Puppy Love

by Nancy Krulik

  Alana shook her head.

  “And how could you ever trust him again? If what you’re saying is true, this whole let’s-see-other-people thing is a little too after the fact. Seems like Sammy—excuse me, I mean Sam—gave up his conscience when he went to college.”

  “Columbia has such an active student body. They’re always holding protests, against the war or in favor of equal rights. I figured when Sammy went there…,” Alana’s voice trailed off.

  “He just got caught up in a snobby crowd,” Stella told Alana.

  “I guess it could happen to anyone,” Alana remarked.

  Stella shook her head. “Not to anyone. Not to you. Not to me. We are who we are. No one can change us. And that’s the difference between us and him. You don’t need him, Alana. You deserve a guy who knows who he is and stays true to himself. Not some slimy chameleon like Sammy.”

  Alana was surprised by how quickly Connor popped into her mind. But that was ridiculous. She hardly knew him. And besides, she had no way of getting in touch with him. No address, no phone number. So unless she happened to bump into him at the Beresford, she might not ever see him again.

  Nine

  Connor wasn’t at the Beresford on Monday afternoon when Alana went to pick up Nicolette. She tried not to be too disappointed at not seeing him, but that was impossible. Stella’s words kept running through her head: What he wanted to talk about was you.

  Unfortunately, the last image Connor had of Alana was with Sammy by her side. He didn’t know that Alana had just been unceremoniously dumped by Sammy. Or that she really wasn’t nearly as upset by that as she thought she would—or should—be. Maybe it was the fact that Sammy had changed so much that he was nearly unrecognizable, or maybe it was just that she didn’t have to see him every day in the halls at school, but either way, Alana felt surprisingly relieved that it was over—and that she hadn’t had to be the one to break it off.

  “Hey, Alana, over here!”

  The sound of Leo’s voice shook Alana from her thoughts. She looked around and spotted him on a bench near the water fountain in the Riverside Park dog run. Catching her eye, he smiled brightly and waved. Alana waved back and unfastened Nicolette’s leash to set her free. The poodle looked up at her and then took off, running joyously through the sand in the dog run.

  “You look like you’re in a good mood,” Alana said as she sat down on the bench beside him.

  “Totally,” Leo replied. He pulled a thin newspaper from his pocket. “I got my first article printed in the school paper.”

  Alana took the copy of the Washington Square News from his hands. It took her a minute to find the article, but she did, at the bottom of the third page. “RECORD NUMBER OF STUDENTS GET EXPERIENCE FROM INTERNSHIPS” BY LEO GARVIN. Alana paused for a minute. “You know, we’ve been hanging out here for, like, three months, and I never knew your last name before.”

  “Well, now that you know something about me, you have to tell me something about you,” Leo said.

  “Like what?”

  “Um…what’s your favorite junk food?”

  “Chocolate-covered, frozen bananas,” Alana said. “I had them at Disney World once, and I became obsessed. They’re really hard to find, though.”

  “Okay, I’ll strike that off my list,” Leo told her.

  “Your list of what?” Alana asked him.

  Leo grinned and looked into her eyes. “My list of things I’d like to get to know about you.”

  Something in the way he said that made Alana slightly uncomfortable. She knew Leo didn’t—couldn’t—have meant that the way it had sounded. They were just friends. Dog-walking compatriots. He wasn’t interested in her that way. She was just imagining things. It must be the whole breaking-up-with-Sammy thing. It was playing tricks with her head. She looked down at the paper again. “This is really exciting, Leo!” she exclaimed, changing the subject.

  “I know,” Leo agreed. “You wouldn’t believe what a rush it was to see my name in print in a real newspaper. I mean, I know it’s just a dumb little article—it’s not going to win me a Pulitzer or anything—but it’s a start, you know?”

  Alana smiled warmly. “I know. It’s awesome.”

  “Maybe next time I’ll write an article that gets a photo with it,” Leo continued. “The newspaper has some amazing photographers. And when people see a picture next to an article, they’re more likely to read it.”

  Photographers. Alana’s heart sank a bit, as thoughts of Connor swirled in her head. She took a deep breath and focused on reading the rest of Leo’s article.

