Pugs and Kisses

by J. J. Howard

  “Sounded like it. What happened?”

  “Do you remember that big bag I was carrying—in the storm, the day we met?” Calvin nodded. “Well, that was a piñata in there, and it kind of melted in all that rain.”

  “Oh, man—I’m sorry. That stinks. But I’m sure you can find another one. Don’t they have everything in New York?”

  I thought hard. “I don’t know where to get one. That one was special order. It’d be really expensive to ship something so gigantic. And I’ve seen some places nearby that have them, but mostly they’re like of cartoon cars and stuff. I need to find one that would fit in to my sister’s party theme.”

  “What’s the theme?”

  “Princess Explosion,” I said wryly, and Calvin laughed.

  “Hey,” he said. “I think I might actually know of a place—over by our new apartment. From the outside it looks like mainly a card store, but I swear I saw a pink piñata in the window, too. I can take a look on the way home and let you know tomorrow.”

  “Wow, thanks—that’d be great! See, you know stuff about the neighborhood that I don’t already!”

  Calvin smiled, but it wasn’t a very convincing one. I knew he was still bothered about what had happened on Friday.

  “Hey, I’m really sorry, but it sounds like my mom is in full panic mode—and I forgot my annoying cousin is visiting. I should head home. I’ll see you at school tomorrow, okay?”

  “Okay. See you tomorrow.”

  I realized as I left the park that I’d managed to get out of there before Calvin remembered to ask me where I’d gotten the license for my dog. Like Tali said, I was a pretty decent computer whiz. I was sure I could find the answer for him by tomorrow.

  What a tangled web, Charlotte, said a voice in my head. It sounded a little like Phoebe’s, but the voice sounded like my own, too.

  * * *

  “So your sister told you what you need to do?” Mom asked me at dinner that night. Cousin Javier was there, shoveling in Mom’s pasteles like he’d never eaten food before. I rolled my eyes when I saw he was still wearing his stupid karate gi. Why couldn’t he change into jeans like a normal person?

  I nodded. “I think I have a lead on where to find one. Hopefully they’ll have a pink one to match the theme.”

  Mom lowered the forkful of food she’d been about to eat. “A what? A pink boy? Is that some new slang or something?”

  “I was talking about—wait, what are you talking about?” I looked over at Tali and she looked mighty guilty.

  “I was going to tell you that part in person,” my sister said, sinking down a little in her chair.

  “You got stood up,” Javier said around a mouthful of pasteles.

  “Wait, what?” I cried. “You mean Tomas’s friend isn’t coming?”

  Tali was starting to look even guiltier.

  “That’s what stood up means, genius,” Javier put in.

  “Nice robe, Javier,” I snapped.

  I groaned and closed my eyes to compose myself. The day after Tali’s party I intended to tell my parents that I didn’t want a party at all when I turned fifteen. I’d do the part at church, if they wanted, but no pink dress, no piñatas, and definitely no making my sister and cousins find escorts. How embarrassing.

  I glared at Javier. “I did not get stood up. That guy has never even met me. But now I guess I need …”

  “Now you have to find your own pink guy,” Javier said with a smirk, and I threw a slice of tomato at him.

  “Ana! Honestly, since when do you throw food at the table? It’s like this family has all gone crazy,” Mom exclaimed.

  “Yeah, how rude,” Javier added with a snicker.

  Papi raised his eyes from his plate to give him a look. “Ana, please don’t worry about finding an escort. It will all be fine,” Papi said in his calm voice. Our father was always the reasonable one in the family.

  I sighed. “I still can’t wait until this party’s over.” I’d just been venting my frustration about the escort situation, but when I met my sister’s wounded eyes, I felt like a jerk.

  I tried to tell her I was sorry, but for the rest of the meal she didn’t raise her head from her plate, and a few minutes later she asked to be excused. I took one more bite and did the same.

  Once back in our shared room, my apology burst out of me. “Oh, Tali—I’m so sorry—I didn’t mean to say that! It’s just, there’s so much going on, and you know how much Javier annoys me.”

  Tali sat down at her tiny desk. She didn’t look up at me right away. “It’s okay, Ana. I know my party’s thrown the whole family into uproar.”

