Annalise Raziq - Orbit

 

I told my daughter to make a wish. We were sitting together in our tiny, ramshackle kitchen, staring at the seven birthday candles on her cake. She closed her Cindy-Lou Who eyes for just a second, and then she blew out these candles with great determination and she said, “Mommy, do you want to know what I wish for?” And I said, “Oh, no, honey. That's something precious for you to hold close to yourself.” But the truth is, I was afraid of this wish, because her father and I had been separated for the last four years, but we had only recently become officially divorced. I knew that Kaylee was at the age now where a lot of kids started saying, “How come you're not together anymore?” and they started making wishes that their parents would get back together. 

 

This wish was especially problematic, because my daughter was born with a special talent. She had the ability to materialize what she envisioned. Okay, here's just one example. So, a couple years before, my mom was taking us on a trip to Disney World. We had to get to the airport at the height of rush hour. I was freaking out about this, because in our crappy neighborhood, cabs were notoriously unreliable. And so, I had called this limo company and I had negotiated this deal where we could get a town car for only $5 more than I'd pay for a cab. So, Kaylee heard me on the phone with them. When I hung up, she's like, “Oh, are we going to get to ride in one of those really long cars?” And I was like, “Oh, no, honey, we're just getting a regular car.” She just looked at me and she's like, “Okay.” [audience laughter] 

 

So, the morning that we're supposed to leave, she's at the living room window and she's like, “Mommy, mommy, look.” I go look out the window, and pulling up in front of our house is the longest black stretch limo I have ever seen, and this guy getting out in the full chauffeur regalia. I went running out the front door and I was like, “No, no, no, no, I did not pay for this. No, there's some mistake.” And he's like, “Just chill out, lady. We're out of town cars. So, you get this car for the same price.” [audience laughter] Right. I’m a little bit scary. 

 

So, we drive to the airport, and Kaylee drinks soda the whole way and watches cartoons and she's got this little smile on her face. But this wish is really a problem, because I know that it's never going to happen. We're never getting back together. And I thought, oh, at the tender age of seven, her magical powers are about to come to an end. But she presses on, and she's like, “Mommy, I wish for the same thing every year.” And I was like, “Oh,” feeling this tightness in my stomach. She goes, “I close my eyes, and I wish, and I wish and I'm feeling ill. I know that one day I'm going to open my eyes and there it'll be.” “What?” “In the backyard.” And I was like, “Oh, a dog.” She's wishing for a dog. I knew she wanted a dog, but I was raised with cats, I'm animal lover, but a dog seemed like a lot of work. I didn't have any money. Our phone was turned off regularly at this point, and the gas. I was just like a woman living on the edge. But her powers are legion, because a month later, God dang it, a dog shows up in our backyard. [audience laughter] I'm not kidding. 

 

So, she's home from school on the tail end of chicken pox, and she's standing in the backyard hula hooping. I'm at the kitchen table working. I can hear the shh, shh, shh. And then, it stops. She comes to the back door and she's like, “Mommy, there's a dog out here. And he's staring at me.” And I was like, “Whatever, he's someone's dog. He'll go back home.” I hear her go back out and I hear shh, shh, shh. And then, it stops. And I get up, I go look out the back door. She's standing frozen in the backyard holding this hula hoop, looking at this dog through the chain link fence. They have locked eyes. [audience laughter] They are communicating. [audience laughter] 

 

I go out in the backyard and I run up to the fence and I see this dog. He's like a medium sized German shepherd mix and I was like, “Hey, are you a nice dog?” He's just sitting there and his tail goes thump, thump, thump. [audience laughter] And then, I see his ribs and he's like, painfully skinny. [sighs] And I open the gate, and he comes and he flops down on the patio. I see Kaylee, she's starting to get that little smile and I was like, “No, no, no, no. We are not keeping this dog.” I run in the house and I call our vet and I was like, “Look, this dog is here. He seems really nice. I can't handle it. I'm overwhelmed. I'm a single parent. I have no money.” And so, they take pity on me and they're like, “Bring the dog in. We'll check him out. We'll help you figure out what to do.” 

 

As we're going to the car, Kaylee just quietly says to me, “His name is Orbit because he was circling our yard.” [audience laughter] And I said, “That's great, honey. We'll tell that to the people that we give them to.” So, we take him to the vet. They can see I am a crazed human being. I call him back later on and they say, “Oh, he's been on the street a long time, but he's so sweet. Don't worry, it's going to be no problem finding him a home. We just have to put some ads in the paper and see if there's an owner.” And back at home, Kaylee hand draws 20 found dog posters and makes me take her around the neighborhood and hang them up. 

 

And for the next three days, I sneak into the bathroom and I call the vet and I'm like, “How's he doing?” And they're like, “Oh, he's so sweet. Everyone loves him. No problem. You don't have to feel guilty. He'll have a home.” Except for on the third day, the vet tech says to me, “Wait a minute, how'd you find this dog again?” I tell her the story and she's like, “What? You can't give away this dog. This dog came to you. He's yours.” [audience laughter] So, I go out in the living room and I go, “Put your shoes on. We're going to go get the dog.” [audience laughter] She gets that little smile on her face. Shazam. Powers intact. Thank you.