Robin and Squirm shouted at the same time. “Dad!”
Griff’s hand flew to her heart. “Gordon, thank goodness you’re here.”
He strode in, Squirm’s note still in his hand. Ari, who was behind him, took a few tentative steps towards them.
“Puppies!” Elated, Ari sat down and Griff put one of the puppies in her arms. Her face softened with joy.
Their dad pulled out his stethoscope and listened to Relentless’s heart. Then he probed her belly.
“She fell in the lake,” Robin said.
He yanked the stethoscope from his ears and began pulling things from his bag. “We’ve got to get the rest of the puppies out of there.”
Robin watched him fill a syringe and inject it into her dog’s leg. Relentless went limp immediately.
Her father put his hand on Robin’s arm. “It’s okay. She’ll wake up in a little while. Right now, I need to open her up and get the other puppies out.”
“You can do that?” Squirm asked.
“Like pulling apples out of a bag,” he said as he put on some plastic gloves. He did a quick prep of the dog’s abdomen. “Can you hold her in position?”
Robin helped Griff ease Relentless on her back, then watched as her dad made a long incision into the dog’s belly with his scalpel. Squirm gasped, and Ari put the dog she was holding into Robin’s lap then went back to the farmhouse. Robin, however, watched in fascination as her father blotted up the blood then eased the skin on either side of the incision apart. With the dog’s innards exposed, he reached in and pulled out what looked like a long sack. With his scalpel, he cut into the bag and extracted a puppy.
“Wow!” Robin whispered.
Her father snipped the umbilical cord then took a plastic instrument and suctioned out the puppy’s nose. Smiling now, he passed the puppy to Griff.
“Give it a good rub with the towel,” he instructed. “We want to replicate what Relentless would have done with her tongue. That will get everything working!”
Griff massaged the new puppy, but it showed no signs of life.
“Rub harder,” he instructed.
“I’m scared of being too hard,” Griff said, but she rubbed more vigorously. “Come on, little one. Your life is waiting for you out here. There’s a lake, woods, and skunks to chase. Come on, take a breath!”
“It’s moving, look!” Squirm cried.
His dad nodded, but he was concentrating on pulling out another puppy. When he’d cleaned this one up, he passed it to Robin. She received it like a holy thing. These puppies were the most precious things she’d ever touched. Griff helped her rub it into life.
Squirm got the next puppy and began massaging it the moment it was placed in his lap. When the puppy did not move, Griff took over, massaging it as strongly as she dared. Then their dad tried. After a few moments, he shook his head.
“I’m afraid this one isn’t going to make it.”
Squirm looked up at him, alarmed. “It’s dead?”
His father nodded gravely and turned to deliver the next puppy.
Neither of the next two puppies could be brought to life. Their dad put a towel over the three inert bodies.
“Oh well,” Griff said. “We saved most of them.” She gave her son a weak smile. “That’s more than we would have saved if you hadn’t shown up.” She touched his arm gratefully.
Robin wanted to get up and hug her dad, but she didn’t.
Soon he yawned and stood. “I’m going to get some formula for the puppies.”
“Can’t she feed them?” Robin asked.
“She doesn’t have enough teats,” he said. “But also, she’ll recover faster if we supplement.” He brought in small feeding bottles and filled each one with formula. Robin set one of the tiny puppies in the crook of her arm. Its eyes were closed and its whole body throbbed every time its heart beat. Gently, she eased the nipple of the small bottle into the puppy’s mouth and smiled as it made little grunting noises and began to suck. A warm happiness spread through her, a happiness she hadn’t felt for a long time.
Her father started packing up his bag. “These puppies are going to be a lot of work.” He looked at Robin and frowned. “They’ll need feeding every four hours. That means someone will have to get up at two or three in the morning and again at dawn.”
“I’ll take the night shift,” Griff said.
Robin turned to Squirm. “And we can share the early morning one.”
Squirm nodded quickly. “Hey — if we sleep here, we can feed them in the morning, then go right back to sleep.” He looked from his father to Griff. “Can we?”
