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“You sure you don’t want me driving you back?” Tyler said, allowing her to get in front of him as they went back downstairs.
“No.” It was not a particularly difficult journey to Nevermore. Wednesday didn’t need him wasting any of his gas to take her there. “I need time to myself so I may decompress before I am overwhelmed with the urge to pull Enid’s intestines out.”
He laughed. “Okay. You do that.”
The Sheriff was sitting at the kitchen table, scanning his eyes over the mail they’d just received. He gave them a quick look as they started to pass by. “Don’t forget we’re going away this weekend, Ty.”
This stopped the both of them in their tracks. Tyler frowned at his father. “What for?”
The Sheriff rolled his eyes, giving Wednesday the impression that they’d already gone over this. “We’re going to see your Great Aunt Ruth, remember?”
“Uh, no.”
“Next time I’ll have Addams relay it to you, might remember it then,” The Sheriff said sarcastically.
“I wouldn’t count on it, Sheriff,” Wednesday spoke up. “He doesn’t always listen to me either.” That was mostly because he became lost as he stared at her.
“Hey, no ganging up on me,” Tyler protested playfully, using one arm to bring her closer to him.
“And what do you intend on doing about it?” Wednesday looked into his eyes, chin tilted upward.
“I have a few ideas in mind,” he whispered slyly.
A sigh from the left of them could be heard. Three guesses as to who that was.
“You kids are gonna make me drink,” The Sheriff grumbled.
“You mean we have not already?” Wednesday looked back at Tyler. “I am quite disappointed in us.” Her boyfriend had to look away, clearly fighting back laughter.
“One of these days, Addams...”
“One of these days what ?” She asked, a challenge to her words. “We will accomplish our goal? I should hope so.”
After that, the Sheriff chose to deliberately ignore her. Instead, he focused back on his son. “We’re gonna have to figure out something for Elvis.”
“Why?” Tyler was instantly alarmed. “We can take him with us.”
“Not to Aunt Ruth’s,” The Sheriff said scoldingly as though Tyler should have known that. “She’s allergic to dogs, Ty. You know this.”
By the look on his face, Wednesday would wager to say that he did not.
“Well, what are we supposed to do?” Tyler said uneasily.
The Sheriff shrugged. "I don't know. I'll figure out something."
“What, like a boarding place?” Tyler didn’t like the sound of that.
“You know how much those things cost?” The Sheriff was instantly against it. He shook his head, sighing. “Look, I’ll have to find somebody that can come over.”
“ Who ?” Tyler was very protective of his dog and wouldn’t be comfortable with just anyone coming over.
“I don’t know,” the Sheriff said, annoyed. “It’ll be expensive either way.”
Wednesday’s eyes drifted over to where Elvis laid obediently under the table by the Sheriff’s feet. In all her time coming over to the Galpin household, he’d always been relatively well behaved.
“Are you sure we can’t take him with us?” Tyler was still conflicted with the idea of leaving the canine behind.
“What did I just say?” The Sheriff said with exasperation.
“Oh, come on. We could find a hotel-”
“Absolutely not!”
“I’ll watch over him,” Wednesday said suddenly.
“What?” Both Galpin men echoed. They stared at her--Tyler with immense gratitude and the Sheriff with skepticism.
“I will watch over Elvis,” Wednesday repeated herself. “You may go visit your family and be rest assured that he is well taken care of.”
“Why?” The Sheriff was suspicious. “Why would you wanna do that, Addams?”
“ Dad ,” Tyler gave him a look.
“To operate illegal practices, of course,” she said, staring the sheriff straight in the eyes.
“You think I’m letting you in this house without anyone else here?” The Sheriff ignored her previous quip. “Forget it. It ain’t happening.”
“You’d really do that?” Tyler asked her.
“I offered,” she pointed out. “I don’t intend to back out.”
“It’s not happening,” the Sheriff said, stubbornly.
“Dad,” Tyler was trying to persuade him, “you said a sitter or a boarding place would be too expensive. This’ll be way better. Besides, Elvis knows Wednesday. Remember that time he bit Lucas’ dad? He won’t bite her.”
“Pity,” Wednesday remarked.
