Chapter XVI: Watch and learn
Jennifer soon returned with a large puppy bottle in her hand. The bottle contained a milky colored substance. She helped her charge to sit up and supported his upper body while attempting to put as little physical strain on him as possible.
Aran nursed from bottle with a steady pace, while his caretaker smilingly hummed the tune of a nursery song. The liquid had a familiar taste; the wolf recognized it as the formula he had drank on his first day.
Eventually, he had drained the bottle and Jennifer took the nipple out of his muzzle. She put the empty bottle down on the coffee table, then sat back and tried to make Aran comfortable.
"There, there. That feels better, doesn't it?"
The wolf nodded slowly.
"Seems like you were hungrier than you thought," Jennifer mused.
"My entire body feels weird, so I'm not really accurate at estimating anything, I guess."
"That's okay," she reassured.
There was a short silence.
"Jennifer? While I was waiting for you to get that bottle, I was looking around a bit and something struck me as odd."
"What is it, pup?"
He extended his arm, pointing in the general direction of the fireplace.
"There's a picture of a dog on the mantelshelf. He's dressed as like puppy, but it looks like he's only a bit younger than me."
The portrait showed a happy smiling Golden Retriever, dressed in navy blue shorts and a plain green t-shirt. The shirt was too short to hide the waistband of a diaper peeking out, however. To complete the image, there was a pacifier connected to the collar of the dog's shirt by a cord and a clip.
"That's Wesley, my first charge. He was seventeen when that picture was taken."
"Do you have a picture of your other charge as well?"
"No, I snapped that photo as a keepsake. I took it on the day I heard that Wesley had graduated."
"Did he still attend high school while he was your puppy?"
"Oh no, of course not. He graduated from our program, which means that he had overcome his personal problems and was ready to face society again. The pup finished his high school about two years ago."
"But why don't you have a picture of your other charge? Hasn't he graduated yet?"
"It's a she, actually, but she indeed has not graduated yet. I've taken care of her for quite a few months now, but there are still some hurdles she has to overcome."
"Wait, if she's still your charge, where is she now?" Aran asked, cocking his head.
"She's sleeping over at a fellow caregiver, so you can get accustomed to your treatment on your own pace."
"Will she return here?"
"Of course, little one. She's not done yet. Besides, interaction with other puppies is a vital part of our program. It's all about rehabilitating people, which can be required in various ways. Most of it is socially and emotionally, but we also have charges like you, who need to break bad habits like drug usage. Speaking of which, are you feeling better already?"
"It doesn't feel like I'm on fire anymore, but on the other paw, that doesn't mean that I feel great either."
"We'll just take it easy. I didn't have any big plans for you today anyway, so it won't hurt."
Aran groaned.
"Sorry, I meant that figuratively," Jennifer corrected herself.
"That's okay," he said, followed by a sigh. "I don't feel like doing anything at the moment. Is that a problem?"
"I don't think so. You know what? I could carry you to the playroom, so you can watch some television, would you like that?"
"I guess so," Aran replied, but a thought hit him when Jennifer lifted him from the couch. "I suppose you're not going to let me watch anything that suits my age, are you?"
"I have a wide collection of cartoons and movies that are just fine for puppies, don't worry," she reassured.
"We both know that's not what I meant," Aran pouted.
"Don't fret, little one. You might actually enjoy it."
The collie opened the door with her elbow and put her charge down on a soft beanbag chair Aran had not noticed earlier. She took a key from her pocket and unlocked the wooden cabinet, revealing a fairly large television. The wolf tried to position himself in such a way that he felt the least uncomfortable while Jennifer turned the television on.
"Since you're probably going to pout about any piece of my collection, I've picked a show for you. Maybe you'll like it."
"It's not for actual puppies, is it?"
Jennifer chuckled.
"Why d'you ask? You are a puppy, remember?"
The wolf wanted to reply, but ultimately decided to keep his muzzle shut. He was not really up for an argument. Besides, the collie would probably win. Aran leaned back a little and decided to watch at least a part of the show in case Jennifer was planning to ask him questions about it.
Like Aran expected, he did not find the show enthralling at first, and the theme song was even within the range of 'annoying'. The cartoon was about five youngsters that got themselves in all kinds of trouble, only so the watchers within the target audience could learn from the mistakes the cartoon characters made.
He quickly lost his focus on the plot and let his thought wander, in a state of mind somewhere between waking and sleeping. Just before the end of the episode, something caught Aran's attention. A black Labrador, who was apparently one of the main characters, was engaged in a misunderstanding with a roe deer.
They ended up in a socially awkward situation in which both characters had to apologize to each other. The episode ended with the dog writing in his diary about what he had experienced. In his last paragraph, the young Labrador wrote that he found it hard to apologize for what he had done, but that it made him feel better in the end.
Aran shook his head with a sigh. If only his problems were as easy to solve as in the show. He would not even begin to think of forgiving his mother for what she did to him, let alone how his father had behaved for all of those years.
No, he did not want their apology. What could he do with that? It was not like the wolf had even the slightest intention of forgiving either of his parents. They had deeply hurt him and no mere apology could make up for that.
On the contrary, Aran had started to teach himself how to box and had begun to take steroids to build his strength, so he could beat up his father the next time he would run into that pathetic pile of canine fur.
He told himself that he did not care whether his father would show remorse. Even if he did, it would be a cold day in hell before Aran would believe the old wolf, let alone appreciate it. His father had had enough chances - his time was up.