  “Hey, you know what?” Leo asked. “Modern Art—that band you came to hear the other night—is playing at the Red Rooster two weeks from Friday. Maybe you could come. I mean, you could bring that Sammy guy if you want.”

  Alana frowned. “I can come, but may I bring someone else?”

  “Sure, I guess,” Leo said. “Sammy busy?”

  “I wouldn’t know,” Alana said flatly. “We broke up. Well, actually, he broke up with me.”

  “Oh, wow,” Leo said. “I had no idea. I’m sorry. I never would’ve mentioned him if…”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Alana said, giving Leo a gentle smile. “You had no way of knowing. And anyhow, it’s cool. For the best, you know.”

  Leo nodded. “Oh, totally. You were too good for him anyway.”

  “How would you know that?” Alana wondered. “You only talked to him for a second.”

  Leo shrugged. “That’s all it took. I think you need a guy who’s a little more into you and less into himself. Someone a little more creative and interesting. Someone who’s got more interests than just money and preppy clothes.”

  Alana looked at him strangely. The someone Leo was describing sounded a lot like Connor. But that would be impossible. Leo didn’t know Connor. She’d never even mentioned him. Alana shook her head slightly. Man, she really had to get Connor off her mind. And fast. The last thing she needed right now was a rebound relationship. What a mess that would be. Besides, she didn’t even know if Connor would want a relationship with her. They had known each other only a week. That was too soon for anyone with a brain in her head to even think about something like that.

  “Yo. Earth to Alana,” Leo called out, waving his hand in front of her face.

  “What? Oh. Sorry. I was daydreaming,” Alana said.

  “Guess you got a lot on your mind,” Leo remarked kindly.

  Alana shrugged.

  “Oh, I almost forgot,” Leo said suddenly, reaching into the pocket of his jean jacket and pulling out a sky blue flyer. “Someone on campus gave me this. I was thinking of volunteering an hour or two a week, and I thought it would be fun if we could do it together.”

  Alana looked down at the paper. “‘Operation Dog Adoption,’” she read.

  “It’s a no-kill shelter on the Lower East Side,” Leo explained. “They need people to come and play with the dogs and walk them and stuff.”

  Alana thought about that. The folks at Helping House really didn’t need her as much now that the big carnival was over. That was their major fund-raiser of the year. And now that she didn’t have to leave her weekends free for Sammy, she did have some extra time on Saturdays and Sundays. Besides, it was probably better to keep busy than just wallow in self-pity.

  “You don’t have to work there a lot of hours. Maybe just a little while on a Sunday or something,” Leo continued.

  “Sure, why not?” Alana said.

  “Really?” Leo sounded surprised—and thrilled.

  Alana nodded. “You want me to meet you there on Sunday?”

  “Yeah. Definitely. I was thinking of going over at one,” Leo told her. “That’ll give me time to study in the morning.”

  “Okay, I’ll be there,” Alana agreed. She turned her head slightly and caught sight of Muffy, a little Yorkshire terrier who was a regular at the Riverside Park run. “Oh, man, check out what Cecilia has Muffy wearing today,” Alana said, pointing toward the
spot where Muffy was cowering beneath a bench.

  “I’d hide too if someone made me wear that thing,” Leo agreed. “The other dogs are probably all making fun of her.”

  Alana knew just what he meant. For some unknown reason, Cecilia had dressed her poor little dog in a red coat with black polka dots all over it. Two small wings jutted out from the back of the coat. “I think she’s supposed to be a ladybug,” Alana suggested with a grimace.

  A moment later Cecilia ran over to Muffy and scooped her up from under the bench. “You dropped your hat,” she cooed as she placed a red cap with black antennae on the dog’s head.

  “Yep, she’s a ladybug,” Alana remarked. She began to laugh.

  “Why in the world would anyone want to dress their dog in a costume like that?” Leo wondered.

  “A lot of people do,” Alana told him. “Have you seen that new store on Broadway? I think it’s called The Posh Pup. It’s all dog clothes and costumes. And get this—they even have a dry-cleaning service.”

  “For dog clothes?” Leo sounded incredulous.