The Sheriff grunted, rubbing his face tiredly. “I don’t want Addams here alone.”
“Why?” Tyler said incredulously. “What exactly do you think she’ll do, blow up the house?”
“Tyler, you mustn’t give away my plan,” Wednesday said just to antagonize the sheriff further. She was not bothered nor fooled by the scolding look Tyler gave her, not when his eyes betrayed him by shimmering with amusement. “Sheriff, I have no ill intentions that would come with my offer. I can promise you that.”
He stared at her for a long while, trying to decide if he could take her word for it. “You’d really watch over Elvis?”
“Yes.”
“You’d have to play with him,” he said as a means of warning. “He needs to be taken for a walk too. He’s got a lot of energy and he’ll start destroying stuff if he gets cooped up for too long.”
“I understand.”
Massaging his temples, he said, “You even have any experience with dogs, Addams?”
“No.” She never owned one as a pet and she’d never been around someone that did before she got together with Tyler. “But it cannot be that difficult.”
Neither the Sheriff or Tyler said anything. She could see his father thinking it over, looking at her with a calculating glance. “Alright,” he said and she heard an enthusiastic yes coming from Tyler. “Fine. You win. But you better not screw this up, Addams.”
Tyler’s school was out for an improvement day and both Jericho high as well as Nevermore wouldn’t be having classes on that Monday coming up for a holiday that Wednesday did not bother knowing the name of. Her free period just so happened to be around the same time they would be leaving for New Hampshire where Tyler’s Great Aunt Ruth lived. Speed-walking into Jericho, she made it to the Galpin house just as they were packing up the car.
“Hey,” Tyler smiled at her as she came up the driveway. “I wasn’t sure if you’d make it or not.”
“I told you I would,” Wednesday gave him a quick kiss, tasting coffee on his lips.
“You know you’re the best girlfriend ever, right?” He kept his hands on her waist. “Seriously, thanks for doing this.”
“It is no trouble,” Wednesday could handle a dog of all things.
“Call me or Dad if--” He started to say and retracted his partial statement. “Call me if he gives you any problems.”
“I won’t have to,” she wouldn’t even if he did.
At that moment, the Sheriff came out of the house, carrying a duffle bag. “Addams,” he said as a way of greeting.
“Sheriff.”
“You’re still sure about this?” he said.
“Yes,” she confirmed.
"Thank you," he said gruffly. "Suppose I owe you now."
“That isn’t necessary,” Wednesday disagreed, hiding a wicked smile from coming through. “Tyler can pay me back later for this.”
It didn't take long for both Galpin men to understand her meaning. The Sheriff grimaced, going back into the house whilst grumbling incoherently to himself.
Wednesday was pleased with herself.
Tyler, with his cheeks flushed, murmured, “You can’t just say things like that when I have minutes left with you.” His fingertips were on the waistband of her skirt, itching to rip it off and caress her skin. Wednesday knew it would drive him crazy, make him ache with desire.
Hence why she said it.
Tyler met her halfway when she stood on her tiptoes. It was the last kiss they were going to get for at least three days. That statement made her sound desperate, as if she couldn’t go long without him. It should have angered her. She should have pushed him away from her, but found it rather difficult to do with the desire she was overcome with. And another emotion she didn’t want to acknowledge.
“I’ll call you,” he promised, their foreheads resting against each other. “Every night.”
It wasn’t until he hugged her, the kind with maximum pressure just how she liked it, that Wednesday came to the reality of him actually leaving. It was foolish to feel anything . He wasn’t going to be gone for good. But she was so used to seeing him often, knowing he was close if she needed a ride or if she chose to be with him.
Within a few hours, he would be a state over .
She found herself doing what she didn’t usually do--she hugged him back just as tightly. Wednesday was still not a hugger, she might loosely hold him back but otherwise, Tyler was the one giving the hugs.
Until this time.
She knew it was pathetic of her, but she couldn’t care less about that right now.
“I’ll miss you,” he mumbled near her ear.
“I shall miss you too,” she said quietly.
