Chapter 5 - Not So Young

PARTV:Not So Young
CHARACTERS
Loni BarkinL
Charlie Barkin
Alex Barkin
Vanessa Shepherd
Falia King
Eric King
Sasha La Fleur
Dana La Fleur
Crystal La Fleur
Mrs. Shiz
Carface Caruthers
Killer Rellik
Itchy Dachshund
Flo Collieon

CHAPTER I
Charlie and Sasha eventually had two pups. One, a tan and brown Irish Setter, they named Dana. The other, a pure white shepherd, they named Crystal. However, just before they were born, Charlie left Sasha. He and Sasha both felt that they weren’t ready to be parents. So they split. Even though they still loved each other, Charlie left California and went back to New Orleans. They never talked and eventually forgot about each other.
Charlie went back to his old life of gambling and Sasha went back to her singing. Charlie had left her with the two puppies. She had thought that Charlie couldn’t be a father or a good influence, so she was left to take care of their two children. Sasha proved to be a wonderful mother. Dana showed signs of being like her father while Crystal was more like her mother. Dana would get into all sorts of trouble while Crystal was in many plays and sang quite a bit of solos in chorus. Dana went to parties with her many boyfriends; Crystal stayed home to help her mother with the dishes and other household chores.
They are about 16 now. They have no memory of having a father. Sasha never mentions Charlie either. However, one day in English, a family tree project came up. The girls were able to fill every space in the tree and tell everything about anyone on the tree except for their father’s side of the family.
They had never thought about their father before, but they needed to know to pass the project. First, they asked their teacher if they could leave their father’s side out of it because they were sure that their mother would never tell them anything. The teacher just said, “She’ll tell you. If she doesn’t, go on the Internet and type in your father’s first and last name.” “We don’t know his name.” “Look up your mother and find out who she married. Or look up yourselves and find out your parent’s names. You’ll find something.” The girls couldn’t argue with this, so they did it. They found their mother’s name, but it didn’t say whom she was married to. It said that she never married.
They found this weird. So they looked up themselves. It didn’t say who their parents were. Then they had another idea. They asked their mother to see their birth certificates. They found out their father’s name. It was Charlie Barkin.
So they went and typed their father’s name. Surprisingly, it said that he had died in 1939. They found this hard to believe. Their mother hadn’t been to America yet at that time. How could he be their father when their mother had never been in the same country when their father died? They were now confused. They saw another Charlie Barkin with the same middle name and looked exactly alike. This one didn’t have a birth or death date. They had no idea what to do anymore.
The next day at school, they told their teacher about what had happened. She was also confused. Ms. Shiz, their teacher, decided to help them out. “What’s your father’s name?” “Charlie Barkin.” Ms. Shiz typed in their father’s name and clicked on the first one. “There you go.” “No. Our mother wasn’t in America until after 1939.” Crystal told her. Ms. Shiz went back and clicked on the other one. When she saw there was no birth or death date, she had no idea what to do. “Girls, I’m not sure. You could ask your mother about it, but if she doesn’t tell you, let me know.”
That afternoon, Dana brought up the subject. “Mom, what happened to dad?” Sasha looked at them then said, “Dana, Crystal, I have a show tonight. Can you manage without me?” Neither Crystal nor Dana spoke. Then Dana said “Sure.” When Sasha left for the concert, Dana said to Crystal “Did you see how she avoided the question?” “Yeah.” “Something’s weird here. The Internet, mom, this whole thing.” Dana said before heading to the computer. “Dana, I think I know what Ms. Shiz is going to do.” “What?” “She’ll probably tell us that we can not do the part about our father.” “Yeah, Crystal, I know, but don’t you want to find out what happened to dad?” “Yeah, but maybe there’s a reason.” “I’m not so sure. Our father could be dead, but I wanna know about him even if he is dead.” “I’m still having second thoughts about this, Dana.”
Crystal said, “Maybe we could get some information on dad from one of his friends or relatives. You know like Grandma, Grandpa, aunt, uncle, enemies, friends…” Dana interrupted Crystal. “I get the point. I wonder…” Dana went on the computer and found a conversation between Loni, Alex, Falia, Eric, Itchy, Carface and Killer. Her name popped up on the list and she started to chat. “Dana, this is weird. There’s so many people on and they seem to know each other.” Dana chatted anyway.


Dana: ello.
Itchy: who r u?
Dana: dunno
Itchy: heh?
Carface: Itchy, who’s that?
Itchy: stop interrupting! Go back 2 killer!
Killer: excuse moi! Im right here!
Itchy: srry. Forgot for a sec
Killer: humph
Falia: Who’s that?
Loni: FALIA!!!!
Falia: yes, mom. Im here.
Loni: I thought u ran off w/ eric…where’d flo go?
Falia: puppy reunion attack
Eric: ello
Alex: I don’t know most of u…
Vanessa: ALEEEEEXXX!
Alex: what r u doing here?
Vanessa: a girl can get bored, cant she?
Alex: maybe…
Crystal: greetings from san fran!
Carface: u live there? Do u know red?
Itchy: I thought he went down the tube.
Carface: he did…
Loni: so, anyone seen charlie?
Itchy: I think I saw him yesterday at carface’s…
Loni: did u now?
Itchy: it wasn’t pretty…
Dana: charlie?
Itchy: will u get otta here?
Dana: its my beeswax too!
Itchy: how?
Dana: hes my father!
Itchy: oooooohhhhhhhhhh…
Killer: I thought he and sasha split.
Itchy: they DID
Killer: srry…SOMEONE never tells me anything.
Carface: is it my fault u became some clerk at that shop?
Killer: yes! U died and went off to work for this RED…
Carface: well, that’s over now…he joined the underworld.
Killer: oh…
Loni: I have no idea what u 2 r talking about!
Killer: good.
Charlie: ELLO!
Loni: CHARLIE!!!!!!!! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN??????
Charlie: places…
Falia: CHARLIE!!
Charlie: yeah…
Killer: charlie, I just want to let u know the stuff I did was all carface’s idea.
Charlie: yeah…I know…
Dana: ello!
Charlie: whos she?
Itchy: she claims 2 b ur daughter.
Eric: Charlie, well, its nice 2 hear from u?
Charlie: thx 4 such a warm welcome
Carface: I was influenced by red!
Charlie: uh huh…tell me, was he seriously THE devil or a cousin?
Carface: im thinking he was just a bad cat with some powers…
Loni: oh dear, I just realized something…
Itchy: what?
Loni: Erica and Falia are in the same house, Alex and me are in the same house, but were talking over the computer! Say, what happened 2 ur puppies?
Falia: theyre asleep.
Crystal: Dana! U r brilliant!
Dana: I am?
Itchy: anyone know what theyre talking about?
Crystal: I just realized that we shouldn’t go to school tomarrow!
Dana: we shouldn’t?
Crystal: moms out on tour, shiz’ll be at school, all the more reason the skip.
Dana: how am I brilliant?
Crystal: well, u gave me the idea just now when I thought about how you talked 2 shiz earlier and…yeah…
Itchy: anyone following this?
Loni: nuhuh
Falia: nope
Eric: uh…
Carface: im not sure…
Killer: um…
Charlie: whos shiz?
Dana: Crystal, u know that pink girl that came a while ago when we were like 10?
Crystal: yeah…
Dana: well, I just realized that she had wings!
Charlie: oh god…
Loni: what?
Charlie: Annabelle…
Itchy: howd she find those u?
Carface: I never liked her…
Dana: ?
Killer: lemme guess she’s an archangel. Just kidding…
Charlie: ur right, 4 once…oh god…
Loni: what now?
Charlie: flo’s here…
Loni: ?
Charlie: not here at my house, in this chat thing…
Flo: CHARLIE!!! I JUST BARELY ESCAPED A PUPPY ATTACK!!!! I NEEEEEEEEEEED UUUUUUU!!!!!!
Flo: y don’t u call?
Charlie: flo, all of this ended a while ago…when was that? like at least 2 yrs ago…
Flo: CHARLIE!!!
Killer: ?
Itchy: ?
Carface: ?
Falia: FLO!
Flo: FALIA! Darling, how r u doing?
Falia: still in the same old house with the same old diet and the same ol’ things.