  “No, it’s not so bad. I should never have said …”

  Finally, my sister looked up at me. She gave me a weak smile. “I’m not mad, really. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Luis backing out of being your escort. I was going to tell you when you got home. But I was thinking this was actually the perfect thing to happen. Now you can invite …”

  “Don’t say it.” I cut her off. “I can’t invite Calvin.”

  Tali gave me a puzzled frown. “Why not?”

  I sat down on the edge of my bed. “Everything is already so confusing with Calvin, especially with all the lying and everything …”

  “Lying? What did he lie about?”

  Hearing my sister assume it was the other person who’d been lying made me feel like I’d just grown smaller. “It was me. I’ve been lying. He thinks Osito is my dog.”

  Tali stared at me thoughtfully for a few seconds. “Did he assume it and then you didn’t correct him?”

  “Yes, that’s how it started. But it’s been weeks, and I still haven’t told him.”

  “Why not?”

  “I’m not completely sure. At first, I was embarrassed, because I’d waited a little too long and it would have been weird. And then he started telling me about how Pancake was sort of depressed since they moved here, and the only time she acted like her old self was when Osito was around. And Osito has also been so much happier being with Pancake. So then I was afraid Calvin wouldn’t want to hang around with me after I’d sort of lied, or that he wouldn’t want his dog to hang out with my neighbor’s dog. But it really seemed like he and Pancake both sort of … needed us.”

  Tali nodded. “I get that. But now you two are really friends, I think. You could tell him and he’d forgive you, I’m sure.”

  “Maybe. I don’t know.”

  “Well, I think you should tell him. And you should ask him to be your chambelán.”

  Tali made it sound so easy. For Tali, finding an escort to her party had been as easy as asking the cutest boy at her school, who’d immediately said yes, of course. But even without all my lies about Osito, the thought of asking Calvin seemed pretty nerve-racking.

  It had been hard enough to find Luis; Mom had put out the word through all our cousins, searching the five boroughs—and New Jersey—to find someone to take me. And now that Plan A had fallen through, we’d have to start the whole thing again.

  Hmm. Maybe in that sense it wouldn’t be so bad to ask Calvin. At least, unlike Luis, he didn’t mumble. He was kind of—okay, very—cute. And I knew him already. He wouldn’t be some stranger friend-of-a-friend-of-a-cousin. As long as I worked up the nerve …

  “I guess I can ask him,” I said to Tali.

  She shrieked and stood up to hug me.

  I was glad my sister was happy, but I was stressed. Not only did I have to find another piñata tomorrow, but I had to ask another boy to the quince. At least only one of those things actually needed to be pink.

  IDEA #3:

  Chambelán locator.

  Functions: Searchable database of boys willing to wear a tuxedo and serve as an escort to a quinceañera, for a small fee.

  Searchable by: Location, those who own their own tux.

  Goal: Avoid the embarrassing fate of being a dama without an escort.

  Working-title ideas:

  Shame-Free Chambeláns

  Q
uince Nightmare-Avoider

  So You Don’t Have an Escort?

  On the way to the park the next afternoon, I rehearsed in my head what I would say to Calvin about the quince. When I’d seen him at school earlier, I’d chickened out—my specialty—and decided that I’d feel more comfortable when it was just us and the pugs.

  I tried out some openings in my head:

  Hey, Calvin, you’re my friend. Friends do favors for friends, so, I need one …

  Terrible.

  So, Calvin, I have this embarrassing problem …

  Definitely not that.

  Calvin. You’re a history person. Do you know the history of the quinceañera celebration? I’ll send you a link to the Wikipedia page! And then maybe you’ll want to witness one for yourself? Because, coincidence: I can help with that!

  “Ugh, what’s wrong with me?” I said aloud.

  Osito looked up at me as if he was wondering the same thing.

  We reached the gates to the dog run, and I opened them and stepped through. I breathed a sigh of relief, or maybe disappointment, when I didn’t see Calvin among the dog owners or Pancake among the dogs.

  I let Osito off his leash and sat down on one of the benches.

