He had always wondered what it was like in them and what you did in them. He asked Charlie and he couldn’t believe what he heard. When Charlie was finished, he asked “Why do you do you go in then?” “Well, I like it. I have fun. My only friends besides Flo are there.” Eric couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“So, you actually gamble?” Eric still couldn’t believe this. “How many times do I gotta say it? Yes!” Eric didn’t want to irritate Charlie any more, so he shifted the subject a notch. “Um, sorry for sounding stupid, but what is gambling?” Charlie shook his head. “Where have you been? It’s basically bettin and stuff like that.” Eric wasn’t sure what to think of Charlie now.
“I’m sorry if I made you mad. My parents were over protective. Yours and Falia’s parents they taught you what this stuff was. My parents just told me not to do it.” “My parents were strict too.” “How do you know all of this stuff then?” “You’d think youda learned by now. I ran away when I was little. My parents woulda never told us about this stuff.” “Oh. So, then I take it Falia doesn’t know about any of this?” “Yeah. And I’d like to keep it that way. Don’t you dare tell her.” “Sure but…why not?” Eric asked. “I told you already. I don’t want her worrying.” “Yeah, I know, but I’m not sure if that’s the only reason.” Eric looked at Charlie, then after a long stare, Charlie gave in. “Okay. There’s more reasons. I don’t want her to tell mom about this. If she knew, I’d be dead.” Eric laughed a little. “How would she kill you?” “She’d drag me back to our house and try to straighten me out into some kinda proper thing.” Eric laughed a little at this too. Charlie was pretty fun after you got past all of the tough guy stuff. “So, you don’t want Falia to know about this, then?” “No.” Charlie said. “So, you ever drink anythin besides water?” “No. What do you mean?” “So, you’ve only drunk water?” “Yeah.” “Oh, your parents never told you about anythin else?” “Yeah.” “Oh, then never mind.” Charlie said. Just then, Eric realized that they had reached New Orleans. He had never known it was so close to the house.
“Come on. I’ll show ya some real fun.” Charlie said before heading down the hill towards the city. It was night now and Eric didn’t feel so good about this. “Shouldn’t we head back?” “There’s plenty of time left before the girls’ll get back.” Eric didn’t have anymore excuses, so he followed. They reached a pier with a boat at the end. “Where are we?” Eric asked, looking around. “Follow me.” Charlie said before entering the boat. Eric followed, but didn’t feel too good about the situation. There were no signs to tell the name of the place. Eric entered the boat, only to find Charlie at the bar. He looked around then he knew where he was. He quickly turned around and left.
He had been taken to a nightclub. He headed back to the house. He argued with himself about whether or not he should tell Falia about this. He had told Charlie he wouldn’t, but he felt that Falia should know. He arrived at the house.
Meanwhile, Flo and Falia were also having a nice time on the beach. They had just finished swimming and were drying out on the beach before heading home. “I wonder what Eric and Charlie did.” Falia wondered aloud. “Who knows. They could have gone just about anywhere.” Flo replied. Falia looked at her then remembered what she had wanted to ask her. “What does Charlie do anyway?” “What do you mean?” “Like, where does he hang out and do for fun, that kind of stuff.” Flo stared at her then said, “Why are you asking me? Ask Charlie.” “I did, but he wouldn’t tell me. “Then what makes you think I’ll tell you? He doesn’t want you to know about it, and I’m loyal.” “I just thought that maybe you’d have a care for him. His family’s worried about him. I’m worried about him.” “I’m loyal to Charlie. He ran away, so what makes you think that I’d be loyal to the ones he’s trying to get away from?” Falia hadn’t expected a comeback like that. Flo changed the subject. “So, what do you and Eric do?”
“Well, we sit around and talk, go for walks along this beach, hunt, walk around the valley. We do a lot.” “Maybe the four of us could all go around the valley tomorrow.” Flo suggested. “Or maybe, we could go in groups of two?” Falia suggested. “Like me and Charlie, you and Eric?” Falia said. “I’m not so sure.” “Why?” “Well, that might not work out so well.” “Well, you know, Flo. Charlie acts different when he’s with you. So, maybe we could go in these same groups.” Falia said. “I guess. But I think me and Charlie have a few tings to settle.” “Oh. Well, then okay.” Falia found that Flo and Charlie were trying to hide something from her and Eric.
