by Linzi Glass
I checked on Neptune. He was in a cage with three other big dogs, and much to my relief wasn’t red listed yet. He ate the dog biscuit that I gave him, then slunk to the back of the kennel with his tail between his legs. He lay down and closed his eyes, and I imagined that he was wishing this was all a bad dream and that the next time he woke up he’d be outside rolling on cool grass, not lying, fighting for space, on cold concrete.
As I turned away from Neptune’s cage, it suddenly hit me. Martha would be the one to give Neptune a loving home! He would give her a reason to get up in the morning. She’d have to feed him and walk him, and he’d keep her company while she gardened. She had called yesterday when I got home from school to let me know she was out of the hospital. “Home and alive, apparently thanks to you.” Her voice was crackly and weak.
I had finished my homework as quickly as I could and had raced over to her house. Martha had told me how being alone day after day had finally gotten to her and so she had climbed into bed and just didn’t get out, until Ashton and I showed up.
“There was no one around to cook for or pick up after. Everything felt pointless.” She coughed. “I’m used to caring for others. I like being needed. It gives me a purpose.”
“Call me if you feel sad and lonely,” I told her.
She said she would.
I could barely feel my feet touch the ground as I ran through the shelter to find Rayleen. She was with Steve in his office. I told them all about Martha and how bad she’d felt since her husband had died and how a dog would be exactly what she needed and that Neptune was just the perfect one for her. I talked so fast I’m sure they only understood every third word I said, but Rayleen got the picture.
“Well, that’s a grand idea, sweet pea, but shouldn’t we check with ol’ Martha first? She might not even like dogs.”
“She’ll love him! I know she will,” I said excitedly.
Steve smiled. “That enthusiasm needs to be bottled and distributed around here.”
“Well”—I took a deep breath—“I have a very enthusiastic idea for you both.” I looked from Steve to Rayleen. “I want to put on an adoption day at the shelter and invite tons of people and get all the red listed dogs adopted before they’re put to sleep.”
Steve looked from me to Rayleen and back again.
Rayleen nodded and smiled. “That’s the best idea I’ve heard since coming to California.” She turned to Steve. “Sounds like a win-win to me.”
“Hmm.” He scratched his chin. “It’s an excellent thought, Bree.” Steve rapped his knuckles on his desk. “Gotta work out all the details, but like I always say to my staff, a fresh and eager volunteer with great ideas is never someone to be ignored.” He looked over at me. “Do you think you can spread the word fast?”
I nodded, unable to speak.
“It has to be this Saturday if you want to save the current red listed dogs. This weekend is all the time most of them have left.”
“So that’s a yes?” Rayleen said slowly.
“It’s a yes.” Steve grinned.
I ran around his desk and gave him a big hug.
“‘Save a shelter dog. Mutts are miracles.’ That’s what I want the banner outside to say,” I blurted out.
“She’s the greatest.” Steve looked at Rayleen.
“Told ya.” Rayleen smiled back.
Rayleen convinced Steve to put an “interested party” notation in Neptune’s file. That would buy a little time for me to talk to Martha and guarantee that Neptune wouldn’t be red listed yet, but time was of the essence to get him out.
Chapter Seventeen
I was in a good mood when I walked into the house, and was surprised to see the newsmom, who wasn’t due back until the evening, in the living room pacing.
“I’ve been home for an hour. I thought you’d have been back long ago.”
“You knew I was with Rayleen at the shelter.” I pointed to my jeans, which were covered in filth from cleaning out the kennels.
“Oh, I planned to get home early so we could go to the mall or catch a movie,” she said brightly. “A fun mother-daughter afternoon. What do you think? It’s still early enough.”
“I’m really tired, Mom,” I said quietly. “Thanks, but not today.”
“Well, that’s a shame. I had hoped we could spend some quality time together.” She pursed her lips. “You’ve still got to go out and have some fun, honey. The shelter’s a depressing place, isn’t it?”
“No. It’s an important place,” I said, then added, “and I’m needed and wanted there.”
“You’re needed and wanted here,” she said.
“That’s news to me,” I said.
“Don’t start up, Bree, I was trying to do something nice….”
“You don’t get it, do you?” I held her gaze. “You think one afternoon is going to do it? You’re never around long enough to really know me.”
“I see that, honey.” She walked toward me. “I want to make things right between us.” She reached to touch my arm, but I pulled it back.
“It’ll take more than a mall and movie afternoon, Mom.”
We stood facing each other.
“The truth is I feel closer to Rayleen than I do to you. She’d make a better mom.”
I watched as her hand flew to cover her mouth.