Wednesday returned to the Galpin house later that afternoon after her classes were over for the day. Enid has begged her to come, insisting she could be of great help because she adored dogs but Wednesday refused to allow it. There was no need to confuse the canine. There was no telling how he would be now that his owners were gone.
When she arrived, Elvis perked up, hardly letting her into the house when he ambushed her, effectively knocking her over on her back. It took a lot to suppress her temper, especially when he licked all over her face. “Stop it!” She ordered. “Stop it you stupid mutt! This is unbecoming for you!”
She was able to gently push it off of her, getting to her feet with a huff. Elvis was as tactile and downright irritating as Tyler was normally. She’d witnessed how affectionate he was with his dog, cooing at it in a ridiculous high pitch voice, letting it slobber all over him and even kissing the blasted canine on the top of his head. Wednesday never spoke against it, but no one better be expecting the same thing out of her. Tyler was extraordinarily lucky she did what she did with him .
“Do you need to relieve yourself?” Wednesday articulated her words carefully. Elvis barked. She took it as an affirmative. “Alright, I will take you. We will get the walk out of the way as well. Come along.” She opened the door, but the dog remained where he was. What was the problem? “Elvis, come here,” she commanded.
Elvis trotted off to his water bowl, ignoring Wednesday completely.
He dared?
“I understand you may be missing Tyler and the Sheriff but I am here now and you will obey me!” Wednesday tapped her foot, waiting for him to finish. Perhaps a refreshing beverage was all he needed before venturing out.
But as it so happened, she was wrong. Elvis jumped onto the couch, settling his head down for a nap. Wednesday glared. She was not going to beg. While she was not exactly keen on touching Elvis, she might have to drag him out there if need be. Sometimes Kitty Kat would have to be picked up by father and Pugsley so she could use the outside facilities. Thunder scared him terribly so he preferred staying indoors after a thunderstorm.
Rolling up her sleeves, Wednesday bent down to pick up the animal. Elvis whined at the interruption from his nap, becoming even more resistant the closer they got to the door. He squirmed until he became free, running up the stairs to get away from her. This was simply ridiculous .
Wednesday didn’t want to call Tyler. She didn’t want to admit to having any trouble, especially so soon after they’d left. But she was running out of options. Sooner or later, Elvis would need to relieve himself and she would rather not clean the mess up inside.
Swallowing her pride, she pressed call on Tyler’s contact.
“Hey, everything okay?” came his greeting.
“Your dog is broken,” she told him bluntly.
“....I don’t know how to interpret that.”
“He is quite frustrating,” she complained. “I was going to let him relieve himself and take him for a walk but he refuses to step outside.”
“Did you put the leash on?”
Ths stumped Wednesday. “What?”
“The leash, Wednesday,” Tyler said with a bit of laughter in his voice. “Did you push the leash on him? Dad trained him so he won’t go outside without it.”
Now that she was aware, she did notice a leash hanging up on a hook.
“Yes, obviously.”
“Okay,” Tyler said casually “Because if you didn’t, that would probably be why.”
“I’m hanging up now.”
“Wait,” he said and she paused. “You read the instructions, right?”
Silence...
“I left instructions on the kitchen table,” he clarified.
“Of course I did!” She snapped. She had not. She didn’t even check for any notes he could have written for her.
The note was indeed on the table, the instructions ranging from how much food to give Elvis to the amount of shampoo to use on him if he needed a bath.
Wednesday would not be bathing the mutt. He could stay caked in mud for all she cared.
“I put the food in the pantry. We don’t really have a place for it, though,” she could practically see him shrugging.
Wednesday opened the pantry door, her face morphing into a glare. “ Tyler.”
“ What?” He asked.
“ Do you have any idea where you put the food?” she tilted her head upwards towards the package of dog food that was a shelf too high for her to reach.
“Sorry,” Tyler snickered. “I forgot how short you are.”
“I’ll rip your neck off your body.”
“I dunno, Addams. If you can’t even reach the dog food , I don’t think you’ll reach my neck.”
“ Goodbye , Tyler!”
“I love you,” he said sweetly.
“I don’t care!”
Wednesday nearly tripped over her own foot as she tried keeping up with Elvis. The dog was ecstatic to get out of the house, eager to sniff and examine everything and everyone. She was struggling to keep up with him and his strong pull on the other end of the leash.