Back at the house, Eric watched as Charlie walked out of the forest. He walked right past Eric without a word. A few minutes after Charlie came, Flo and Falia arrived home. It was around 3 AM now and everyone was tired. Flo joined Charlie. Eric and Falia went to their own room. “Falia, there’s something I have to tell you. I told him I wouldn’t tell you this, but I have to. Charlie…” He didn’t finish. Falia interrupted him. “So, did you and Charlie have a nice time today?” Falia seemed to be ignoring him. “Um…sure.” “Good. Flo and I had a nice time as well.”
Eric wondered why she was ignoring him. The next day, Charlie and Flo didn’t hunt with them. When the house was out of sight, Eric asked Falia “Why did you ignore me last night?” “I didn’t know I was doing it.” “Oh. So, um, yesterday, I was talking with Charlie and…” “Look! There’s a chicken!” Falia whispered. She pounced and the two had a nice breakfast and a nice time being chased by the farmer that owned the now devoured chicken. They laughed while they were chased. They arrived home, only to find Charlie and Flo gone. “Where could they be?” Just as Falia finished, they walked in the door.
“What were you two up to?” “Nothin.” Charlie said before heading back outside. “We went for a walk around the valley. Of coarse, it turned into an Olympic event.” Flo told them. “Heh?” “We had a contest for everything. Who could jump higher, who could swim across the lake faster, jump over the pile of rocks in the road. Then we got to a patch of flowers. That was lovely. We found a rainbow when we went through that waterfall.” Eric and Falia were stunned. Every time they explored the valley, they always stayed on the trails. They never went into the water. Actually, they feared the giant waterfall. They were afraid what might be lurking behind it; their thoughts were interrupted by Flo. “You two must have so much fun!” “Actually, we just stay on the trails.” “Then you two have missed out on so much! Come on, Falia! Please come with me!” Falia agreed, and Eric pulled her aside. “Falia, are you sure about this?” “What? It worked yesterday? Didn’t it?” “Yeah, but no.” Falia had left when he had said yeah, so she didn’t hear him say no.
Flo took Falia to the lake. She dove off the bridge crossing the lake and began to swim towards the waterfall. “Come on, Falia! Whatcha waiting for?” Falia took a nervous dive into the water and found it cold. “It’s freezing in here! How do you stand it?” “I’m used to it! You will be too!” Falia swam a bit, and the water seemed quite warm after a while. “Oh, wow, it is nice.” “Told you! Now, Follow me!” Flo called before heading towards the waterfall. Falia followed, but stopped when she got there. “It’s so big!” She said to Flo. Flo just jumped onto a ledge then said, “It’s fun! Come on! Do you want to see the rainbow or not?” She said just before jumping through. “Well, here goes.” Falia jumped on the ledge Flo had jumped on, then nervously jumped through the waterfall. She had her eyes closed when she landed. She froze and didn’t dare open her eyes. “Open your eyes!” Flo said to her. She was petrified. Flo called her, and she opened her eyes. She saw Flo prancing around in front of a rainbow. “It’s beautiful.” She said.
They had the waterfall behind them, and a rainbow in front of them. It was beautiful. She also noticed they were on a cliff. “Flo!” She called. “What?” “Do you know that we’re on a cliff!” “Yeah, so?” Falia calmed down. Flo jumped through the waterfall, down back into the lake. Falia soon joined her, in a hurry to get off the cliff. When they got back to the house, a tormented looking Falia and a spunky Flo arrived, both soaked. “Falia, what happened?” “The waterfall’s on a cliff, and it’s big and scary!” Falia said to Eric. Eric looked at Charlie and Flo nuzzling in the meadow. He looked back at Falia and nuzzled her. She calmed down when he did this. “Thanks, Eric.” “Your welcome.” He had done that only because he felt like he should be nuzzling Falia because Charlie and Flo were. He didn’t expect it to work. “So, are you two lovebirds ready for lunch?” Falia said. Charlie and Flo, who were still nuzzling, jumped a bit. They were startled when Falia called to them. “What do you have in mind?” Flo asked. “Well, the usual. Rodent or chicken?” The two looked at each other. Flo said “I think that we could go to the city for lunch.” “Oh could we come?” Falia begged.
