Page Two Hundred Fifty-Nine.
Well, it wasn't so much of a fight as it was a run and hide; which our dogs did, in fright, for they'd never seen Seven Dwarfs before. You know how some poodles get. All bark, but no real bite. Some poodles bite, of course, adding salt, pepper and a little freshly ground nutmeg for flavor, but not these guys. They just yip and yap and hide behind furniture or human legs if a stranger approaches. In this case, they ran around and arfed obnoxiously as the dwarfs merely looked at them. But our dwarfs were also especially smart today, even Dopey. They brought with them a secret weapon to guarantee success with said trouble-making canines: doggie bags filled with leftover Empress Chicken from Hunan's. (It was Doc's idea.)
They all, except Sleepy, opened their stapled, brown, paper bags, took out the round, black, plastic containers which looked like flying saucers, opened them and held them out. Once the doggies approached, sniffed the sweet/spicy/citrus concotion and started gulping, which didn't take but a moment, the dwarfs, except Sleepy, slowly backed out the tiny door which they came through and led the pups up and out. Meanwhile, Sleepy untied our hero in between yawns, then exited and joined his six best buds. And of our evil villainess? She just stood there, stunned and slightly scared by Dopey's lone tooth in the middle of his upper gum.
So now it was only Quito and Wanda, alone in the room. Quito stared at her without blinking and began barking. "While I was in your head discovering that you were scared of the Seven Dwarfs, I learned some things about you, Wanda. And I just want to tell you that you don't have to be so scared of people leaving you. You don't have to pretend to be tough just to protect yourself."
Quito barked very quietly, just above a whisper. "I know that one day when you were a puppy you were playing with your mother and when you tossed the silver, plastic frisbee into the street, she chased it and got killed by that screeching, little, red Corvette. Even today, the smell of gasoline sometimes makes you cry. I know that nobody knows who your dad is. I know that you were passed from house to house during your puppy-time because you were so unruly, what with your incessant howling of loneliness and guilt. I know that you inherited the Villain Dental Clinics only because you became a waitress in a black and white-style diner; and you befriended Mr. Villain, your regular customer, before he died. He had no family so he left you his fortune. You only changed your name to Villain to enter high-society. I know you've had a rough life, Wanda. I get it. But, it's not going to get better until you can be honest and open with yourself and others. You have to heal. You need to tell people when you're scared, lonely and crying on the inside. Don't just chase people away thinking they're going to eventually leave you or hate you anyway."
Quito continued, but his arf changed and got tougher." Now, we both know I can pummel you into oblivion. But I don't think you'd become obedient if I did that. I also know that you're not a thoroughly evil dog, just a dog in pain. Some dogs really are evil. You're not one of them."
Wanda didn't say a word while he was talking. She was shamed, terrified and had tears rolling from her red eyes down her snout. She looked to the grey concrete floor a lot and whenever she looked up and caught his gaze, she got embarrassed and looked away, crying more. Quito stared at her intensely and thought about what he would do.
"I think you need to start helping others, not just yourself." He took another long pause and looked off into outer space, somewhere. Minute passed with neither of them barking. "I have an idea. Yup, I have a good idea", our long-haired dog finally said.
Continued Next Week... Chapter 15. Wanda's Sentence.
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