Charlie: please no…
Falia: yes!
Eric: hey, u didn’t even try it!
Charlie: but chicken and rodents?
Falia: u prefer beer I presume?
Loni: EXCUSE ME? CHARLIE!
Charlie: what?
Dana: u drink?
Charlie: a little bit…
Itchy: wasn’t that the cause of ur murder? Carface…
Carface: Hey, ive changed!
Itchy: I still havent forgiven u…
Killer: I still wish I could of pushed the car…
Dana: ?
Crystal: ?
Flo: I thought u drowned…
Charlie: that was AFTER carface murdered me! * glares*
Carface: well, I did end up in heaven just like u!
Charlie: still…I thought u went w/ red…
Loni: ?
Eric: ?
Alex: ?
Falia: ?
Dana: ?
Crystal: ?
Charlie: that looks cool…
Loni: KGET ON W/ IT!!!
Charlie: I thought itchy blabbed it out 2 u…
Dana: ?
Falia: mom, u can leave him alone now…
Loni: falia!
Falia: srry…
Sasha: ello everone!
Loni: SASHA!!! I WANNA HUG YOU!!!!
Charlie: uh…
Flo: im leaving! Its me or her!
Charlie: neither
Flo: AHEM!
Charlie: bye flo
Flo: gone.
Falia: ?
Eric: ? Carface: back 2 our little pep talk…
Charlie: how was that a pep talk?
Killer: hes got a point…
Sasha: ?
Falia: they’ve been talking about charlie’s murder…

When Dana and Crystal saw their mother’s name, they decided to leave. They checked back around 3 am and to their surpise, some were still on.

Charlie: Look carface, can we stop now?
Carface: no. im not finished.
Killer: bye, I gotta get some sleep.
Loni: r u still on? Charlie, get some sleep.
Falia: I think he’s become nocturnal. So what happened w/ Sasha?
Charlie: plz, not that…
Falia: yes that…
Falia: u 2 still talking?
Charlie: no…
Falia: I didn’t think so…
Charlie: could we drop that?
Falia: charlie, I didn’t think that u or her had it in u…
Charlie: spare me…
Falia: look, im just saying, u 2 got rough…
Charlie: plz?
Falia: fine…bye
Charlie: bye.

Dana didn’t let anyone know she heard that.
The next day, Crystal and Dana didn’t go to school. “That was some chat last night.” “Yeah. It was. Did you happen to catch the part about dad drinking?” Crystal asked. “Yeah. I’m not so sure about that.” Dana said. “So…maybe tonight we could check it out again.” “Dana! We really shouldn’t be barging into other people’s business.” “Well, isn’t it kinda our business too?” Crystal wasn’t sure what to say now. “Then tonight we’ll go back.” “I suppose. For now, do you want to call mom?” “Yeah! Crystal let’s call her and tell her we skipped school!” “Oh, yeah. We can call her this afternoon. I’m going to go do my homework from yesterday.” “I’ll get started on our project.” Dana said before heading off to get some paper. Crystal finished her homework , eventually. “Okay, so, Crystal. What do you think of this?” “What?” “I was thinking about something mom said awhile ago.” “Go on, Dana” “What did she mean that I showed signs of being like my father?” “Dana! This is great!” “It is?” “Think about it! If you’re like dad, then we could think about the stuff you do and find out about him!” “You know what, I love that plan, but I don’t drink.” “We can leave that part out.” “Fine.” Dana said, finally giving in to Crystal’s superiority.
“So, what do you like to do, or what do you do?” “I go to parties with my boyfriends, visit the principal a lot, and that’s about it.” “Well, that means dad goes to parties with his girlfriends and gets in a lot of trouble.” “Couldn’t we just ask him?” “That would be a lot easier than what we’re doing now.” “Ok, let’s go work on the project until around 9 PM, then we’ll go check up on that chat room, okay Crystal?” “Fine.” The two worked on their project and got most of it finished. They noticed the time and it was 10 PM. They went on the Internet and found the chat room again. Surprisingly, the chat was just starting.

Itchy: What happened after I left last night?
Carface: I left 2.
Loni: My head’s still spinning…
Killer: I have no idea…
Falia: I heard some curse words, then who knows what…
Itchy: We could ask Charlie…
Falia: Would he REALLY want to talk about that?
Itchy: He could…
Loni: Probably not.
Falia: YEAH!
Eric: ?
Falia: I CAUGHT A CHICKEN 2DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Eric: that farmer was hostile…
Falia: Don’t u just hate spears?
Dana: !
Itchy: u again?
Dana: So, tell me what u ppl can about dad.
Itchy: I don’t like . , they mean commands…
Loni: Well, he ran away when he was 2 months old…
Itchy: became a gambler…
Falia: never contacted his family…
Eric: died…
Falia: came back…
Carface: got “married”
Killer: went back to no
Charlie: that brings us 2 now.
Flo: CHARLIE GET UR SRRY BUTT OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!!
Charlie: Another pup attack?
Flo: YES!
Falia: Charlie, would u like to come over here again sometime? It’s a 5 min walk…
Flo: I wanna go swimming!
Falia: that waterfall’s scary!
Flo: but the rainbow was pretty!
Falia: still…
Loni: Flo, dear, ive never met u…
Flo: charlie’s grlfriend @ ur service!
Charlie: I told u! that’s over!
Loni: oh…ur that collie who was harassing him when he was still w/ sasha…
Flo: we never broke up!
Charlie: hey, I died! Can u blame me 4 that?
Flo: u couldve told me that u were alive in sf
Charlie: uh-huh…
Flo: how do u do that? !
Charlie: ?
Flo: u always make me mad!
Itchy: then y do u want him?
Flo: I miss him…
Loni: I can understand that
Falia: mom…
Killer: ello! Ello, ello, ello!
Carface: no cheers…
Charlie: itchy…
Itchy: what?
Charlie: I just got off with anne marie and david…
Itchy: and?
Loni: ?
Alex: that was confusing…that talk we had…
Charlie: u cant exactly talk 2 humans…
Carface: CHARLIE!!! Y did u steal my little annie anyway?
Charlie: that was YEARS ago, carface
Itchy: when charlie was still alive…
Dana: ?
Itchy: will u leave us alone?
Dana: no? what does that mean?
Itchy: …
Dana: !
Itchy: …
Dana: !
Loni: uh oh…
Falia: Sasha’s here?
Loni: yep.
Sasha: hello!
Dana: um…
Sasha: Dana? What r u doing here?
Itchy: I don’t think she knows much…
Dana: !
Itchy: …
Loni: will u 2 stop that plz?
Sasha: Dana, crystal told me that u 2 have found out about ur father?
Dana: perhaps…
Itchy: could u do that l8r?
Dana: yes mom…

Charlie: im gonna go now…
Sasha: u didn’t mean those things last night, did u?
Charlie: …
Sasha: !
Itchy: could we not do that again? Like father/mother like daughter?
Sasha: he called me…I shouldn’t repeat that front of the children!
Itchy: oh dear…
Dana: mom, im 16.
Itchy: Charlie, ur that old?
Charlie: how can I be old?
Itchy: oh yeah…
Dana: going going gone. “Dana? How’d it go?” “Mom discovered me, no thanks to you.” Dana said reluctantly. “We’re in trouble.” “Big time, Crystal.” Dana said. “Let’s go to bed.” Crystal nodded, then headed off to her room.
The next day, Sasha arrived home. “Dana! Crystal!” Sasha yelled angrily. “What?” Dana called from her room. “Get down here!” Sasha yelled, still angry. “I’m here. Whaddya want?” Dana said. Sasha saw that Dana had been crying and asked why. “Mom, I want a father.” “Yes, I know. And after everyone left last night, I talked with your father a bit, and we made up for only last night.” “Then, you’re not mad about whatever happened with dad the night before?” “Well, I was, but your father has these ways. And, well, we never were married.” “Huh?” “We had you two, but we never married.” “Is that legal?” Just then, Crystal came down. “Mom!” she said before running down to hug her mother. “I think we should find dad.” Crystal suggested. “I was thinking, maybe we could attempt to find your father?” “Yes!” Dana and Crystal exclaimed. Sasha said “But I didn’t tell your father about it. So he doesn’t know that we’re coming.” “Shouldn’t we tell him?” “No.” “Oh.” “So, let’s get going!”
