“Hel-lo gorgeous!” he said.
Leggo dropped his chew toy. Alley wuffed in shock.
Rhoda wrinkled her nose in confusion. “Marty?”
“Who’s got four paws and a heart that beats only for you? This doooog!”Marty slid his paws forward on the ground, butt in the air, tail wagging.
“Uff!” Ally the retriever scoffed before she stalked off. After a quick glance at her sister, Lacey licked Freckles’ head, said, “Good luck finding your forever home. Hope I see you later!” and galloped after her sister.
Marty was still making eyebrows at Rhoda.
Rhoda whined and turned to the spaniel. “Freckles, what’s going on?”
The spaniel’s brown eyes grew wide. his tail didn’t move, and his nose didn’t quiver, not for a full minute. When he finally spoke, his words were full of quiet awe.
“Rhoda…I didn’t know you were pretty, too!”
“Whaaat?!” said Leggo.
Rhoda stared at Freckles, whiskers twitching. “This is a joke, right?”
Marty pushed himself back upright. His face squinched in a Frenchie smile.
“Pucker up, gorgeous!”
Freckles yipped. “No! You already have a girl dog!” he said.
“Well, you can have her now.”
“What? No! I rescued Rhoda—I’m her hero!”
Frank stared as the dogs began to spar. Right now it was no worse than play fighting, but without any of them on Vivian’s talkie treats, he had no idea what the trouble was. And the treats were at home. And judging by the look he was giving Frank, Leggo was just as bamboozled as his human.
“Leggo!” said Frank.
The dog jumped to.
Frank pointed at his brother and the foster, now feinting at each other.
“Stop ’em!”
Leggo lunged between them. “Hey!” he said.
“Oh,” said Freckles. Leggo blocked his view of Marty. “Hello, Leggo. Nice party, isn’t it? Could you move, please? I’m trying to tell Marty to keep his crusty paws off my girl.”
“YOUR girl?!” said Leggo.
“Yeah!” Marty jumped his front paws on his brother’s back. “YOUR girl? Everybody can see Rhoda’s my girl.”
Leggo looked at Rhoda to confirm this, but she had vanished.
He bucked his brother off. “YOUR GIRL?! Marty, you said you were gonna get Rhoda to notice me!”
“Times change, little bro.”
“But you already have Wonder!” said Freckles.
“If you don’t want Wonder, take Lacey. She’s keen on ya,” said Marty.
“Wonder? From the store? What’s she got to do with anything?” asked Leggo. He’d had a mooshy love-crush on her in the past, until she told Marty to tell him she didn’t like him that way. He hadn’t eaten afterwards for a day, but now they were pals, just friends. They’d all been just friends!
“She’s here!” said Freckles. “And I got to SMOOCH her!”
“Only ‘cuz you’re a weasel-spaniel mix!” said Marty.
“Take that back!” said Freckles. “And what’s a weasel?”
“Oh, boy,” said Leggo. “Something’s wrong.” He looked at Frank and moaned.
“Should I get the leashes, boy?” he asked, holding them up.
Marty sprinted into the crowd. “Haha, good luck finding Rhoda when you’re on a leash, sucker!”
“Noooo!” howled Freckles, and then he barreled after him.
Frank and Leggo stood there.
“What’s going on, boy?” said Frank.
Leggo didn’t know. But the answer wasn’t here.
The party was beginning to fill up with people and their dogs. He trotted into the fray. Maybe Wonder would have some answers.
Chapter 17
Tom was helping his co-worker Melanie re-hang some of the twinkly lights that were crooked when he felt something nudge the back of his calf. He glanced down.
“Rhoda! Hi, girl! Don’t you look so cute, yes you do!”
She butted the side of her head up against his leg. He looked away to hang the lights, but she leaned against him again, even though Melanie was crouched next to her and crooning, Rhoda wasn’t paying any attention to her.
It’s not like her to be so clingy.
“Is this good?” he asked Melanie.
“Perfect, thanks. Dunno what us shorties would do without you, Tom.”
Tom stopped stretching upwards and knelt next to his dog. She panted, looking somehow grateful.