“I don’t see why not,” Griff said. “That way, you’ll hear them hollering….”
“We’ll move them out to the barn when they’re a bit older,” their father said.
Griff looked at her son fondly. “Remember all the animals you used to keep out there?” She looked at her grandchildren. “Your father used to take in every stray animal that came his way.”
He suppressed a smile. “Don’t give them ideas.” He looked at Robin and Squirm. “The last thing I want is a bunch of animals at home to take care of. I have enough at the clinic. But these won’t be here for long. In a few weeks we can find homes for them.”
Did he mean Relentless, too? Robin didn’t think so but didn’t want to ask. It was never a good thing to ask her father anything when he was tired.
Her father went back to the farmhouse, and Squirm followed to get his puffer. Robin lay down on the floor. She felt so sleepy, she could hardly keep her eyes open.
“Good idea,” Griff said, lying down beside her. “I’m whacked right out.”
Robin smiled. She could hear the puppies making little grunting sounds and feel the heat from the back of Griff’s hand that was touching hers. It felt as warm as a stone in the sun.
“I know you’re tired,” Griff said, “but I need to say something. Can you hear me out?”
Robin opened her eyes and tried to concentrate.
“It may not be something you understand now, it may not be something you understand ever, but I’ve got to say it anyways.”
Robin suppressed a yawn.
“What I want to say is this,” Griff began. “Life can be brutal. It can rip things away from you, even rip away people, people we love.” She squeezed Robin’s hand then let it go. “But I want you to remember that it can also give, give good things like puppies and well, all kinds of other things that you’re going to experience. So don’t go thinking that life isn’t good. It is good. At least it can be. Very, very good. Don’t let yourself close down to that, okay?”
Robin tucked Griff’s words into her memory so she could think about them later then let the fuzzy blanket of sleep pull itself over her mind.
Chapter
Six
For the rest of the March holiday, Robin did nothing but feed the puppies, play with the puppies, and help Relentless heal from the surgery. She still had her stitches in but was recovering well, and Robin believed her father’s assurances that soon she would be her old healthy self.
After the birth of the puppies, Robin had stayed at Griff’s most of the time. Then, suddenly, it was the night before the new spring term at school, so she reluctantly moved back to the room she shared with Ari. The boxes of her stuff from their old house were still piled at the end of her bed.
Ari, whose side of the room was box-free and immaculate, was laying out her outfit for the next day at school.
“When are you going to unpack your stupid boxes?” Ari demanded.
Robin shrugged and didn’t answer. Sometimes it felt good to get her sister mad.
“Your side of the room is a pigsty!”
“Are you calling me a pig?” Robin knew it was dangerous to taunt her sister, but she couldn’t stop herself.
“Oink, oink,” Ari said.
Robin ignored her and began rummaging through one of the boxes in search of something for school. Not that she really cared. She picked ou
t a pair of clean jeans and her favourite apple-green top, the one her mother had given her.
Ari got out her nightdress and took off her clothes. Whenever Robin changed, she always turned away from her sister, shy about being naked. Ari, however, always seemed glad to show off her body.
Robin tried not to stare, but she couldn’t help herself. Her sister had breasts now, and every time Robin saw them, they were fuller and bigger. Robin wondered whether she would have breasts that big. She wanted them and didn’t want them, all at the same time.
She turned away, got into some flannel pajamas and climbed into bed. It felt strange not to be snuggling up with Relentless and the puppies. Feeling unsettled and agitated, she turned towards the wall and tried to get comfortable. Soon she could hear the rhythmic sound of her sister’s breathing.
Robin couldn’t get herself to relax. She kept thinking about the next day. What if the kids were mean? What if she didn’t like her teacher? What if she said something stupid or didn’t know the answer to a question? Her father had told her at dinner that he thought she’d find it easier to make friends in a small school. Robin might have agreed if it had been at the beginning of the school year, but it wasn’t. At this point in time, she was going to stick out like a sore thumb. Everyone would know she was new, and they’d stare at her. She hated being stared at. This was a situation where she wouldn’t have minded having Ari along — no one ever looked at Robin when Ari was around. But Ari was in grade nine now and would be going to the high school.