Sasha, Dana, and Crystal all set out to find Charlie. They caught a bus and so began their trip. “Mom, why did you and dad break up?” Sasha looked away when Dana asked this question. Crystal asked a different question. “What was dad like?” Sasha knew she had no reason to avoid this question, so she asked this: “Personality, what he does, or in general?” Sasha asked. “Well, we just wanna know everything that you know about him.” Dana replied. “Ok. Well, basically, when I met your father, he was already ‘dead’. Well, we were together for a while, then we began to live together. So just before we had you two, neither of us felt that Charlie would be a good influence or father for you two. I didn’t expect him to leave, but he returned to New Orleans. And the first time I spoke to him since we split up was last night.”
“Oh, so that’s all you know about him? That’s not much. What about personality-wise?” Crystal asked. “Well, when I first met him, he wasn’t all that smart. But he was kind and caring. But after a while, he became mean and selfish and well, empty. He told me that before I met him he was that way. So, right now, he still seems pretty much the way he was when we broke up. Itchy told me last night he’s returned to gambling. That’s all I know.” “Thanks for finally telling us, mom.” Crystal said. Dana groaned. “Can we talk about this stuff with out getting all mushy?” Dana asked. Sasha and Crystal giggled a bit. Dana cracked a smile. “Well, it’s a long ride, so let’s get some sleep, shall we girls?” Both nodded and the three drifted off to sleep.
The next day, they woke up and saw the skyline of New Orleans. Sasha yawned and looked around. She saw New Orleans and looked at Dana and Crystal. They were still sleeping. She smiled and then thought about what lied ahead of them. Where should we stay? She thought. She then thought about staying at Flo’s, but Flo seemed to hate her. Just then, Dana awoke. “Hello, sleepyhead.” Sasha said happily. “Morning mom.” Dana said. “Good morning, mom, Dana.” Crystal said when she woke up. “Good morning.” Sasha said. “Girls, that’s New Orleans.” Sasha said, pointing to the city. “Where dad lives?” Crystal asked. “Yes.” Sasha replied. The bus drove on, and they soon reached the city. “It’s humid.” Dana observed. “Yeah. Hot too.” Crystal said. “It smells too.” Dana said, sniffing the air. “How does dad stand it?” “He must be used to it. Most cities smell.” Sasha said before hopping off the train. “Come on! I’m starved!” Sasha said before running off. Dana and Crystal shrugged, then jumped and ran after their mother.
“I wonder where the food is?” Sasha asked herself as she wandered around from alley to alley. “Mom, I’m thinking it’s in the dumpsters.” Dana said, pointing to some dogs digging in a nearby dumpster. “I’m not eating from an over grown trash can!” Sasha said before running to the next alley. One dog heard her and said “You’re not gonna find anythin else but garbage here, little lady.” The dog said. “Get off me!” Sasha yelled. She ran off with her chin high. Dana and Crystal shrugged then followed their mother.
They passed many alleys, and Sasha eventually found a Dumpster to her liking. She went over to it and peered in, wrinkled her nose and looked away. A Shepherd mix went over to the dumpster and began eating, not caring. Sasha again wrinkled her nose and began to walk away, but Dana and Crystal had gone over to the dumpster. “Dana! Crystal! You know better!” “Mom, I’m starving. I don’t care anymore.” Dana said. She was feasting on the garbage, Crystal didn’t seem so happy. She was wrinkling her nose and making weird faces. She was disgusted with every bite. She swallowed reluctantly.
The shepherd mix stopped eating and looked up. He saw Sasha and froze. Sasha also froze. Dana looked up, saw the two frozen dogs and asked “What?” The two didn’t seem to hear her. The Shepherd mix was the first and last to speak. “What?” He asked before walking off. “Mom, what just happened?” Dana asked after the dog had left. “He just looked familiar, that’s all.” Sasha said before heading in the direction that the Shepherd had gone. Dana and Crystal shrugged then followed their mother.
They found their mother in front of a nightclub, staring inside. “Mom, why are we here?” “Shhhh.” Sasha whispered the whispered something else. “I’m going in.” “Mom! Don’t go in there! Why do you even want to?” Dana asked disgustedly, making Sasha sound like she was crazy. Sasha went anyway. Dana and Crystal shrugged and Dana started to follow her mother, only to be stopped by Crystal. “What?” Dana asked after Crystal pulled her back to their spot. “They’ll never let you in!” “Just you watch.” Dan said before heading to the door. “Dana!” Crystal called, but Dana had already approached the guard who had stopped her.
“Whoa! You can’t come in here!” “Why not ya big hunk?” Dana said in a flirty tone. “Aw shucks.” The guard said, blushing. Crystal couldn’t believe what she was hearing OR seeing. She slapped her paw to her forehead as she continued to watch. “Go on ahead.” Dana whispered in his ear “Thanks.” kissed him on the cheek, then went in. Crystal couldn’t believe Dana just did that. She had had more practice than she thought.
In the club, Sasha had seen Dana and went over to her. Drunken dogs surrounded Dana, all going gaga over her. Sasha went over to Dana and scolded her “What do you think you’re doing?” Sasha scolded. “How did you even get in here?” Sasha asked, looking at the guard. “Hey, easier to get past than most guards. Sucker.” Dana said looking at the guard. “We’ll discuss this later young lady. I’ll be right back.” Dana shrugged, then left the club.
“Dana!” Crystal called. “I can’t believe you just did that?” “I can’t or I shouldn’t?” Dana asked with a grin. “Forget it. What was it like in there?” “Boring. Just a bunch of drunk guys drooling over me and mom.” Dana replied. “Speaking of which, why did she go in there anyway?” “Who knows. I think it could have had something to do with that guy from before.” Dana told Crystal. “Yeah, about him. Why is mom so interested in him?” Crystal said. “Dunno. I mean, he WAS good looking, but I didn’t think mom cared about that stuff, ya know?” “Yeah. Say, here he comes now.” Dana followed Crystal’s paw and sure enough, the Shepherd mix was coming out the door.
Just as he passed by, Dana pulled him aside. “Who are you and what business do you have with our mother?” Dana demanded. The shepherd didn’t seem the slightest bit scared. He stood to his full height and Crystal was just a bit shorter than he was, but Dana was the size of her mother, who was shorter than the shepherd. “Okay, okay. Sit down dude.” Dana said. “So whaddya want?” he asked them. “We already told you!” Crystal said angrily. “Fine. Who’s your mother?” “The Scarlet Irish Setter from the alley!” Dana said. The shepherd just said, “She looked familiar, okay?” Dana smelled his breath and held her nose. “Your breath smells like alcohol.” She said still holding her nose. “Yeah. So who’re you?” the shepherd asked. “Dana and Crystal. You?” “Charlie. What are your last names?” “Why should we tell you?” “Well, your mother’s?” “Well, Sasha La Fleur.” “Um, I’m gonna go now.” Charlie said after he heard the name.
After he left, Dana and Crystal began talking. “Dana, that was weird.” “I’ll say. He’s obviously been drunk.” “Not that! He seemed to know our mother and yours and his markings are almost the same!” Crystal said. “Then what are we waiting around here for? Lets go!” Dana said before running of after Charlie. Crystal had no choice but to follow. There’s no telling what kind of trouble a dog like Dana can get into with no supervision. Sasha came out and found both girls gone. “Dana? Crystal?” She called. When no answer came to her, she became worried. “Crystal? Dana?” She continued to call while she searched frantically. She picked up their scent, but soon lost it. “Oh no.” Sasha said. “Sasha?” It was Flo. “Flo?” “Sasha!” “FLO! Oh my god, I need your help!” “What?” “I need to call Dana and Crystal.” “Then come on! We’ll go to my place and you can call from there.” Flo said before heading in the direction of the old church. Sasha followed Flo until they came to an old stone church.