“Whassa matter, pretty puppy?” he asked.
“There she is!”
It was Alanna Lu. She held her phone out in front of her and was leaning left, right, backwards.
Click! went the phone’s camera. Rhoda snorted at the sound.
“Do you need me out of the shot?” asked Tom. He was pretty sure his brown pant leg wasn’t adding anything to Rhoda’s photo.
For a second, Alanna Lu’s eyes darted up from the screen. She looked panicked. But then her face relaxed. “Actually, would you put your face close to hers?”
He leaned his chest forward and Rhoda pressed her cheek to his. Clickity-click-click!
Aww! thought Alanna Lu. So adorbs!
“Get the one you want?”
“Why don’t you come see?” she said, coming around with her camera. Tom peered into the screen while Rhoda stuck her wet nose into his palm.
Although Tom was grinning in the photo, Rhoda looked into the camera with soulful eyes and a closed mouth.
“A masterpiece,” said Tom.
“You think so?” Alanna Lu was glad the lights here were pink. Maybe he wouldn’t see her blushing.
“It’ll look great on the blog,” he said.
“Could I get a few more pics? And do you think you could get her to smile?”
“I don’t know about that,” said Tom, “but I do know how to get her to make a funny face. Wanna see?”
Alanna Lu nodded.
“Get ready!”
She raised her phone, framing Rhoda’s face. She set the camera to sport mode.
“Rhoda!” said Tom.
The dog looked at him.
Tom covered his nose and mouth with tented fingers, then made an incredible noise!
Like an elephant with allergies trumpeting at the same time as a ghost fart.
Sport mode took over: clickclickclickclickclick!
The look on Rhoda’s face was priceless. Confused, indignant, but priceless.
Immediately afterwards Tom patted his chest and Rhoda jumped up, bracing her forepaws against him. He rubbed her ears.
“Dersa my good girl! Is Tommy a silly kiddo? Yeees, but he loves his good girl Rhoda! Yes he does!”
Alanna Lu snapped away. The dog in the dress, smiling with Tom—happiness seemed to shine from both of them.
He’s really sweet with her. She took a second to review the photos. If I saw these photos of him on a dating site, I’d reach out.
“How long have you had Rhoda?”
“Oh, man, we got her when I was…” he scrunched up his face, thinking. “Fifteen?
And you’re, what, six now, Rhodie?”
Rhoda wagged her tail.
He’s only a year older than me! thought Alanna Lu.
“She was supposed to be my parents’ dog—kind of my replacement-in-training for when I left for college, but we did too much stuff together and bonded. Now my folks have a Yorkie.”
Alanna Lu laughed. She couldn’t think of any breeds much further apart. “Does it bark a lot?”
“You know, I was surprised. He—his name is Mickey, by the way—is very calm and friendly! He likes to sit with us during movie nights.”
“Movie nights?”
“Yeah, my folks only live a couple hours away, so I visit ’em a few times a month. We usually veg on the couch and watch Disney movies together with my nieces and nephews. Mickey’s good with them, too. They’re worth giving up a weekend hike for.”
“Does Rhod
a go with you? To the movie nights?”
“All the time!”
She nodded. That was cool. Her apartment didn’t allow dogs, but she envied Auntie being able to go almost anywhere in town with her dogs in tow. They were like her friends. Maybe someday she would get a dog. Or foster, to try it out. She didn’t want to think what Aunt Vivian would do if Alanna Lu discovered she was a cat person.
She realized she hadn’t responded to Tom. She wanted to say something nice, but how could she when she could only ask questions?
“You guys must be inseparable, huh?”
“Yeah, I’m glad I found housing that let me keep her.”
“And your job is dog-friendly, right?”
“Right-o. Do you need more dog photos?”
She nodded.
“I’ll introduce you around. Shall we?”
Pausing to readjust the corsage around her wrist, Alanna Lu checked her camera settings, then followed.
Aunt Vivian stood at the back of the venue, helping a woman dress her Pomeranian in a sailor suit and hat. Catty corner to her was the cakewalk and desserts table, currently forming a traffic jam, but that must’ve been all right with the vendors in the stalls nearby. Some of the proprietors had left their wares with their friends/significant others and were buzzing around the food lines, schmoozing customers and handing out freebies.