  “Uh-huh,” Alana informed him. “I didn’t believe it either when I saw it. But I read all about it when I was at the store picking up Noodles’s pumpkin costume. Mrs. Parker is going to make him wear it on Halloween.”

  “A bulldog dressed as a pumpkin,” Leo mused. “I’m trying to picture it.”

  “Don’t bother,” Alana remarked, rolling her eyes. “It’s too upsetting. I promised Noodles I’d take him to a different dog run on Halloween—so none of his friends will see him in it.”

  “Oh, I’m sure that made him feel much better,” Leo teased.

  Alana giggled. “I do what I can.”

  Leo glanced down at his watch. “I have to run,” he told her suddenly. “Gotta get Pepper back home for dinner.”

  “Okay,” Alana said. “You gonna be here on Wednesday?”

  Leo nodded. “Definitely. With Princess and possibly Morpheus.”

  “Good,” Alana replied. “It’s not the same around here without you.”

  Leo grinned. “I feel the exact same way.”

  Alana could feel her heart beating faster as she approached the Beresford on Wednesday afternoon. Wednesday was usually a tough day—all four dogs at once. But it was also a day when she could pick up Nicolette, which meant there was the possibility that she might bump into Connor. Not that he’d been on her mind all day or anything. Just when she got up in the morning, and during gym class. And that time she’d found herself scribbling his name on her math notebook. But other than that, she hadn’t thought of him once.

  So why was it such a disappointment when she opened the door and there was no one in the Stanhopes’ apartment but Nicolette? Maybe because wet kisses from a French poodle with bad breath weren’t exactly what she’d been dreaming of the past few nights.

  But it was all she was getting. That was for sure. And Alana figured she should be grateful for the affection. After all, the dogs were pretty much the only ones loving her these days. Not that she’d expected Connor to instantly fall in love with her like some fairy-tale prince or anything. Just a date would be nice. But since he didn’t have her number and all she knew about him was that he worked in one of the hugest apartment buildings on the Upper West Side and lived somewhere in the East Village, that didn’t seem too likely. Especially since she’d made such a big deal about having a boyfriend and trying to fix him up and all. Oh, man, she could kick herself for that. If only she had known that Sammy was about to set her free.

  Alana stopped for a minute and thought about that. What a strange way to put it. Set her free. Almost as though she’d felt trapped by Sammy. But she hadn’t. Had she? Well, maybe a little bit, toward the end, anyhow. Alana sighed as she locked the gate to the dog run before unleashing Curly, Noodles, Nicolette, and Frisky. It didn’t matter now anyway. Twenty-twenty hindsight wasn’t going to change anything. And to make matters worse, Leo wasn’t even at the dog run. Alana would have to hang out with the owners. She was definitely not in the mood to hear them complaining about how there were no beef biscuits left at the Barkery that day or some other nonsense. Not when she had real problems.

  “Okay, snap out of it,” Alana scolded herself. After all, she knew better than most people what a real problem was. And the lack of a boyfriend didn’t even come close to what the kids at Helping House faced. Besides, life was full of surprises. A new boyfriend could be waiting just around the corner.

  “Hey, Alana!”

  She jumped as a man’s voice echoed across the busy dog run. For a minute her heart jumped. Could it be?…

  No. It was just Leo. Not that she wasn’t glad to see him. A good friend was exactly the medicine Alana needed right now to knock this self-pity right out of her. “Hi, Leo,” she greeted him. Then she glanced at his chest and started laughing. “Nice sweatshirt,” she added, appreciating the design on the front, which read DOG CRAP HAPPENS.

  Leo grinned proudly. “I thought it was appropriate.”

  “So, how come you’re so late today?” Alana asked. “You’re usually here way before I am.”

  Leo reached into his knapsack and pulled out a long white bag with a silver foil lining. “I was picking this up,” he said, handing it to her.

  Alana opened the bag and pulled out a frozen, chocolate-covered banana. “Oh, wow! Where’d you get this?”

  “There’s a place over on Seventy-second Street that has them. It’s probably not as good as the one you had in Disney World, but…”

  Alana took a bite of the chocolate-banana concoction. “It’s scrumptious!” she exclaimed. She reached over and hugged him tightly.