CHAPTER II
“I didn’t know you lived here.” Sasha said, staring at the church. Flo had already entered through the end of a used-to-be hallway. Sasha followed at her own pace up a rickety staircase and came to a cozy room in the bell tower. Flo handed her a phone and she dialed Dana’s cell phone number. “Hello?” Dana’s voice came through the phone. “Dana? Where are you?” “At that guy’s place.” “Which guy?” Sasha asked outraged. “That guy from the alley.” “Put him on the phone!” Sasha demanded. Charlie’s voice came on. “Why you low lived, no good mutt!” Sasha yelled through the phone. “Sasha, calm down.” “Calm down? CALM DOWN? YOU HAVE OUR CHILDREN AT YOUR HOUSE! THEY BARELY KNOW YOU! I’M COMING OVER THERE RIGHT NOW!” Sasha yelled angrily. “Once again, calm down. Deep breaths.”
“UHHHHH!” Sasha yelled before slamming down the phone. “Easy there. What happened?” Flo asked. “Charlie has them.” Sasha said before falling to the ground, almost fainting. “It’s just too much stress. Why don’t you wait until tomorrow?” “Will they be all right?” Sasha asked nervously. “I’m sure of it.” Flo assured her before showing her to her bed.
Dana and Crystal were having a blast at Charlie’s. They enjoyed their father’s company. He didn’t seem like a father at all, just a friend. “Wow, dad. You’ve LIVED.” Dana said as she rolled on the floor. “Yeah. Hey, it’s gettin late. Ya wanna go out?” Dana and Crystal looked at each other and grinned. “Yeah!” Dana said before following Charlie out the door. As they walked, Crystal began to feel a bit nervous. “Wow, this is great, isn’t it, Crystal?” Dana said as they followed Charlie. “Dana, I don’t feel so sure that we should do this. I’m getting a bit on the queasy side.” Crystal said as they approached an old ship. Charlie entered and Dana and Crystal followed. They knew where they were after a look around.
“Dana, we’re at a nightclub.” “Yeah so?” Dana said as she headed in the direction Charlie had gone. Crystal took a nervous look around and instantly headed out the door. She ran away, frantically searching for her mother. “Mom? Mom?” She called as she ran from alley to alley. Sasha heard her cries and began to run towards the cries. She soon saw Crystal and the two hugged. Crystal was crying a bit because she had so nervous that she would never she her mother again. They hugged and released each other eventually.
“What did Charlie do to you?” Sasha asked in a nervous but stern tone. “Nothing, mom.” Crystal said not wanting her mother to worry more than possible. “Then what happened?” Sasha asked her. “Well, everything was fine, but then dad took us out. He took us to this nightclub. Dana stayed, but I left.” “Well honey, you made the right choice, but Dana really shouldn’t have done that. Where is the club you went to?” Sasha asked Crystal, wiping the few tears that remained on her cheek. Crystal hesitated a bit, then said “This way.” Crystal went in the direction of the old boat that Dana and Charlie had entered.
As they approached the boat, Sasha was also getting nervous. “Crystal, are you sure this is the place?” “I’m sure mom. They’re in there.” Sasha nodded, gulped and approached the old ship. She entered, looked around and saw Dana. “Dana!” she called. Dana looked at her and groaned. “Who’s that?” one of the boys that Dana had been talking to asked in a snobbish tone. “Mom.” Dana said reluctantly. “Oh. Why’s she here?” He asked. “Dunno, maybe came for dad and saw me.” Dana said before taking a bit too much beer in. She didn’t know what happened, but she did know that she was now in a cozy room with Charlie, Sasha, Crystal and a collie that she had no idea was.
Crystal and the collie were leaning over her and Sasha and Charlie were bickering in the far corner. “You okay?” Crystal asked her. The collie came to her with a glass of water fresh from the nearby lake. “What happened?” Dana asked, still slightly dazed and she had a horrible headache. “You had too much stuff and it didn’t go so well.” Crystal said as Dana drank the water that the collie handed her. “Oh. What’d I do?” Dana asked. “I’m not sure. Mom or dad might know though.” Crystal said. “Who’re you?” Dana asked the collie. “My name’s Flo.” Flo said. Dana didn’t say anything more because 1. She wanted to eavesdrop on her parents’ discussion and 2. Her headache was getting worse. She listened to as much of the conversation between Charlie and Sasha as she could.
“How could you even think of taking them to that place?” Sasha asked and everyone could tell that she was both annoyed and mad. Not a very good combination. “Sasha, I…” Charlie started but couldn’t finish, she didn’t want to hear it. “Charlie, why? For the whole time we knew each other, you never entered a nightclub, went near an alcoholic drink and absolutely DESPISED gambling. Now you’re doing all of that! You’ve become the complete opposite of yourself!” Sasha began to cry slightly as she leaned on Charlie’s shoulder. Charlie stroked her back lightly to comfort her.
Just then, Annabelle entered the room. “You again?” Dana and Crystal asked. “What’re ya doin here?” Charlie growled. Sasha and Flo just stared. “Charles! How dare you speak to ME that way! Hello Dana, Crystal. Sasha, Flo, I don’t believe you’ve met me yet. I’m Annabelle, the archangel.” Annabelle said. This only helped Flo a little bit, still petrified. Sasha remembered her and calmed down. “Hello Annabelle. Nice to see you again.” Sasha said in a friendly voice.
“Flo, it’s okay.” Annabelle said lovingly, then turned to Charlie. “Charles, go in a corner somewhere rethink your life.” Annabelle scolded. She then turned to Sasha, Dana and Crystal. “Would you three like to see Charles’ life?” They were all confused. “I can take you back in time and you may witness any part of Charles life that you wish to see.” Annabelle explained. Sasha spoke up “Yes, please.” Annabelle smiled, then opened a portal. Sasha, Dana and Crystal followed and they were in an old, Victorian house. “Where are we?” Dana asked as she looked at the rich looking furniture. “Year 1937, Charles’ puppy hood home.” Annabelle said as she entered a room. They saw the scene that you read when you began this book. They watched as Burt took Charlie out for the walks and Falia helped Charlie with his lessons. They watched as Charlie ran away and met Flo and Itchy. Annabelle signaled towards another portal. Sasha, Dana and Crystal followed. They were soon in a junkyard. “Heh?” Dana asked. Annabelle replied “Charles’ home while he was in high school.” “Oh.” Dana said. They watched as Charlie’s high school life unfolded before their eyes. After that, Annabelle took them through yet another portal. They were in a dark, cold and gloomy room, which was barely an excuse for a room at all. They saw a fat pit bull with a cigar in his mouth and a knife in his paw and a mutt with oversized glasses dragging a chocolate lab.
The pit bull raised the knife in the air and despite the cries of the lab, the pit bull brought the knife down into the lab’s chest and the lab was instantly dead. Sasha, Crystal, and Dana all gasped and looked away. Just then, Charlie walked in. “Carface? Whadid ya want?” he called. Carface, the pit bull, dropped the knife, grabbed the mutt with glasses, Killer, and dragged him out the door. Charlie went over to the lab and sniffed around. He saw that the lab was dead and he saw the knife on the ground. He gasped as he realized what had just happened. He backed away and ran out the door. Just after Charlie left, two police dogs came in with Carface saying “I saw everything!” and other things like that. One police dog sniffed the air and said “Charlie.”
“You say somethin?” the other asked. “Smell the air.” The second police dog sniffed and knew what he smelled. “Charlie Barkin?” “Yep. He did this, I’m sure of it.” “It does seem like he’d end up like this, don’t it?” The first police dog rolled his eyes and headed over to the knife. He put it in a plastic bag and the two left. Sasha, Crystal and Dana couldn’t believe what just happened. “Oh that little…ooh!” Sasha said as they followed Annabelle into a portal. The next thing they knew, they were at a trial. “We gather here today to discuss the case of the murder of Sir Reginald Harold.” The judge said. “In one spot is Charlie Barkin, accused of murder. The victim can’t make it today for obvious reasons, however, the witnesses are here, few as they are.” The judge continued as he pointed to Carface and Killer and some other dogs that were over on Charlie’s side. “State your defense, Mr. Dachshund.” The judge gestured towards Itchy. Itchy began to speak.
