by Bobbie Pyron
the sweet scent of the fake leather seats,
the salty musk of people
riding the bus together.
Baby hears the engine roar to life.
“Let’s go!” he yips
but it is a quiet yip because Baby knows
he is not only a good, good dog,
but an important dog too.
He feels the rhythm of the rocking bus,
and the hum of the wheels.
But this time,
this time,
Baby rides in Jewel’s lap
instead of inside a dark duffel bag.
This time
Baby looks out the window at the world
passing by.
This time he does not hear fear
in Jewel’s voice as she talks
to someone not there.
This time she talks to him,
whispers in his ear about
the piano she will play,
the sister who will love him
almost as much as she does.
She smiles as she describes sun
coming in windows,
a soft bed,
and warm blankets.
Jewel runs her hand over the red and black vest
Baby wears like a superhero cloak
across his shoulders and chest.
She laughs just a little as she fingers the badges
the girls from Firefly Troop 423
sewed on Baby’s vest.
One for Animals.
One for Adventure.
And one for Helping.
“Sis says not to expect too much,
that Heartwell Manor is nothing fancy.”
Jewel hugs Baby to her.
“We don’t need much,” I told her,
“as long as we’re together.”
Baby licks Jewel’s chin and
wags his bit of a tail.
He sneezes in agreement once,
then again.
He listens as Jewel hums softly under her breath.
He watches the world slide past the window
as the road spools out ahead.
A world full of wonder
and hope. And love.
Baby and Jewel,
a pack of two,
warm and safe together
again.
Acknowledgments
During the journey that would become this book, I have been so fortunate to have many heartbeats on my side.
To my bighearted agent, Alyssa Eisner Henkin, thanks as always for believing in the story I just had to tell.
I am once again so grateful to have had Maria Barbo and Katherine Tegen Books on my side. Maria, you always ask the right questions.
Huge thanks to the HarperCollins team—Megan Gendell, Jon Howard, Stephanie Guerdan—for making sure I look like I know what I’m doing, even when I don’t. Y’all keep me honest.
Artist Erwin Madrid, thank you for creating such a beautiful image of Baby for the jacket cover! Doubtless it will grab everyone’s heart.
Many thanks to Vikki Terrile and Dr. Julie Ann Winkelstein for your thoughtful reading of an early draft of Stay. Because of your suggestions, I know my story is a much more respectful and rich depiction of people and families experiencing homelessness. Thank you for all you do in your own lives to make the world a better place.
Two books were particularly important to me in understanding the world of families experiencing homelessness and the pets of the homeless: Invisible Nation: Homeless Families in America, by Richard Schweid (University of California Press, 2016) and My Dog Always Eats First: Homeless People and Their Animals, by Leslie Irvine (Lynn Rienner Publishers, 2015). Thank you for helping me understand.
I will always have these names on my Grateful list: Jean Reagan, Lora Koehler, Chris Graham, Becky Hall, and Charlene Brewster. True hearts all.
And to my husband, Todd, who helps me see the doughnut rather than the hole, always.
About the Author
Photo by Charlene Brewster
BOBBIE PYRON currently lives high on the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina, with her husband and two dogs. Bobbie is the author of the award-winning A Dog’s Way Home and the critically acclaimed A Pup Called Trouble, The Dogs of Winter, and Lucky Strike. You can visit Bobbie online at www.bobbiepyron.com.
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Books by Bobbie Pyron
A Dog’s Way Home
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Copyright
Katherine Tegen Books is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
STAY. Copyright © 2019 by Bobbie Pyron. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
Cover art © 2019 by Erwin Madrid
Cover design by Molly Fehr
* * *
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018968550
Digital Edition AUGUST 2019 ISBN: 978-0-06-283924-4
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-283922-0
* * *
1920212223PC/LSCH10987654321
FIRST EDITION
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