  What if I just didn’t ask Calvin at all? I’d panicked when I found out about Luis canceling, and then I’d let Tali talk me into this idea. But I could just turn the problem over to Phoebe. Maybe she could find some other guy to strong-arm into going with me.

  Going with Calvin would be so much more complicated. I decided then and there to just forget the whole crazy plan.

  Then I looked up and saw Calvin and Pancake coming through the gates. Calvin was carrying a big plastic bag that reminded me of the one I’d been stuck with on the day of the huge rainstorm. The day we met.

  Calvin bent down to let Pancake loose. Pancake and Osito immediately ran to each other like they were the leads in a romantic movie, and I chuckled to see their happy reunion. Calvin walked over with a smile.

  “Hey. How’s it going?” Calvin asked, sitting down beside me on the bench.

  “Not bad. What have you got there?”

  “This is for you, actually,” Calvin said, holding up the bag. “I went by that party store near my house and they did have a pink piñata just sitting there in the window. So I grabbed it for you.”

  “Seriously? That’s so nice of you!” I felt my stomach jump at Calvin’s sweet gesture. I peered down into the bag and saw it was indeed a big pink piñata, shaped like a star. “I don’t have any money with me but I’ll bring some tomorrow. How much was it?”

  Calvin waved a hand. “It was twenty, but it’s no big deal.”

  “I’ll bring it.” Calvin’s kindness, the fact that he’d gone to the trouble, suddenly brought out my bravery. “Hey, speaking of my sister’s party … ,” I began, speaking quickly before I lost my nerve. “I hate to ask for another favor right now, but … are you free the Saturday after next?”

  “Pretty sure I am, why?”

  And just like that, my plan to forget the plan to ask Calvin was scrapped.

  “So with a quinceañera, one of the traditions is that she has to have fourteen damas—like attendants … who all have to have escorts. Boys that go with them,” I explained nervously. “And, well, the boy who was supposed to go with me, this friend of my cousin … he fell through. So I was wondering if maybe … would you be willing to come with me to—to fill in?”

  Ack. I’d done it! I’d asked Calvin to accompany me to the party!

  Was this a date? No. No. Of course not.

  Calvin paused for what felt like forever. He was looking at me like he was trying to figure something out. I glanced over nervously at Osito and Pancake. They were happily racing around the dog run, playing with some of the other dogs, too.

  Finally, Calvin spoke up. “I can fill in,” he said. “What do I need to wear?”

  “A tuxedo, actually … ” Oh, man, I’d forgotten about the stupid tuxedo tradition. Now maybe he’d want to take back his yes. How could I ask him to go and rent a tux? But it’d be super weird if I offered to pay for it …

  Calvin’s voice broke through my stress spiral. “No problem. I have a tux. My mom always has to go to fancy events for her job, and sometimes the whole family has to go, too.”

  I stared at Calvin in disbelief. Could he even be real?

  “That’s … great!” I exhaled in happy relief. “Are you sure you don’t mind … ?”

  “Ana, I don’t mind. I’m actually interested in seeing a real-life quinceañera.”

  I nodded, doubly relieved. “I’m glad.”

  “Should I bring a present for your sister?” Calvin asked.

  “Nope. There will be a ton of food, though, so bring your appetite.”

  “That, I can do. Oh, hey, I almost forgot—I found this really funny video I wanted to show you.”

  Calvin scooted a little closer to me and tilted his phone to show me the video. He was so close our legs were almost touching.

  Calvin was watching the clip and laughing, but I had trouble focusing on the pug in the video. Instead, I was thinking about Calvin, and sitting close to Calvin. I’d never been one of those girls to go all goopy and silly over a boy before. Phoebe and I were always laughing at the girls in our class who did. But something about this boy made me worry that I was starting down the goopy/silly path.

  “I have to get back home,” I told Calvin when the video ended. “It’s my cousin’s last night here and we’re going out to dinner.” I stood up and started trying to wrangle Osito back into his harness, but Pancake kept getting in the way.

  “These two,” I said.

  “I know, right?” Calvin laughed.

  I headed toward the gate with Osito, who whimpered back at Pancake.

