"Whooeee!" Wally gets excited easily. Nothing is humdrum to Wally. "Cosi fan tutti!?" Wally can hear it all. Wally loves where he gets to go. Thrum thrum of a subway. Delicious scents in that Thai place we like so much. Laughter and pride at the library.
But now...
"Hey. HEY!" It's been a week. Briefly excited to meet so many new faces. But unfamiliar hands violating him. And now... it's been a week. Time passes slowly. That face is familiar, but only vaguely. Hard to place. These new friends mostly stick around, but Bean disappeared after only a few hours in the holding cell, and no one's seen her since.
"That's my dad!" And things go on like nothing changed, except Dad clings now. Cozy is gone. It's all tightly clenched. And Wally's always hungry. He feels empty inside. Now half of him is somewhere else. Pride and laughter are gone. Life is only plastic, stiff, lonely. He's left behind. Wally winds up sad and feeling forgotten, even though he knows he's always remembered. There's just so much stress now.
Things have to change. Wally talks to Beverly. They're just acquaintances, but she's always been a morning person, and morning is when Dad makes the big choices. She preaches patience, reliability. She teaches Wally to simply love the new kinds of attention. Beverly is wise.
A few weeks go by. Things are alright. Wally gets fed more and more again. He's full. He even starts to gain a little weight. There's more and more cozy time, and more and more exciting stuff to do.
Then it happens again. A few drinks, and...but this time, he thinks of Beverly. He spends his day getting to know everyone else in his holding cell. Just one day. And dad comes back. And it was just an adventure this time, no trauma.
This is life. This is life. Nothing to fear. Life is change again.
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