  “Well, that made it all worth it,” Leo said with a grin.

  “You want a bite?” Alana asked him.

  Leo shook his head. “What kind of gentleman would I be if I took a bite of my own gift? It’s all yours.”

  “Oh, you have no idea how badly I needed this today,” Alana said, taking another bite.

  “Why? Bad day?”

  “The worst,” Alana assured him. For a moment she considered telling him about Connor, but she thought better of it. Why bring it all up again? “But it’s all good now,” she told Leo, taking another bite of her frozen banana.

  “Glad I could help,” Leo told her. He looked out into the yard. “Curly’s looking spiffy today,” he remarked, glancing over at the cocker spaniel.

  “She spent her morning at Canine Canyon,” Alana said. “She got the full works, bubble bath, haircut, pedicure, and massage.”

  “And you brought her to the dog run?” Leo asked, kicking at the dirty sand beneath his feet.

  “I figured she wanted to show off her new look,” Alana replied playfully. She pointed toward where Curly was parading around with her nose in the air, as though she knew she looked really fine today. “See? Besides, a girl never knows when the right guy will suddenly appear.”

  “Is that why you’re wearing that sweater?” Leo asked her. “Just in case?”

  Alana blushed, surprised that Leo had noticed what she was wearing. Guys usually didn’t catch stuff like that. But then again, Leo wasn’t really like a guy-guy. He was more like just a good friend. Sort of like a Stella at the dog park.

  Truth be told, she was actually wearing a new pink sweater. Usually she wore old, crappy clothes to walk the dogs, but she’d put the sweater on at the last moment—just in case. But she could have been wearing a ratty, old sweatshirt and ripped jeans for all it mattered today. Connor wasn’t there.

  “Nah,” she told Leo. “I’m not expecting anyone to pop out of the bushes.” Not anymore, anyway, she thought disappointedly.

  Ten

  ALANA

  Alana was surprised to see the note on the bulletin board in the Stanhopes’ kitchen when she returned Nicolette later that afternoon. It was very unusual for either Mr. or Mrs. Stanhope to have come home at any point in the day, but one of them must have, because the note hadn’t been there before. Mr. Stanhope was
probably the one to have left the note because the handwriting wasn’t the familiar tiny print Mrs. Stanhope used on her notes. This was bolder, darker handwriting. She pulled the note from the board and unfolded the paper.

  Sorry I missed you. Tried to get to the apartment b4 you picked up Nic, but I got held up. Give me a call.

  —C

  Alana stood there for a minute, cheeks flushed, feet glued to the floor, staring at the phone number he’d scribbled at the bottom of the note. Connor had come looking for her. He’d made it his business to let himself into the Stanhopes’ apartment and leave her a note. He was probably taking a big chance. Suppose she hadn’t seen the note? Suppose Mr. or Mrs. Stanhope had gotten to it first? They probably wouldn’t have liked the fact that one of the building’s workers had let himself into their apartment for no apparent reason. But he’d risked it. For her! Which made this little note so incredibly sweet.

  Arf! Arf! Nicolette’s barking got Alana’s attention. “Oh, you poor thing. You must be starving,” Alana said, opening the refrigerator door and pulling out a container of beef-barley stew. She emptied it into the dog’s dish, filled the water bowl with cold Evian, and walked toward the door. Nicolette padded closely behind, with a red rubber Kong toy in her mouth.

  “Sorry, Nic, no can do,” Alana told the poodle. “I gotta run. I have a very important call to make.”

  A half hour later Alana was sitting on her bed with her cell phone in her hand, staring at the note Connor had left. Somehow, she was having the hardest time dialing the number. She didn’t know why, exactly. It wasn’t like she’d never called a guy before. She used to call Sammy all the time, no prob. But for some reason this was different.

  But why? She had no idea what Connor wanted. For all she knew, he just wanted to ask her about doing some photography at the Helping House shelter or something. No big deal. She picked up the phone and began to press the numbers. 1-646…

  Then again, if that was all he wanted, she’d be devastated. She clicked the red off button on her cell phone…for about the nineteenth time.