It only grew worse from there when she ran into Xavier.
“Hey,” he called, approaching her just as she’d ordered him not to do. “What are you doing with a dog?”
“I’m training him to be my loyal slave and attack those that bother me.”
Elvis did not get the memo, unfortunately. He jumped up at Xavier, happily accepting scratches under his chin.
“Oh, yeah?” Xavier grinned. “Might wanna consider a different dog to do your bidding.”
“What do you want, Xavier?” Wednesday said impatiently.
“Just making conversation with a friend.”
“Then you should go find them instead of talking to me.”
“You’re a real riot,” Xavier said sarcastically, casting a glance at the dog. “So, watching Galpin’s dog, huh?”
“You recognize him?”
“Yeah,” Xavier shrugged. “Galpin’s dad takes him everywhere. And I’m a bit surprised to see you with him.”
“What I do on my own time is none of your business,” she said, giving a tug on the leash so Elvis would start moving again.
She continued on their aimless walk.
Tyler didn’t specify how long Elvis’ walks were supposed to be. She figured walking around town was enough of one. Veering off the sidewalk and onto the grass, she avoided the mud puddles at all costs so she wouldn’t have to wipe mud off her boots.
Well, this could be worse.
Elvis suddenly yanked on the leash, causing Wednesday to fall face-first into a mud puddle.
She ended up having to give him a bath.
After getting herself cleaned up, Wednesday became aware of the muddy paw prints that Elvis caused in the house. She’d have to do something about those too. The Sheriff wouldn’t be too happy to come back to find those tracked in.
“We will make this quick,” she told Elvis matter-of-factly. “I will rinse you off and get you out of here. This will not be a tedious affair.”
Of course, he didn’t understand her. That was perfectly fine. Wednesday would rather work with a mindless animal than a person who would easily grate on her nerves, not that Elvis was entirely innocent either.
The process was not too bad. Elvis whined a bit, not pleased with being lathered in the chilly shampoo, but he did not try to escape. All the while, Wednesday’s thoughts, admittedly, drifted to Tyler. She wondered what he was doing. Their phone call last night after he got settled in at his Great Aunt Ruth’s place was brief, exhausted after sitting in the car for so long.
“How’s Elvis?” Tyler asked sleepily.
“He is not dead.”
“That’ll reassure Dad, at least.” She heard some background noise, some shuffling around. “It’s pretty boring here.”
“Are there other relatives staying there as well, or just you and your father?”
“There’s a few others,” he said. “But there’s no one else around my age so it sucks.”
“I would give you a few of my cousins. Or sacrifice them. I would have successfully done the latter last holiday if Pugsley hadn’t interrupted me.”
“You can try again this year,” he said.
Wednesday came back to reality just in time for Elvis to shake off the excess water--most of which ended up on her.
By Saturday, Elvis was not happy with the too-quiet house, now realizing that his owners weren’t coming back right away. He howled repetitively, scratching at Tyler’s bedroom door as if he were on the other side. Nothing Wednesday did could calm him down.
She was not equipped to comfort anyone, let alone a dog. The last time Enid was bawling over something her mother had said to her, Wednesday had inadvertently made it worse. It bothered her, of course, she liked to cause friction on purpose, not have it be accidental.
“You are fine,” she said to Elvis. “They are not leaving you with me forever.”
She shuddered at the thought.
There might be something on the list, she thought to herself. Tyler left instructions for practically everything else. Surely there had to be some advice on there on how to calm the canine down.
Her eyes narrowed after she scanned it. He is not serious .
There, right in the middle of the page in Tyler’s scribbly handwriting, were the words play Jailhouse Rock if he gets antsy. He loves that song .
Just below it was some additional writing. Yes, I’m serious, Wednesday;)
Ridiculous. He was anthropomorphizing him!
Wednesday didn’t think it would work. Regardless, she turned on the stereo and placed the CD inside, once she found it after searching through a pile of them, that is. Right as the stereo began to come to life and the music came out, Elvis cocked his head to the side, setting his butt down on the floor. His cries, quieting down to whimpers, eventually stopped.