“Well, there isn’t much evidence to prove or disprove your theory, however, I have witnesses that say that they were either talking to Charlie or saw Charlie while the murder occurred.” “Witnesses, speak.” The judge commanded. One dog stood up. “Well, I was talking to Charlie during the murder and these guys saw him.” The dog finished and sat down. “Well, Mr. Caruthers, what do you have to say?” the judge asked as he gestured towards Carface and Killer. “Well, while the murder occurred, I saw the defensive witnesses over at the bar, drunk. They weren’t talking with Charlie at all. I did not see Charlie during the murder.” Carface finished and the judge gestured to Killer who stood. “I was with Carface and I second his statements.” Killer finished and sat down. “Of coarse you would.” The judge murmured under his breath then said “The evidence.” The judge now gestured towards the police dog with the knife and Charlie and Carface’s paw-prints. He began to speak. “We ran some tests on the knife and after taking the paw-prints of Mr. Barkin and Mr. Caruthers, the suspects, we find the paw-prints on the knife to match Mr. Barkin’s.” No one believed what he or she had just heard. “I musta stepped on it when I went in the room.” Charlie muttered to himself.
“Jury, discuss amongst yourselves.” The judge commanded. The jury discussed for a short time then a basset hound stood and said “After much discussion and arguing, we find the defendant guilty. As for punishment, we would suggest the death penalty.” The judge stopped him. “That won’t be necessary, yet. Perhaps there is a reason for the murder. Anyone?” A small Chihuahua stood and said, “Reginald was caught tinkering with the machines the day before the murder occurred.” “And by ‘tinkering’ you mean?” the judge asked. The Chihuahua replied, “he was jacking the machines, your honor.” “Excuse me, jacking?” “He ‘fixed’ the machines so they would always hit the jackpot. Cheating, if you will.” The Chihuahua replied becoming a bit impatient.
“Thank you. Anyone else?” when no one else stood, the judge said, “Well, even if that was the reason, the punishment should be left in the hands of the court. And we hereby close this case as we find the defense guilty and he shall spend 5 years in jail. Human of coarse.” The judge said before slamming his mallet on the pedestal to dismiss the court. Two Great Dane police dogs took Charlie away to the jail. Itchy watched in dismay as his best friend was put in the police car. “He couldn’t have done it.” He said to himself. Dana, Sasha and Crystal couldn’t believe anything that had just been said. “Annabelle, dad didn’t do anything! That rotten pit bull! Ooh, I just wanna…lemme at em!” Dana said angrily as Annabelle created another portal. “Now, now, Dana. They were not there and the only evidence they had to go on proved Charles guilty. It may not be fair, but it’s how things went.” She said before jumping into the portal.
“How many more of these things do we gotta go through?” Dana asked as they found themselves in a dirt tunnel. Itchy was breaking Charlie out of the pound or “jail”, as the dogs knew it. You know what happens next, so there’s no need to tell that part. Annabelle took them into another portal and they found themselves in San Francisco. “Now what?” Dana asked, then realized where they were. “Hey, why’re we here?” she asked, then saw younger versions of Charlie, Sasha, Itchy and Bess. “Hey! It’s Aunt Bess!” Crystal said, then saw Charlie and Sasha nuzzling and suddenly felt sad. “Mom, you two look so happy.” “Yeah.” Sasha said as tears filled her eyes. Charlie and Sasha entered a cute little house in an alley, one that Dana and Crystal knew as their home.
Annabelle took them into the house and Dana and Crystal were surprised to find it quite different than it was now. It looked cheerful with vases of flowers and the smell of fresh bread filled the house. They watched as Sasha and Charlie shared a kiss before heading upstairs to their bedroom. They curled up together and slept peacefully. Annabelle put them through the portal and they found themselves in the same place. “Annabelle, why are we still here?” Crystal whispered. “We’re actually a few months ahead of what we just saw.” Annabelle informed them before they saw Charlie wake up, stretch, look at Sasha, kiss her lightly and jump quietly off the bed. He left the room and came back around 5 AM. Dana and Crystal looked at each other. Around 8 AM, Sasha woke up and began to nuzzle Charlie, but smelled his breath and withdrew. It wasn’t morning breath, but something else. Charlie woke up and Sasha showed no sign of suspicion.
The next night, Charlie did the same as the night before, however, after he left, Sasha woke up and saw that Charlie wasn’t beside her. She jumped a bit, looked around and shrugged. “Must’ve gone to bathroom.” She said before returning to sleep. The same thing happened for several nights before Sasha told Bess. “…And his breath smells weird in the morning.” She finished. Bess thought a bit before making a suggestion. “Well, one option is to ask him. Another is to find out what that smell is. The last option I can think of is to stay awake and then follow him, secretly of coarse.” Sasha thought a bit. “Well, what I want to just ask him, but I could never do that. I have no idea what the smell is, so I would have no idea where to start. So I guess I have to follow him, but Bess?” “Yes?” “I’m a little nervous about this.” “You’ll do fine.” Bess assured her.
That night Sasha stayed awake, but looked asleep. Towards midnight, she felt movement next to her, a kiss and a jump off the bed. When she heard Charlie going down the stairs, she came out of bed and began to head towards the stairs. She waited until Charlie was out the door, then followed out the door. Dana and Crystal comforted their mother. Sasha knew what was going to happen and had begun crying. Annabelle watched with interest.
Anyway, back to our little trip in time. Sasha followed Charlie until she came to a hole in the ground, with stairs. She was in the middle of no where and was nervous about what was at the bottom of the stairs. Who wouldn’t be? She slowly but hastily went down the stairs anyway and found herself at a nightclub and Charlie with a mug of a brown liquid and some gambling dogs. She quickly ran out crying. The next day, she told Bess everything.
“Well, the ‘brown liquid’, as you call it, is most likely beer and who knows what else he’s doing down there. Why he’s doing this, I don’t know. But I do now that we shouldn’t let on that we know anything, for now.” Bess finished just before Charlie walked in the café. “Hello, ladies.” He said as he approached them. He doesn’t seem any different.. Bess and Sasha thought as Charlie talked. “So, how does that sound you two?” Charlie asked them. “What’s that Charlie?” Sasha asked. “A day at the beach and then we come back here for dinner.” “Oh, that sounds great.” Sasha said. Bess nodded. Charlie started off towards the beach with Sasha and Bess following.
“He doesn’t seem any different.” Bess whispered to Sasha. “I know. He’s still doing that stuff though.” Sasha whispered back. They had a wonderful time at the beach and a delicious dinner. Sasha and Bess forgot all about Charlie’s nightlife during that time, but after they dropped Bess off, Sasha remembered everything. She decided to let it continue unless it affected his day-life. Well, Charlie was able to continue this schedule for a while, however, after a while Charlie started to harden. He became a bit hot tempered again and not as nice as he had been since he came to San Francisco. Sasha and Bess noticed this and decided to tell Charlie that they knew.
Bess and Sasha would BOTH tell him. When Bess came over to Charlie and Sasha’s, she nodded at Sasha who understood and began to speak. “Charlie, we have something we need to tell you.” Charlie nodded and Bess continued. “Well, um, Charlie, we know…we know what you do at night.” She said. Charlie found this slightly amusing and laughed slightly. “Sure ya do.” Charlie said calmly. “I sleep.” This irritated Bess and Sasha a bit. “No, Charlie. You don’t sleep. You go to some casino or nightclub and drink or something! Charlie, I’m worried about you and I would like to help.” Sasha said, beginning to cry a bit.
Charlie now looked a bit nervous, then said “Well, you can’t really help me too much any more, so let’s just forget this ever happened, ‘k?” Sasha had now begun crying a bit harder now and the fact that Charlie didn’t seem to care irritated her more. “You know what your problem is? Your girlfriend is CRYING and you don’t care. We want to help and you just go and make her cry harder. You’re selfish and mean!” Bess yelled before storming out the door with a slowly decaying Sasha following. Charlie was a bit hurt by Bess’s comments and went up to the bedroom. He lied down; put his head in his paws and a tear rolled down his cheek as he closed his eyes.
Meanwhile, Bess was calling Charlie everything she could think of with Sasha still falling apart. “You know what he is? He’s a no good, vulgar, dirty, mean selfish street mutt. That’s what. No, he’s worse than that, he’s…” Sasha stopped her. “That’s enough Bess. I think I’ll go check on him.” Sasha turned around and headed back towards her home. Bess’s criticism wasn’t helping the situation at all, just making her feel worse. She found Charlie asleep and she curled up with him and Charlie woke up. He looked away from her and she knew why. He didn’t know why he did these things, just that he did. It was too late to just quit in a day. Sasha didn’t know what to say either, so she was about to go to sleep when she felt a kiss. She returned it and the two cuddled for a bit.