At least she didn’t have to worry about getting there; Griff had said she was going to drive them. Did that mean she was going to introduce them to their new teachers? Something went “glunk” deep in Robin’s gut. What if Griff laughed, and everyone saw her missing teeth? Robin’s eyes stung as if the humiliation were happening at that moment.
If only she could get to sleep. She counted sheep, she counted ice cream cones, she counted puppies, but nothing seemed to help. The next thing she knew, the high-pitched sound of a hair dryer was blasting her awake. What was Ari doing drying her hair in the middle of the night? She opened her eyes, saw the daylight, and pulled the covers over her head. The smell of coconut hair gel filled her nostrils anyway.
“Oink, oink. Time to get up.”
Robin didn’t move. Suddenly, the covers were ripped off her bed.
“Hey!” Robin scrambled to pull them back. The room was freezing. She took a quick glance at the clock. Seven thirty? No! It couldn’t be! She’d wanted to get up early so she could feed the puppies. She jumped up and threw on some old clothes. She’d dress for school when she got back.
She ran to Griff’s and yanked open the door. Relentless came towards her, wiggling with excitement.
“Careful, girl. Your stitches —”
“Oh, she’s healed up now. Tighter than a drum,” Griff said. “Your dad told me he’s taking out the stitches any day now.” She was sitting quietly in a chair, a heap of puppies in her lap.
Robin nuzzled into Relentless, grateful she was nearly all healed. “Sorry I’m late.”
“Not to worry,” Griff said. “Between Relentless and me, they’re all fed now. Greedy little blighters. Have you seen how much they’ve grown in a week?” She grinned at Robin. “They’ll be opening their eyes any time now.”
Robin groaned. She didn’t want to miss that. “Do I have to go to school?”
Griff waved her off. “Go, get ready. I’ll be up in a few minutes to drive you.”
Robin went back to the house, changed and went down to the kitchen.
“Dad went to see a sick cow,” Squirm said as he slurped the milk from his cereal bowl. His spoon clattered to the floor. He picked it up and wiped it on his sweater.
“Wash it,” Ari ordered.
Squirm licked the spoon. “Yum. Germs!” He grinned and looked at Robin.
“Okay, get sick. See if I care,” Ari said, pushing the cereal box Robin’s way.
Robin looked at the clock. If she were back in her old life, she’d be meeting Kaylie right now. They’d be laughing and talking as they walked to school. Listlessly, she ate a few handfuls of dry cereal. Then she heard Griff honking, and the three of them gathered their things.
Seeing the pick-up truck with its big old-fashioned fenders, Ari rolled her eyes. “We actually have to get in that junk heap?”
The passenger door swung open and Squirm climbed in. “Cool!”
When they were all in the car, Griff yanked the green tennis ball that was taped to the top of the shift stick. There was a loud, grinding sound as she put the car in gear. They drove down the rutted lane, the four of them jostling against each other and sometimes up into the car roof. The drive got smoother when they reached the main road.
“Goodness, this is the first time since December the road’s got no snow on it. Spring must be on its way.”
They drove into town, stopping to drop off Ari at the high school. When they arrived at the public school Robin and Squirm would be attending, Griff handed them both a brown paper bag.
“Lunch. Pick you up here when school’s out. Tomorrow you’ll go by bus.”
Squirm looked at the school doubtfully. “But where do we go?”
“Oh, right.” Griff reached into her pocket for a wrinkled piece of paper. “Squirm, you’re in Ms. Robinson’s, room 212, and Robin, you have Mr. Lynch, room 315.”
So much for Griff trying to play “mom,” Robin thought as she walked Squirm to his room. Just as he went in, the bell rang. Great. Now she was going to be late for her own class, and everyone would stare at her as she walked in.
She found her classroom and hesitated at the doorway. A tall, thin teacher waved her forward.
