Marley and Me Chapter 1-5 (3)
"That's wonderful," Jenny said. "It shines better than before."
Jenny wore that chain for years. When I saw it, I always thought of Marley.
Our son was born in St. Mary's Hospital in Palm Beach. We called him Patrick, an Irish name.
"Things are going to change at home for Marley now, said Jenny. "Maybe he won't like the changes."
I brought Jenny and Patrick home from the hospital. Patrick was asleep and we put him on our bed. Then we went to the garage and brought Marley into the house. He followed Jenny into the bedroom, but he didn't see Patrick on the bed.
Then Patrick made a small noise and Marley's ears went up.
Where did that noise come from?
Patrick made another noise. Marley held up a paw, and Jenny and I watched him.
"What's Marley going to do?" I thought.
Marley jumped up onto the bed. I pulled him back quickly and held him. Patrick's eyes were very wide. But Marley didn't want to hurt Patrick. He sniffed all around him.
Now Marley had a new best friend. When he was near Patrick, he wasn't wild and crazy. At night, he slept under Patrick's bed.
Six months later, Patrick started to move around. Marley lay on the floor and Patrick climbed over him. Sometimes Patrick pulled Marley s fur. But Marley lay quietly and didn't move.
We were parents now and we were happy. We had our wonderful baby. We had our dog. We had our house by the ocean. Life was good.
Then, when Patrick was nine months old, Jenny said, "I'm going to have another baby."
CHAPTER FIVE
Difficult Days
Sometimes, bad things happened in our street.
One night, in October, Jenny and I were in bed. Marley lay on the floor next to me. Suddenly, I heard a cry - the cry of a girl. It came from the street outside.
I felt afraid, but I jumped out of bed. "Come with me, Marley," I said.
"Please, John, don't go out there," said Jenny.
"Call the police," I said. "I'll be careful."
I held Marley by the end of his chain. The girl cried again. We went outside, and a man ran away down the street. Two young men ran to me.
"Go and stay with the girl," they shouted. "Help her. We're going after the man."
I ran to the girl. She was my neighbor's daughter, Lisa. She was seventeen years old. Her shirt was red and wet.
"What happened?" I asked.
"I was in my car," she said. "A man got in and put his hand over my mouth." He said, "Don't make a noise! But I did, and he cut me with his knife."
I held Lisa in my arms. "It's going to be all right," I said. But I didn't really think that. Lisa's face was gray, and she was very weak.
I looked at Marley. He stood and looked down the street. He looked strong and ready for a fight. Nobody could get past him.
Some minutes later the police arrived, with doctors, and they took Lisa away. A policeman asked me questions. Then I went home with Marley.
Jenny met us at the door.
"Marley was a different dog tonight," I said. "Nothing can hurt us when he's with us." I looked at Marley. "You did well tonight," I said.
Lisa didn't die. She got well again. But I never forgot that night.
One night, when Jenny and I were in bed, she said, "John, I think the baby is coming. Please call the doctor."
"Something's wrong," I thought. "It's too early for the baby."
I took Jenny to the hospital.
"Your baby is too small," the doctor said to her. "We have to stop him coming out. You'll have to stay in the hospital."
Jenny was in the hospital for twelve days. I stayed at home with Patrick and Marley. I did the housework. I cooked and washed clothes. In the evenings, I was very tired.
Marley sat and looked at me sadly. I could read his thoughts.
I don't understand. Why doesn't John want to play with me? Why doesn't he take me for walks? And where's Jenny?
I didn't do things at home very well. I left the bathroom door open all the time. Marley loved to go into the bathroom, and to drink water from the shower.
One day, I took Patrick on a visit to the hospital.
"What did you do to Patrick?" Jenny asked.
"What do you mean?" I asked. "He's fine."
"Look at him," said Jenny.
I looked. His arms were in the legs of his baby clothes!
Jenny called my aunt Anita. She also lived in Florida, but in a different town.