They reached Tom’s friend.
“Katie, this is Alanna Lu. She helped me find Rhoda in the woods.”
“Oh, I’m so glad! Rhoda’s a real sweetheart, the office wouldn’t be the same without her! Hey, girl! You look so pretty in your dress!” she said to Rhoda.
“She’s getting pics of all the dogs, for her great-aunt’s Instagram.”
“She must really like dogs!”
“Uh, it’s for a business, actually,” said Alanna Lu, smiling. “My Auntie made this dress by hand.”
“Whaaat? Oh my gosh, that’s amazing!”
“Yeah, and she’s no spring chicken, either!” said Tom. “I hope when I’m her age I have half her energy. Where is she now, anyway?”
Alanna Lu looked around, but didn’t see her. “Isn’t she with Marty?”
“Who’s Marty?” asked Katie, craning her neck to see over the line at the Cupid Darts game. “If you can describe him…”
“He’s short, white, and wearing a tuxedo,” said Tom.
Kate kept looking.
“He’s also only about thirteen inches tall.”
Tom laughed at the shock on Katie’s face.
“He’s a French Bulldog,” said Alanna Lu.
“Kind of a mascot,” said Tom.
Alanna Lu wrinkled her nose “Mascot? Second-in-Command, maybe?”
Katie surveyed the room again, then began laughing.
“Is that him over there, with Nancy’s pug?”
Tom and Alanna Lu looked.
Marty sat on one side of the grey-muzzled pug; Freckles sat on the other. They were both licking the sides of her face. The pug had her eyes closed, reveling in the attention.
“What in the world?”
Alanna Lu ran up, taking photos, but still astounded by what she was seeing. Marty had passed his Canine Good Citizenship test years ago. She had never seen him do anything like this before. Was Freckles a bad influence, or had Marty just been clowning around when the spaniel joined in?
“Guess Freckles is good with other dogs,” said Tom.
She caught a perfect shot of the blissed-out and her admirers licking her cheeks. Alanna Lu didn’t know whether Auntie would be laughing or furious when she saw these.
“Too cute! What’s her name?” she asked an older lady nearby.
“Magnolia,” said the woman. “Her buddy Steel crossed the rainbow bridge a year ago. They were both fixed, but I think they thought they were married. Looks like she’s missing the attention he gave her. Poor girl.”
“I guess so! Are you her mom?”
“Yes, I guess you could say that. I’m Nancy Hart.”
“Alanna Lu Feng. Can I get your email address for the release forms?”
“Oh, it’s fine, post away. Just as long as I get copies.”
“Please—you sign them digitally, it’ll be easy and good for our files.”
“Oh, sure. But you won’t spam me?”
“No, but I’ll send a link where you can see and repost the pics if you want.”
“Oh, sure.” The woman began reciting her email address. Alanna Lu took it down in her phone.
“I’ll have these to you in two days,” she said. She’d probably send them off tomorrow night, but better to under-promise and over-deliver.
Just then, Leggo trotted by, nose to the floor.
“Leggo! Hey, puppy!” she called.
The dog glanced her way, then kept right on walking.
“Did you just get snubbed by your Aunt’s other dog?” asked Tom.
“Sure looked like it, didn’t it?”
His brindle coat had already disappeared between the legs of a circle of people having a conversation.
Just then, Marty and Freckles left off Magnolia the pug to eat a dropped meatball. The pug sighed.
Alanna Lu raised her camera to follow Marty and Freckles, but Tom touched her shoulder, pointing in the opposite direction.
“Oh hey, that’s Jordan and Cleo’s dog over there. Rhoda’s with them—I wonder when she snuck off! Want some photos, Alanna Lu?” said Tom.
She nodded and he led her over by putting his hand on her shoulder. The gesture made her warm a little. He was a really nice guy, wasn’t he?