The next morning, Charlie wasn’t there. She was startled when she that Charlie wasn’t in the house. She didn’t know where he was until she found a note and began to cry.

Sasha~ If you’re reading this, then I’m in New Orleans. I can’t live with you anymore and nor can you put up with me for much longer. I left for New Orleans shortly after you fell asleep last night. I won’t be returning, so this is goodbye. I hope you find someone who can make you happy. I obviously can’t, not like this anyway. Goodbye and good luck, Sasha. ~Charlie

Tears streamed from Sasha’s eyes as she read this. She ran outside and Bess had been waiting for her to go to the beach. Bess saw her and allowed Sasha to hug her and cry. When Sasha finally calmed down a bit, Bess asked, “What happened?” Sasha continued to cry but handed her the note. Bess gasped and cried slightly when she read the note. She looked at Sasha, who was still crying and back at the note. She ran to her friend’s side and hugged her. Annabelle noticed that the current Sasha was also crying and that Dana and Crystal were comforting her. They watched as the young Sasha slowly fainted and Bess took her to the animal hospital. The vet told them that she was just too depressed and that she was also pregnant. Bess gasped and looked at Sasha, thought of Charlie and became furious. She didn’t show it though. She didn’t want Sasha worrying about her. She had way too much else to worry about.
Annabelle decided to end the flashback, so she clapped her paws and they were back in the present. When Charlie and Flo saw Sasha, Dana and Crystal crying and also slightly Annabelle, Charlie ran to Sasha’s side and hugged her and Flo to Dana and Crystal. Sasha wanted to push Charlie away, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. As Charlie stroked Sasha’s back with his paw, she leaned against Charlie’s soft, furry chest and cried. Dana and Crystal were leaning on Flo and crying also. Annabelle cried just watching the scene.
No one spoke. The only sounds were soft sobs. Flo eventually comforted Dana and Crystal and they watched Charlie and Sasha. They decided to let them have some time alone, so they left the room and Charlie and Sasha continued their stroking and crying. Sasha finally spoke up after she calmed down a bit and with tears in her eyes, she looked up at Charlie and said, “How do you do it? I hate you, but I love you. I want to get as far away as possible but want to be with you. I know you may never be a good father, but I want you. I-I need you.” Charlie didn’t say anything for a bit, then spoke. “Sasha, I love you, but I could never influence them like you want me to. I want to be with you, but I can’t if I’m going to be, well, myself.” Sasha was still crying just looked at Charlie.
“Charlie, I…I…I don’t know what to do anymore. I want to be with you, but you’re right. The kids could never grow up to be, well, good if you’re around.” Sasha leaned on Charlie again and cried some more as Charlie made some suggestions. “Well, what some dogs do is to abandon their kids, but we could never do that. Some would just ignore and neglect their kids, but the result wouldn’t be much different than the result of me living with you three. The last option I can think of, besides not changing anything, is to adjust our lives for the best interest of the kids.” Sasha looked up at him again. “Charlie, that’s usually when the parents are just over worked, over stressed or are just neglecting their kids without meaning to.” “Yeah, that’s true, but I could try.” “Well, I’d love for you to do that, but in the meantime, what should we do?” “Sasha, I…” Charlie started “…I’m not sure.” Sasha shook her head, as she laughed a little, then noticed that Flo, Dana and Crystal were gone. “Now where did they head off to?” “Dunno. Well, they had to go down those stairs, so let’s start there.” Charlie suggested. Sasha nodded and followed Charlie down the cold, stone steps of the church. She smiled as she followed Charlie into the church’s courtyard. When she entered the courtyard, her smile grew.
In the courtyard stood Dana, Crystal and Flo. “Mom, you okay?” Crystal asked her. She saw Sasha and Charlie smiling at each other and knew something had happened to cause them to go from crying to smiling. “What happened?” Dana asked. “I’ll leave you four alone.” Flo said before leaving. She figured that they had family matters to discuss and needed to be left alone. After Flo left, Sasha began to speak. “Well, your father is going to try to give up gambling.” Dana and Crystal smiled and clapped playfully when they heard this. Sasha and Charlie laughed, smiled and nuzzled. “In the meantime, we’re not sure what to do. What do you suggest?” Charlie asked Dana and Crystal. They were happy that someone was asking their opinion on important matters. “Well, if you ask me, I suggest that dad come home with us. After all, if you’re gonna quit, and there aren’t many places for dogs to gamble that I’m aware of in San Francisco, it might be easier.” Dana suggested.
Charlie and Sasha looked at each other, smiled and said “Sure.” “I second that!” a smiling Crystal said enthusiastically. Charlie and Sasha smiled. “Then it’s settled. I’ll return to San Francisco with you and we’ll marry there.” Charlie said before looking at Sasha, who gasped and smiled and squealed. She ran to Charlie’s side and squeezed him. “I’ll take that as a yes?” Charlie asked an overly joyed Sasha. “YES! YES! YES! YES!” Sasha squealed as she continued to squeeze Charlie. Dana and Crystal smiled as they began to realize what just happened and started their own joy party. “YES!” they said happily as they pranced around smiling.
CHAPTER III
Charlie said good bye to Itchy and Flo and hopped on the bus to San Francisco with his fiancée and his two children. Sasha nuzzled Charlie and smiled. Dana and Crystal smiled too. They used the long ride home to bond. When they did return, they saw Bess, who saw Charlie and frowned, then saw Sasha nuzzling him and he her and was confused. Sasha saw her and ran to her with a big smile on her face, squealing. “I’M GETTING MARRIED!” Sasha squealed to Bess who frowned. “To him?” “DUH!” Sasha continued to squeal happily. “Sasha, he hurt you so bad and now your taking him back?” Bess asked, surprised. “We already worked that part out.” Bess looked at Charlie and smiled. “THAT’S SO GREAT!” Bess squealed with Sasha. “I KNOW!” The two continued their squealing conversation and Dana and Crystal watched in disbelief.
“Mom’s acting not acting like a mom. She’s acting like a teen who just got asked out by her long, secretly loved crush.” Dana said jokingly as she pretended to sound and look romantic. “Yeah… Stop before you hurt yourself.” Crystal said before seeing something. “What?” Dana asked as she came out of her romantic daydreaming and looked at a somewhat petrified Crystal. “Mrs. Shiz is coming.” “Oh dear!” Dana squealed comically before pretending to faint with her paw on her forehead. “Oh get up.” Crystal said as she shook Dana. “What is going on here?” Mrs. Shiz asked as she saw Sasha and Bess squealing and Dana and Crystal’s antics.
“Well, we just got back from New Orleans where we found our father and he asked mom to marry him and she accepted. Then aunt Bess came and mom started squealing. We were making fun of it and then you came along and yeah.” Dana said. “Oh, so you found your father? How’s he?” “He seems okay. Apparently the reason they broke up was dad was gambling.” Crystal informed Mrs. Shiz. “Oh dear. He quit all that then?” Mrs. Shiz asked looking at Charlie with a concerned look on her face. “Well…not the gambling. He SAID he was going to try to quit though.” Crystal said. Charlie walked over to the three, walking up right behind Mrs. Shiz and said “Ello.” Mrs. Shiz jumped and Dana and Crystal laughed. Mrs. Shiz smiled when she saw the two laughing. “Well, you seem quite friendly and seem to know these two’s sense of humor.” Mrs. Shiz said, a bit snobbish as she brushed herself off. Charlie nodded then asked, “Who’re ya?” “Their English teacher, Mrs. Shiz. You may call me Karen. And you are?” “Yeah. Their father, Charlie.” “Oh yes. I expect you to quit that gambling of yours to protect my favorite students.” Mrs. Shiz said. “Ya sound like my mother. And yeah, I DO intend to give that up.”