"Please can you look after John and Patrick," she said.
Two days later, Aunt Anita arrived. She did the housework and everything at home was fine again.
When Jenny came home, she had to stay in bed all day. This was a very difficult time for her. She couldn't cook or go for a walk. Worst of all, she couldn't hold Patrick.
Marley brought his playthings into the bedroom and lay on the floor next to Jenny. He stayed there day and night.
Aunt Anita had to go home to her husband. So I had to look after the house again.
Then, one day, when the doctor visited Jenny, he said, "You can get up now. The baby is bigger."
Jenny was very happy. She got up and played with Patrick and Marley. She started to do the housework.
The next day, we went to a Greek restaurant for lunch. But suddenly, the baby started to come, so I took Jenny to the hospital. Then everything happened very quickly. One hour later, I held my beautiful new son in my arms.
Jenny and I had two sons now, Patrick and Conor. One was seventeen months old, and one was a baby. We were very happy with our sons, but we were tired all the time. The babies woke us every night. We couldn't sleep for more than two hours.
Conor had problems with Jenny's milk. After he drank, he was sick. So Jenny was very sad.
"What's wrong with me?" she said. "Conor doesn't like my milk. Maybe I'm not a good mom."
She started to get angry quickly. She didn't get angry with Patrick and Conor, but she was often angry with Marley and me.
Marley could do nothing right. I bought a plant and planted it in the yard. The next day, Marley pulled it out and ate it. Then he broke a door in the house. He went crazy when there was a thunderstorm.
One day when I got home from work, I found Marley with Jenny. Jenny was very, very angry.
"Why do you break everything?" she shouted. "You're a very bad dog." Marley stood with his head down, and she hit him again and again.
I went and grabbed Jenny's arms.
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" I shouted. "Stop. Stop!"
I looked into Jenny's face, but the look in her eyes was new to me. Her face was the face of a stranger.
"Get him out of here," she said. "Get him out of here now."
I opened the front door and Marley ran outside. When I turned back for his leash, Jenny said, "You have to find Marley a new home."
She couldn't mean it. She loved this dog. I walked out of the door. Marley ran and jumped around. He wasn't hurt.
I took Marley into the street and said, "Sit!" He sat. I put his chain over his head with the leash. Then I took him for a very long walk. When we got home, Marley was very tired.
I took off Marley's leash and he ran to his bowl. The water went everywhere on the floor. I cleaned it.
Jenny sat in a chair with Patrick and Conor. When I walked past her, she said quietly, "I want that dog to leave."
I felt very sad. Marley was my friend and I loved him. I didn't want to find a new home for him. But I also had a wife and two small children. I had to think about them.
I talked to my friends and neighbors about Marley.
"Do you want a Labrador?" I asked. But nobody did.
I looked in the newspapers. They were full of ads from people with dogs, and a lot of the ads were foir Labradors.
"These people paid a lot of money for their dogs," I thought. "But now they're looking for new homes for them. Maybe Labradors are too difficult-too big and strong."
Marley wasn't an easy dog. He wasn't obedient and he broke things. But we brought him to our home when he was a puppy. He loved us and we loved him. He was our dog.
I took Marley back to the obedience class. A different teacher was there now. This time, things went better. I said "Sit!" and Marley sat. I put the chain around his neck and he walked quietly next to me. I said "Stay!" and he stayed. I walked away from him, but he didn't move. Then I turned and said, "Come!" Marley ran quickly to me.
"Good boy, Marley," I said. "Good, good, good boy!"
At the end of the eight weeks, the teacher gave me a paper. It said, "Marley did well in the obedience class."
I was very happy. On the way home, I sang.
After this, a wonderful thing happened. Jenny got better. She stopped being sad, and was strong and happy. She was a good mother to Patrick and Conor, and she was kind to Marley again. She danced around the room with him. Sometimes at night, when he was quiet, she lay on the floor with him, her head on his neck. "Jenny's here with us again," I thought. "That's great!"