“Sure. I you’d like.” While Falia was happy for a change, Eric knew where Charlie would go. He hoped Flo didn’t go to the same place. When they arrived, Charlie headed in one direction and Flo in the other. Falia was confused. She started to follow Charlie, but Eric pulled her towards the direction that Flo had gone. Falia followed him. “When I said that, I thought they ate together.” Falia remarked while they followed Flo. They arrived at the ruins of an old stone church. Falia and Eric stared at it in disbelief. “You live here?” Falia asked. “Yep!” Flo said happily before entering the church through a decaying hallway. They found themselves surrounded by old stone benches.
Flo was heading up a stairway, then another. They followed, and after quite a bit of stair climbing, they arrived in a cozy room filled with a dozen puppies. Flo called for them and they ran towards her hungrily. After the puppies had eaten, Flo began heading down the steps and out the way they had come. She came to a lake near the church. She drank from the water then headed towards Eric and Falia. “So, go get a drink.” They hesitated, but went to get a drink. It wasn’t the cleanest water, but it would do. Flo then headed towards the inner city. She went into an alley and found a Dumpster right for her purposes. She found something somewhat decent to eat. Falia and Eric wrinkled their noses, but also found something to eat. They knew that next time; they would go for begging in front of a restaurant.
Meanwhile, Charlie was at a bar, since the nightclubs were closed. He was having his usual fun. Flo, Falia and Eric headed towards the house. Falia wondered what had become of Charlie. She asked Eric and he said, “Well, Falia, don’t tell Charlie I told you this, but at night I know he goes to nightclubs. He’s probably at a casino or something like that.” Eric looked at Falia and she was shocked. “Eric, are you seriously serious?” she asked. They were whispering so Flo couldn’t hear them. “So, do you know anything else?” Eric’s reply didn’t come right away, but was this “Falia, he’s a gambler.” She didn’t know if she was hearing this right. Eric had never lied to her before, but this had to be a lie, right? No. He wasn’t joking, much to Falia’s dismay.
She now felt the need to get to a phone. They arrived and Falia asked Eric whether or not to tell her parents. His reply was “I don’t think so.” Falia still thought she should do it and that she did. “Hello?” her mother’s voice came on the phone. “Mother, it’s me, Falia.” “Hello Falia! Why do sound so sad?” Loni said happily. “Well, mother, Charlie did come to the reunion and I was happy about that. I asked him and his girlfriend, Flo, to stay. But just now Eric told me something. Mother, Charlie’s a gambler.” Loni laughed. “You’re kidding, right?” “I wish I was.” Loni’s voice went from cheerful to tearful. “Maybe I should come and talk with him.” She suggested. “I don’t think so…” “I’ll be right over.” Loni said before hanging up. Falia groaned. She went downstairs. Flo asked, “Who was that you were talking to?” “Mother’s coming.” Flo gasped. “Why did you do that for?” “I didn’t invite her! She just said she’d come and hung up.” Just then, Charlie emerged from the forest, kissed Flo and headed off towards the lake. Flo blushed then went after him.
“What are we going to do?” Falia asked Eric as she nuzzled him. “I don’t know.” Eric said. Since Loni didn’t live far away, she arrived soon. When she did, Falia stared at her. “So, where is he?” she asked. “Mother. Um, why don’t you go upstairs and settle in. “Okay, but let me know the second Charlie comes back.” She said before heading towards the guestroom. Falia let out a sigh of relief, but this wasn’t finished.
Charlie and Flo came back from their walk, nuzzling once again. Loni saw the couple and headed downstairs. She raced towards Charlie and hugged him. Charlie and Flo were both confused.
“Who’s this?” Flo asked Charlie. “I’m not sure.” Charlie said. “Charlie! I’m your mother! I’ve come to help!” Charlie and Flo both groaned. They headed towards the city. Loni tried to stop them, but they left anyway. “Well, how rude!” Loni said before heading to her room.
Loni, Falia and Eric never heard from Charlie or Flo again, until they came to him.

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