Mrs. Shiz flinched at the way Charlie talked and asked, “How did you do in English, if you went to school at all.” “Aye, yi, yi. So…oh god.” Charlie said as he saw his family coming. “What?” Dana, Crystal and Mrs. Shiz asked. Charlie pointed at the stampede and they got out of the way causing the stampede to stampede into Sasha and Bess’s ongoing conversation. “LONI!” Sasha squealed. Falia hugged Charlie and Eric smiled. Tom and Christy smiled and waved. Hart and Jane did the same. Mrs. Shiz and Bess just stared. “Heh?” They asked. Charlie began introductions. “Bess, Karen, Falia, Eric, Loni, Alex, Vanessa, Hart and Jane.” “Family?” asked Bess. “Yeah, pretty much.” Charlie replied.
Sasha was overjoyed at the site of Loni and ran to hug her. “Loni! I missed you SOOO much!” she exclaimed. Loni smiled and hugged her back. “I’m happy to see you too dear.” Sasha stepped back in disbelief. “What happened to you?” Sasha asked as she studied Loni curiously. “I’m older, dear, that’s all.” Loni said. “Finally some civilization around this motley crowd.” Karen said as she made her way to Loni and shook her hand. “Civilized people do NOT criticize people they do not nor do they touch someone they don’t know very well.” Loni replied. Everyone giggled at Mrs. Shiz who looked completely shocked.
“Now, SASHA! I’M SO GLAD TO SEE YOU!” Loni squealed as she ran to hug Sasha. Everyone but Mrs. Shiz understood what was going on. “I thought you just said…” Karen said, shocked yet again. “I also said if they don’t know the dog very well.” More snickers. “Now, everyone off the street.” Loni pushed the crowd off the street into an alley. Mrs. Shiz was confused. She frowned as she studied Loni, shrugged and followed the group. “Ms. La Fleur, were might your family be?” Loni did the shame sign towards her and said, “Tsk, tsk.” Giggles emerged from the crowd and Sasha spoke, “Coming.” Just at that moment, Ben (Sasha’s father), Gail, Terri and John (Sasha’s brother) came around the corner. Ben and Gail were fighting and Terri and John looked at the big crowd and were confused. “Terri! BEN!” Sasha squealed before embracing her brother and sister who returned the hug.
Gail and Ben were fighting because they had been divorced for quite a while. You haven’t seen John before because he lived with his father in Texas. Naturally, they both had a heavy southern drawl and Ben had an unusually low voice. “SASHA!” John exclaimed. “DADDY!” She squealed happily. Ben hugged Sasha and she hugged him back. Gail didn’t like this. “BEN! How dare you touch her!” “She’s ma daughter.” Ben replied in his deep southern drawl. “I don’t give a kibble about who she is! The whole idea of men and women making physical contact is just…bluh!” “It was just a friendly family hug.” “Nope. I don’t care. No. BLAH, BLAH, BLAH! I’M NOT LISTENING!” Gail covered her ears even though she and everyone knew it didn’t do any good. Everyone giggled as they watched the fight. Meanwhile, Sasha had gone to nuzzle Charlie while Falia and Eric, Hart and Jane, Tom and Christy, and Alex and Vanessa did the same in their pairs. Gail saw this and was overwhelmed. “AAAAHHHHHHHHH! IT’S TOO MUCH! STOP THE INSANTITY!” She yelled as she put her paws on her head and started to walk hastily in squiggly circles.
On a different note, David and Anne Marie were around 20. They had married and hadn’t heard from Charlie since they had seen him with Alex. Sasha had told Anne Marie about what had happened between them and she knew that seemed just like the Charlie she always knew. David had known a very different Charlie and didn’t agree. He and Sasha didn’t understand. Anne Marie told them about how she had met Charlie and everything they had done together. David and Sasha understood a little better now, but not by much. Anne Marie shook her head and gave up.
Now all this commotion had summoned David and Anne Marie. They were out buying things that they needed and had heard all the barking. They peered in the alley and were shocked at the site of so many dogs gathered together. They noticed Charlie and went to ask him what was going on. “Well, me and Sasha are gettin married and then our families came and now we’re all here. That’s Loni, Falia, Eric, Vanessa, Hart, Jane, Tom, Christy, and Sasha’s family, Gail, Terri, John and the other one’s her dad I guess.” Charlie said, pointing to each one as he said the name. “That’s a LOT of dogs.” David said. “Yeah, I know.” Charlie said. David and Anne Marie hugged him. “It’s wonderful to see you again, Charlie. But why did you do that to Sasha? She was heartbroken!” Anne Marie scolded him. “Well, I, uh…” Charlie didn’t want to tell her why and Anne Marie shook her head and laughed “Same old Charlie.” She said before turning to the two still squabbling Irish Setters. “Will you two stop that?” She asked. Gail and Ben looked at her. “And just who might you be?” “My name’s Anne Marie and this is my husband, David.” “GAH! MORE!” Gail screeched and all the canines said, annoyed, “Will you stop that?” Anne Marie giggled and David just stared. He had no idea what was going on. After all, he couldn’t understand dogs. He could understand Charlie, Itchy and Sasha, but that was it. Still, he didn’t know what Gail had said to get every dog in the alley to say the same thing, he inferred.
As Gail and Ben continued squabbling, Anne Marie and David chatted with Charlie a bit more, said their good byes, and left the rather large group alone. “Charlie, I want you to take good care of Dana and Crystal. None of this…gambling and such.” Mrs. Shiz fired up her own argument. “Ya ain’t their mother.” Charlie said. That was enough to begin to set off Mrs. Shiz. “Charlie…Your grammar is just…UH! And the way you talk, that’s worse! You should consider taking night classes at a community college or…something! UH!” Charlie snickered. “Yeah. I should go to school at 36 and do what?” Mrs. Shiz was speechless. “You’re only 36? Your only 10 years older than them.” Mrs. Shiz really had no idea what to say. “Well, your math stinks.” Charlie murmured to himself. Dana and Crystal giggled. “Mrs. Shiz, he’s 20 years older, not 10.” Crystal giggled. “Well, um, that makes me feel a bit better about you living with these two. I still don’t like it.” Karen remarked in her snobby tone.
“Ya make it like I’m doin somethin wrong. I’m their father. It’s not a crime to live with my children.” Charlie replied. Mrs. Shiz hadn’t expected this. She also flinched. “Well, if Dana and Crystal’s grades drop in my class, I blame you!” And with that, Mrs. Shiz flicked her ears and with her chin high; she walked out of the alley. “What just happened?” Sasha asked, hearing the commotion. “I’m not sure. But I think the thing that needs help is your parents over there.” Charlie said, pointing to a STILL quarreling Ben and Gail. Sasha gasped and went over to her parents. “Mom, Dad, can we PLEASE drop all this for a bit? This is a happy time! Wed-ding. Hap-py.” As Sasha continued to attempt to calm down her parents, Falia went over to Charlie. “Well, you seem to have changed since I last saw you. What happened to Flo?” She asked. “That ended like 3 years ago.” Charlie said to Falia. Falia was sorry for asking.
“Sorry, I didn’t know.” She said as if she were ashamed. “It’s okay. I’m over it. Sasha’s great. So, you and Eric doin okay?” “Oh, yes, wonderful.” “The puppies?” “Oh, they’re the same age as Dana and Crystal.” “So, are they coming?” “Oh, yeah. They came with us, actually. They were nervous about meeting Dana and Crystal and you so they went shopping to postpone it as much as possible.” “Ah.” Charlie said. Just as he finished, guess who walked into the alley? You should know that by now. If you don’t, you haven’t been listening. But I’ll tell you anyway. TA DA! Sun, Rain and Ghana, Falia and Eric’s children! Dana and Crystal saw them and immediately ran over to them. “Who’re you?” Dana asked in a friendly voice. “I-I’m Sun. This is Rain and Ghana.” Sun stammered. Rain and Ghana smiled and waved shyly. “OOH! You’re all so cute!” Dana squealed. “Easy Dana. Don’t listen to her, she’s nuts.” Crystal said. The three who snickered a bit. “So, why’re you so shy?” Dana asked. At first no reply came, but eventually Sun spoke up. “W-Well, w-we just kind of are, you know?” “Well, get over it! We’re all friendly here! Except for dad over there, we’re not so sure about him.” Dana said. Charlie heard this and came over. “You Falia’s children?” Sun, Rain and Ghana nodded. “Do ya speak?” He asked. They nodded. “Huh. You crack em girls.” Charlie said before leaving them.