“You must be Robin Green.” Mr. Lynch motioned to a seat at the front beside a girl who had glasses as big as water goggles.
Robin nodded and slunk into the vacant seat. She didn’t see the two books on the desk top. They made a loud “fwap” when they hit the floor.
“Klutz,” someone said. Kids snickered.
The teacher looked up, his voice full of warning. “Brittany —” He turned and started writing on the blackboard.
The girl in front of Robin turned in her chair. “Hi, I’m Zoey. But everyone calls me Zo-Zo.” She lowered her voice. “Don’t worry about Big Brat, I mean Brittany. She’s mean to everyone.”
Robin kept her eyes down. If that was supposed to make her feel better, it didn’t.
Mr. Lynch faced the class and began explaining what to expect in the term ahead. Robin had to force herself to pay attention. Usually, she would rivet her eyes on the teacher and take notes, no matter how inconsequential, but that was before. When things mattered. This year was going to be different. This year there was going to be no putting her hand up all the time, no being the star student. No extra stuff either like heading up the environmental club as she’d done at her previous school. Why should she? Where had it gotten her? Bad things still happened.
Halfway through the morning, Mr. Lynch told the class he was going to put them in pairs for a Social Studies project.
Robin groaned. What if she got partnered with Brittany?
“Okay, class, I’ll read out the topics,” Mr. Lynch said, “and you can put up your hand for the one you want.” He looked at Zo-Zo. “Zoey, will you write down who’s interested in what?”
Zo-Zo pulled out a notebook and clicked her pen in readiness.
Robin stared at the girl. She looked like the female counterpart to her brother Squirm with her small frame and freckles. But Zo-Zo’s hair was brown, not red, and she wore glasses. Huge ones.
“Some of the topics are environmental,” Mr. Lynch said. “And speaking of that, this year we have a student who’s won awards for her environmental work.” He unfurled his arm like a red carpet towards Robin.
Robin felt heat as blood rushed to her face.
“Now, Robin, since you don’t know anyone, I’m going to pair you with —” he scanned the class, “Brodie. Put
your hand up, Brodie, so she knows who you are.”
Robin turned. Her stomach did a flip. A boy with a kind, lean face and the biggest, brownest eyes she’d ever seen smiled at her.
Zo-Zo leaned towards Robin. “Lucky you,” she whispered. “Brodie’s cool.”
He certainly looked cool, Robin thought. Something light and airy went through her chest. Maybe this school was going to be all right after all. Then she felt something crawling on her skin. It wasn’t an insect, but someone’s glare.
Robin shifted her glance and noticed the blonde girl behind Brodie giving her a mean, hateful look. The girl was large, not fat but big-boned, and her face was splotchy with anger.
Robin turned away. What was the girl’s problem?
“That’s Brodie’s super-sized girlfriend, Brittany,” Zo-Zo said as she flicked one of her long brown braids behind her. “She’s not cool. She thinks she owns Brodie.”
Mr. Lynch frowned at Zo-Zo for talking, then said, “Brodie, Robin, your assignment is to design a game to make the school more environmentally friendly.”
Robin bit her nail. Just what she needed, another environmental project that made no difference to anything.
Mr. Lynch paired the rest of the class and gave out assignments. When he was finished, he moved to the blackboard.
Zo-Zo waved her hand. “What about me, Mr. Lynch? You didn’t pair me up with anyone. Can I go with Brodie and Robin?”
“Sure,” he said, just as the bell rang for lunch.
Zo-Zo came and stood beside Robin’s desk. “Wow — an environmental hero!”
Robin stopped chewing on her nail. “It was no big deal.” All she had done was organize a paperless lunch campaign at her old school. Most of the job had been hounding people to bring their lunches in reusable containers. The problem was, the moment she’d stopped hounding them, they went back to their old ways. The whole thing had been a complete waste of time.
Zo-Zo stared at her. “Big Brat will really hate you now.”
Robin snuck a glance across the room. Brittany had gathered her books and was waiting for Brodie, who didn’t seem in any hurry to join her.
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