* * *
Leggo sniffed and sniffed, pausing only to lick up some errant Dorito crumbs off the ground. He kept picking up Wonder’s scent—or at least, he thought he was picking it up—but kept losing it under the traffic of smells from the other people and dogs. He passed by Rhoda, who was keeping close to a grey and white pit bull mix, a boy dog, but didn’t disturb them. If she’d found a protector, good for her. That freed him up to get to the bottom of this mess.
He sneezed, throwing all the scent out of his squashed nose. He stood looking around. Maybe he’d do better to find a tracking dog. He wondered if Slade had made it. He thought he remembered hearing Mom tell Marty he’d been invited.
Clink! A human dropped her spoon.
Leggo sniffed it without thinking, then almost yelped.
It was Mom’s love potion! If Marty and Freckles had gotten a lick of that, no wonder they were having mooshy love-crushes on every girl dog in sight! He didn’t think the witch had brewed it very strong, but human food didn’t always agree with a dog.
Humans gasped and squealed behind him. Leggo did an about-face.
Oh, boy.
It was a pack of pretty girl dogs. It’d only be a matter of time before Marty and Freckles sniffed them out. He looked over the Pretty Pack. They wouldn’t listen to him—it seemed like girl dogs never did—but if he could explain things to Wonder, they might listen to her!
Ignoring the woman picking up her spoon, the brindle-coated Frenchie took another whiff of the ground. Time to get tracking.
Chapter 18
Alanna Lu stayed with Tom the entire event, letting him introduce her to his co-workers and their dogs. She could say what she meant to other girls, but if she said anything to Tom or another guy, it came out a question. But she otherwise seemed to be doing OK. After the third group of talking to his friends, she decided to relax and go with the flow. She even started up a couple conversations with Tom. She could only ask questions, but it was kinda fun learning things about him.
Is this what it’s like to go boy-crazy? she thought. She’d never thought she could be fascinated by one person’s life—outside of a Lisa Ling special, anyway. Maybe I should look into doing interviews for our site blog.
She had no idea Tom was planning on majoring in Marketing. She’d told Aunt Vivian he was undecided just to get her off her back, but after she’d asked
Tom what it was he liked about his chosen field, she was fascinated by the answer, and surprised at how his answer to such a mundane topic revealed so much about him.
Maybe Aunt Vivian was on to something with this question thing.
She spotted a big group coming in, happy people with lots of dogs of all breeds, a great photo op.
“That’s our CEO, Ms. Lawrence, over there,” said Tom, pointing out a blonde woman with a pageboy cut and black glasses. She held a black and brown Miniature Pinscher in her hands. “I’m sure she’d love to have a selfie with Marty.”
“Where did he go, anyway? And have you seen Aunt Vivian?” All three of them in the picture with Rhoda would be fantastic!
“No, still haven’t spotted your aunt. Hey, where’d Rhoda go?” said Tom.
She looked down for the Irish Setter, but the dog was nowhere to be found. Where was Rhoda?
Tom looked around the party. “Oh, with the Danenhowers and their dog.” He went over to fetch her. Alanna Lu turned to follow, then stopped, turning at the sound of happy squeals.
There’s Marty! The sequin heart applique on the back of his tux twinkled as he walked into the middle of a pack of dogs, including the CEO’s min pin. Alanna Lu took a few shots, but with all the people and bigger dogs in the way, the angle was only so-so. If she could grab Marty and the CEO, it’d be the perfect company photo-op!
She glanced over at Tom. He was sharing a laugh with the Danenhowers.
Alanna Lu decided to get closer to Marty. What was the point of having a spokesdog if you couldn’t get a clear shot of him?
Chapter 19
Some human had considerately dropped a meatball in the vicinity of Magnolia the pug. Marty’d been eating it when a new symphony of scent crossed his nose.
“Hey…!” The Frenchie lifted his head. “You smell that?”
Freckles stopped scratching his bandana to look. A new pack of humans had come in. About six of them held leashes, and on those leashes were…
“Lady dogs!” said Marty, his tail starting to wag. Freckles began to smile. THAT was a pretty pack!
They bounded forward. Marty came to a stop in front of a miniature pinscher mix. Freckles play bowed to a shaggy, long-legged poodle twice his age in dog years.
“Wow, you got tiny feet!” Marty said to the min pin.
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