“Yeah, he doesn’t seem that nice at first, but don’t worry, get to know him and you’ll love him.” Crystal assured them. They nodded. “Stop with the nodding! Speak! Rain, Ghana, I haven’t heard you speak yet and we’ve been together for at least 5 whole minutes!” “Cousin, what is your name?” Rain asked timidly. “Do you speak English very often?” Dana asked. Sun answered. “They’re just shy.” Dana and Crystal nodded and said “So, you don’t call me cousin. Call me by name.” Dana said. “Um, we don’t know your name’s. In fact, we don’t know anyone’s names here.” Sun said. “Well, I can see how that could be a bit of a problem.” Dana said. Crystal hit her lightly on the head and laughed. “Dana, Dana. You’re lucky Mrs. Shiz isn’t here.” “Yeah, where’d she go anyway?” “Dad chased her off.” Crystal said. “Anyway, I’m Crystal, this unfortunate soul is Dana, that’s Grandma Loni, Grandma Gail, Grandpa Ben, Aunt Terri, Uncle John, Uncle Tom, Uncle Hart, Aunt Christy, and Aunt Jane.” “Oh. Where is the other Grandfather?” Ghana asked.
“GHANA! YOU SPOKE! YAY!” Dana squealed before squeezing her so tightly she couldn’t breath. All she could manage was a weak “Help.” “Dana! Stop squeezing her before she crosses over!” Crystal scolded Dana. Dana reluctantly released Ghana. “Anyway, Grandpa Burt died a while ago, before mom and dad knew each other.” Crystal said sadly. “Oh, sorry. So, about the scarlet Irish Setter and that guy who came to talk to us, who are they?” Sun asked. “Oh, that’s mom an dad. You’d call them Aunt Sasha and Uncle Charlie.” Dana replied. “Ah.” Sun, Rain and Ghana nodded. “Rain, darling, we are eagerly awaiting your speech.” Dana said. Rain nodded and spoke “Dana, what do you do for fun around here?” she asked. “YAY! SHE KNOWS MY NAME!” Dana squealed. “Of course she does.” Crystal murmured.
“Well, we…um…what do we do?” Dana said. “Well, we…um…I don’t know.” Crystal said. “Well, what do you do when you’re looking for something tot do?” Ghana asked. “We well, I find a guy and go off to a club.” Dana replied. “Well, unlike Dana here, I stay home and help mom with chores or sometimes I have to practice for something like a play or solo.” Crystal said. “Oh. Dana’s way sounds more fun, however, mom would never let us do that.” Rain said. Ghana and Sun nodded. “Oh. Well, our mother doesn’t really mind as long as we don’t get into too much trouble. I don’t think dad gives a kibble about what we do.” Dana paused for a second then said, “As long as we don’t get killed.” Rain, Sun and Ghana giggled. “Of coarse he’d care. If he didn’t, then he’s not much of a father.” Sun said. Rain and Ghana nodded.
“Anyway,” Crystal started. “Right now the only thing I can think of is to go help mom out with her dress, wedding preparations, ect.” Everyone grinned. Dana, Crystal, Sun, Rain, and Ghana raced off to help Sasha. The wedding was soon set and just needed to take place. It did.

CHAPTER IV
Well, the day of the wedding came and the ceremony’s taking place. As the priest dog rambled on, Charlie and Sasha looked at each other lovingly. Flo was in the crowd and wasn’t taking it very well. She almost got up to stop the wedding once, but Bess stopped her. She just reluctantly sat there, arms crossed, wondering why she came. When the priest asked for rejections, she didn’t say anything, knowing that Charlie would never forgive her for it. Everyone else was enjoying it. Loni cried, wishing Burt could have seen it. “Do you, Charlie Barkin, take Sasha La Fleur to be your lovely wedded wife and stick together as long as you both shall live?” Charlie looked at Sasha and said, “I do.” Sasha smiled. “Do you, Sasha La Fleur, take Charlie Barkin to be your lovely wedded husband and stick together as long as you both shall live?” Sasha said the same. “You may kiss the bride.” The priest concluded and they did.
The after party was wonderful too. Everyone had a wonderful time. Charlie and Sasha danced together. Dana’s latest boyfriend showed up on the porch of the country club where the party was being held. This was the first boyfriend out of thousands she actually loved and Charlie and Sasha gave her permission to go and talk to him. She exited the club and went out on the porch to see him.
“Hey.” She said. “Hey.” He replied. “So, what’re you doing here?” “I came to see you.” “I know that part, but how’d you know I was here?” “I found out. So, is that your real father or step?” “Father.” Dana replied. “Your parents are getting remarried then?” Dana didn’t reply right away and looked down. “Well, no. They were never married in the first place.” “Sorry. I didn’t know.” “It’s okay. So, do you wanna come in?” “Is it okay?” “Of coarse it is! I wouldn’t ask you if it wasn’t!” Dana laughed and pulled her boyfriend, Mark, into the club.
Charlie came over to them. “Who’s this?” he asked. “Dad, this is Mark, my boyfriend.” Dana said happily. “Ah. Nice ta meet ya. Have fun.” Charlie said with a wink and joined Sasha and the rest of the group. Crystal, Rain, Sun, and Ghana came over. “Dana, who’s this? Your latest boyfriend I see?” Crystal teased. “Dude, don’t worry if she dumps you. It’s natural.” She whispered. Dana heard this and WAS NOT happy. “Crystal! I happen to like Mark and this is the FIRST boyfriend I DON’T plan on dumping.” Dana scolded. Rain, Sun and Ghana looked confused. “Huh?” they asked. “Oh, Mark, these are my cousins, Rain, Sun and Ghana.” Dana said.
“Hi.” They said and waved. “Father’s side or mother’s?” Mark asked. “It should be obvious.” Sun giggled. Mark looked at Sasha, then at Charlie, then back at Sun, Rain and Ghana and said “Whoops.” Sun, Rain, Ghana, Crystal and Dana all giggled. Dana soon pulled Mark off to dance and Rain, Sun and Ghana went off to dance together and Crystal was left alone. After a few songs, Dana came over and left Mark alone. He had said he was tired and Dana went off to dance with Crystal. Charlie saw that Mark was alone and went to talk to him.
“Hey.” Charlie said as he approached Mark. Mark had been daydreaming and jumped a little. Charlie laughed a little and then asked “What’re ya doin over here? You should be with Dana.” Charlie said. Mark thought a little then said “Well, I saw Crystal here alone and…why do you care?” “I care about Dana and was wondering.” Charlie said a little irritated. Mark stepped back a little then said, “You don’t seem like much of the father type. You know the way you talk, the way you look, everything about you. Nothing really seems, well, fatherly.” Mark said. Charlie looked at Mark and was about to snap at him, but instead said, “Yeah, I know.” He looked down when he said it. Mark felt a little bad that he had said that. “I’m sorry.” He apologized. “It’s okay. I know I’m not father material, but…” Charlie stopped there. Mark nodded. “Well, I was thinking, that me and Sasha are still kinda young and Dana and Crystal are almost ready to leave home, and…you know.” Charlie said.
“Yeah, I know, but in the four years they have left, well, a lot can happen.” Mark said. “I know and I’m not sure what I’m gonna do about that. But now that they found me, it would be too hard for everyone to separate and never see each other again.” “Yeah, I can see how that might be a problem. All I’m saying is that if I DO marry her, I don’t want her all messed up.” Mark said. “I don’t think there’s much more ya can do to her.” Charlie said, meaning it as a joke. Mark didn’t really like this remark, but held his tongue. He left Charlie and went over to Dana. They danced and Charlie returned to Sasha. After that, the party went smoothly.
In the years that passed, Charlie was able to quit gambling again and Dana and Crystal grew up wonderfully. Dana and Mark never parted and they married at 20. Crystal did not get married and became an actress/signer. Dana and Mark had their own children and Loni was extremely happy. She was now a great grandparent, grandparent and parent. However, she was getting old and soon joined her husband. Gail and Ben joined shortly after and Charlie and Sasha followed with the rest of their generation. Charlie didn’t have much trouble settling in. After all, He had been there at least 2 times before. Dana and Mark had no marriage problems and they lived happily, as did Crystal, Rain, Sun and Ghana. 

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