Wednesday couldn’t help it. She scowled.
Tyler failed to mention that it would take playing the song over and over again to keep Elvis at bay. As soon as it ended, he would be right back to scratching at the door and howling. Wednesday swore she was going to pour bleach in her ears so she wouldn’t have to listen to the same blasted lyrics anymore.
Tyler Galpin was a dead man when he came back and that was a promise.
Tyler didn’t call that night. Wednesday was truthfully a little disappointed but she would take that with her to the grave.
It was nearly curfew but she was hardly worried. For just a few minutes longer she would stay, just so she could take Elvis outside before departing until tomorrow. For now, she sat on the couch with a novel she was currently reading.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the dog sitting on the floor beside her with his big eyes watching her. Wednesday disregarded him. Thus far, he’d kept an appropriate distance and didn’t try to force any affection from her other than yesterday when she first arrived.
Whining, Elvis nudged her leg with his head. Pursing her lips, she glanced at him.
“What do you want? I am clearly busy.”
She let out a noise of irritation when Elvis hopped up on the couch, laying across her lap.
This was completely unacceptable. “You have been nothing but a menace,” she groused. “I shouldn’t indulge you when you don’t even deserve it.”
It was impossible to sit correctly with her spine straight up as she liked to. Elvis was forcing her to lean back, similarly to how Tyler would sit.
Tyler . It was strange not having him around at her disposal. A part of Wednesday scolded herself for being no better than Enid. She’d seen him yesterday morning. It should be enough to handle until Monday.
When did love make her so pathetic?
“I don’t like you,” Wednesday grumbled, begrudgingly petting the dog from his head down to near his tail. “This is a momentary truce only.”
Elvis seemed to snuggle closer after that.
On Sunday evening, Wednesday put her textbook down at the sound of a car door. Upon further inspection, she saw that the Sheriff’s truck was parked in the driveway. They were back early. Tyler was first in the door, carrying his duffle bag over his shoulder. He broke out into a smile at the sight of her.
“Hey.”
“Hello,” Wednesday allowed him to kiss her. “You are back early.”
“Yeah,” Tyler sighed at this. Coming past them, the sheriff was grumbling to himself. Wednesday noted that he was doing that a lot lately. “Dad had a bit of a fight with my aunt and uncle.”
“Did they kick you out?”
“No, but Dad chose to leave. They were getting on his nerves.”
Wednesday liked hearing this. It pleased her to hear of life being difficult for his father. After all, causing it herself was one of her favorite pastimes.
“How was the visit otherwise?” She inquired.
He shrugged. “Okay, I guess. I missed you, though. Sorry I couldn’t call last night. I was trying to keep Uncle Greg and Dad from killing each other.”
“I hear it is tradition for some families to fight until the death,” she said.
He smirked. “I did get some video of it if you wanna watch.” At that moment, he noticed the absence of his dog and looked around. “Where’s Elvis?”
“Asleep on the couch,” Wednesday told him.
“Already?”
“He had a busy morning. He was quite rowdy so I took him outside to play.”
“ You played with him?” Tyler said skeptically.
“I can throw a frisbee, Tyler.”
“My mistake,” he held up his hands. Then he gave her another kiss. “Thank you, Wednesday. I really appreciate this.”
“You’re welcome,” Wednesday said.
As they started to go upstairs, he said, “So tell me how I’m paying you back for all this.”
“You will start with quads,” she said and he laughed. “I have gone far too long without them.”
“Your wish is my command, Addams.”
Things settled back into their normal rhythm after that. Wednesday laid across his bed, shoulder to shoulder with him as he showed her the video from the previous night. She watched as Sheriff Galpin’s face was the reddest she’d ever seen, this Uncle Greg eliciting a smirk from Wednesday for his quick wit.
And while it was indeed true that Elvis was asleep on the couch, it was not technically from being outside that afternoon. She hadn’t lied; he was annoyingly rowdy and she did try to tak e him out. But it didn’t do anything to curb his enthusiasm. So she made an impromptu trip to the local drug store.
Nothing a little dog-friendly melatonin couldn’t fix.