Love and Chaos by Elizabeth Powers

around his house, breaking things.
    She
stopped when they were in the front door and knelt down next to her dog. Chaos
was shaking - that was unusual.
    “Chaos,”
she said in a calm voice, “this is Mason. Mason is a good guy, OK?”
    “You
need to tell him that so he won’t attack me?”
    But
Emma didn't really register his words or the joking way in which he said it.
She was worried about her dog. Looking up at Mason, she said quietly, “He’s
scared. And I'm not sure why.”
    Mason
looked down at the dog with some level of concern. The animal moved closer to
Emma and was looking up at him with some trepidation.
    “He
might sense that I’m not completely comfortable around dogs?” Mason guessed.
    Emma
shrugged. “Maybe. But I’m not used to seeing him worried about that. He usually
just tries to make friends.”
    “How
about if you let him off leash?” Mason suggested.
    “You
don’t mind?”
    “Does
he listen to you when you tell him to stop doing something?”
    “85%
of the time,” Emma admitted.
    “Then
let him off. Let’s see if he calms down a bit.”
    Somewhat
reluctantly, Emma reached down and took the leash off of Chaos’ collar.
Squatting down to eye level, she scritched his ears and said quietly, “It’s OK,
sweetheart. Honestly. Are you OK with Mason petting you?”
    “Mason
may not be OK with this. He won’t bite me, will he?”
    Emma
shook her head. “No. He’s gentle. Just reach down and rub his head.”
    She
watched as Mason stretched his hand out slowly, and laid it gently on Chaos’
head, gradually reaching out his fingers to scratch the dog’s ears.
    Chaos
looked up at Mason, his tail starting to wag.
    “You’re
doing great,” Emma assured him. “Keep going.”
    She
watched as Mason crouched down in front of them and reached out to rub his head
with both hands. Chaos closed his eyes, sank to the floor, and promptly went
belly up.
    “What
is he doing?” Mason asked in alarm, half-rising. Emma’s hand on his arm stopped
him.
    “He
wants a belly-rub. This is a good thing, Mason,” she added. “It means he trusts
you.”
    “Why
does he trust me? I’m a stranger.”
    “Maybe.
But he trusts me, and he sees that I trust you. Plus, he has his own instinct.
He’s fine with you.”
    “Really?”
    “Really.”
    Emma
watched as Mason slowly reached out and started rubbing Chaos on the chest and
belly, and the dog just closed his eyes and wiggled closer. When Mason finally
stopped, Chaos rolled on his side and looked up at him with love.
    “That’s
it,” she said. “You have a friend for life.”
    “Why
was he shaking so badly when he came in?” Mason asked.
    Emma
shrugged with some concern. “I honestly have no idea. Sometimes dogs react to
things in ways we don’t understand. And I got him when he was several months
old, so there might be something here that caused him to remember some bad
experience he had before I adopted him. But it doesn’t matter. As long as he
knows that he’s safe here and that you’re a good guy, he’ll be fine.”
    “He
seems like a nice dog,” Mason said half-skeptically.
    And
Emma laughed. “Oh, he is. He’s a handful sometimes, but he’s a sweetheart.
You’ll see. I have his crate and his things in my car. Can you hold Chaos while
I slip out the door and go get them?”
    Mason
shook his head. “No, you stay here. I’ll go get your things. Your bedroom is
upstairs - the first door on the right.”
    Emma
took a deep breath. “OK. Thanks, Mason. I have mostly dog things, and one
suitcase for me. I’ll get the rest in the morning.”
    “I’ll
help you,” he offered.
    “It’s
not necessary.”
    “Maybe
not. But I’ll help you anyway.”
    Emma
nodded. There was no point in fighting over this, especially when he was trying
to be nice. “OK. Thanks. I’ll take Chaos out back and then we’ll go upstairs.”
    “There’s
a fenced-in back yard for the dog, and your room has a deck that has stairs
down into the yard. So you