  “See you at school tomorrow,” I told Calvin. “Thank you again so much for this,” I added, lifting up the piñata bag. “And for agreeing to come to the quince.”

  “Sure thing,” Calvin said.

  For some reason I turned around one more time as I was leaving the park, and I saw that Calvin was still there, and it seemed like he was still looking in my direction. I waved at him and then turned to leave the park.

  I had an escort. And a piñata. Quince problems solved!

  As I walked home, I thought about the quince, when Calvin would meet Tali and my parents and the rest of my family. That made me nervous, and then I had a realization that made me extra nervous.

  Calvin thought I had a dog. My family knew I did not have a dog.

  Now I had a whole new set of quince problems.

  * * *

  “How about Puppy Pals?”

  Phoebe gave a loud groan and crumpled up her sandwich wrapper. “Terrible. What else you got?”

  “Walking Warriors?” I offered.

  “That sounds like people will be doing battle with the dogs. Why are you so stuck on alliteration?”

  I sat back in my chair at our lunch table. “I don’t know. I just am.”

  Today was the day I was getting serious about my coding project. I’d actually gotten excited about the idea I’d had while talking to Calvin—creating a website for people like Mrs. R who needed help with their dogs. The best part was that Phoebe, my ace video director, had already come up with a great idea for the presentation. Instead of me standing there explaining the website, there’d be Osito looking cute up on the video, and I would do the voice-over.

  “You should have the word walking or walkers in there somewhere,” Phoebe said. “Since that’s the service the website will provide, right? Connecting people with dogs to people who will walk dogs. Like you and Mrs. Ramirez.”

  “Yeah. But then I have to get the dog part in, too. What dog words start with w?”

  “Argh, you’re obsessed with alliteration!” Phoebe laughed. “Okay … hmm, this is hard. There aren’t that many w words.” She sipped from her milk and then her eyes grew big. “Oh, I got it! Woof!”

  “Woof Walkers
?”

  “Okay, no. Sounds weird. Wag. Like a tail.”

  “Wag Walkers.” Then inspiration struck. “Ooh—how about Waggle Walkers?”

  Phoebe frowned. “What’s a waggle?”

  “I think it means the same thing as wag, like with a dog’s tail.” I typed the word into my phone. Yes! Shake, flap, jiggle were the synonyms that came up. “Waggle Walkers. I like the sound of that.”

  “It’s pretty catchy, I’ll admit.” Phoebe grinned. “I mean, it’s no Extreme Long Shot …”

  “Your site name is awesome,” I said. Phoebe’s website was for kids who wanted to be filmmakers. I liked how the name was a pun—it was a type of camera shot, but it was also what almost everyone tells kids, Phoebe says, when they announce that they want to be filmmakers.

  “But your site will win when it comes to functionality,” Phoebe added. “My coding sucks.”

  “Your coding does not suck! Besides, I promised to help you if you needed it, since you’re helping me with the video.”

  “Your video will be amazing,” Phoebe assured me. “You done eating?”

  I nodded, folding up my lunch bag. “Um, Phoebe? Before we go, I need help with one more thing. Calvin’s coming to Tali’s quince as my escort.” I said those last words in an embarrassed rush.

  Phoebe’s eyes widened. “You asked him? Dang, girl, I’m impressed! Calvin will be a way better date than that kid Luis.”

  I felt my blush start. “It’s not a date.”

  “Okay,” Phoebe said in a such a weird voice I knew she was a) making fun of me and b) didn’t believe me. “You said you needed help? Do you mean fixing that dress?”

  I shook my head. “No, there’s no help for that dress.” As the words were leaving my mouth, I realized that my asking Calvin meant that he would see me in the Ruffle Monster.

  “Hadn’t thought of that part, huh?” Phoebe asked.

  I shook my head. My best friend knew me too well. “Anyway, there’s something else—another thing I hadn’t thought of. My parents will be there, of course, and my cousins, and some other people who know I don’t actually have a dog. But Calvin thinks that I do. Have a dog, I mean.”

  Phoebe gave me a look. “Ana, my friend. Just fess up about Osito already! It’s not like you’ve been lying to him about the stash of nuclear weapons you hid in his garage!”