I knew I had gone too far and wished I could take the words back right as I spoke them, but they hit her like a barrage of arrows. I watched her face go ashen white and her lips start to tremble. She took a step back away from me, like I was a criminal.
“I came home early to tell you that I’m cutting back on my hours at the station so I can be home more.” Her voice quivered. “But I guess it really doesn’t matter now, does it?” She turned and walked unsteadily on her high heels from the room.
“Mom!” I yelled after her. “I didn’t mean it!” But she slammed the living room door shut behind her.
The newsmom closed herself in her office and I spent the afternoon in my bedroom.
I sat and stared at myself in my mirror. My mom and I had the same nose, the same chin, even the same arch in our eyebrows. I wondered how two people who looked so alike could be so different and not get along? I had been angry about her TV career since I was a little girl because it took her away from me. Now she was ready to stay home more. But somehow, I couldn’t accept it. Why was she making this decision now? Was it all because of Danny? I wanted her to explain to me why, but she was really hurt and mad right now.
I had so many questions swirling around my head, and I still needed to put together the email that I was going to send out for the adoption day on Saturday. Steve had given me a list of people who had donated time or money or expressed interest in helping the shelter, and I was going to spread the word through his email list as well as my own. I also had a whole scene to memorize from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, since Ashton and I had our final rehearsal tomorrow before we had to perform for our drama class on Friday afternoon. I felt sick to my stomach about everything. My cell phone rang and I was relieved to have a distraction from my growing anxiety. It was a very stuff-sounding Lulu.
“You sound awful!” I said.
“Got a really bad cold.” She blew her nose, loudly.
“Guess you’re not up to posting flyers?”
“Sorry, too sick to walk around, but at least your boyfriend, Ashton, helped put up some.” She coughed.
“He is not my boyfriend, okay? He’s a boy who’s a friend.”
“Everyone’s saying so.”
“Everyone is wrong.”
“Okay, okay. I didn’t call to argue. What can I do to help while I’m lying sick in bed?” she asked.
“Call all the vets on the west side to see if Danny’s maybe there. I’ve done it three times already. You can take over that job. I’ll send you the list.”
“Done.” Lulu blew her nose.
“Thanks, Lulu. Do you think you’ll be well enough to come help with my adoption event
downtown on Saturday?”
“You got the approval?” she said, sounding as excited as she could while running a fever and coughing.
“Yes! This Saturday afternoon.”
“Awesome! Only one small problem. Kate’s birthday party is the same afternoon.”
“Oh, no. I totally forgot,” I said.
“How are we both going to tell her we can’t make it? She’ll be crushed,” Lulu said.
“You have to go,” I said softly. I really wanted Lulu with me at the adoption event, but we couldn’t both let Kate down.
“We’ll figure it out,” Lulu said, then sneezed. “Look, things change. You didn’t expect to be looking for your lost dog and putting on an adoption event. Right?”
“That’s true,” I said slowly. “Things really do change quickly.”
When we hung up the phone, I remembered something I had read in a bathroom stall at the mall a few months back. It stood out among the scribbles that said things like “Tiffany was here 2/11/09” or “My boyfriend rocks!” It was written in a very bold, black marker so it was hard to miss. It said, “The only thing in life that’s constant is change.” As Lulu, Kate, and I went from store to store, trying on clothes and jewelry and stopping to eat frozen yogurt in the food court, I couldn’t get the words out of my mind.
Lying on my bed now, they came back to me and made perfect sense. The only thing in life that’s constant is change.
My life had to shift drastically in order for me to get the meaning.
Only now did I understand. Good or bad, nothing stayed the same. Not ever.
Chapter Eighteen
Ashton tossed a rubber ball across the lawn to Buster and Bullwinkle and they chased after it.
“My dad’s super angry that Stephanie got rid of his pool table while he’s in Europe.” Ashton tossed the ball again. “I heard her yelling at him on the phone late last night. She said he doesn’t appreciate her and then she drove off in her Mercedes and didn’t come back.”
“Maybe she won’t ever,” I said.
“Yeah, I wish.” Ashton lead the way to the pool room, where Consuela was setting out two glasses of lemonade and a plate of cookies for us.
“You look bueno!” she said when she saw me.
“Muchos gracias,” I said, using my very best Spanish.
My dad had dropped me off at Ashton’s house, and as we pulled into the circular driveway, he whistled when he saw the House That Looked Like a Hotel for the first time.
He shook his head. “I’m in the wrong line of business. Should have been a director. Could have filmed fake wars, not covered real ones, and made the big bucks!”
“Write your book, Dad.” I kissed him on the cheek as I got out of his Range Rover.
“Maybe I will.” He kissed me back. “Maybe I’ll do just that.”
Ashton and I practiced our scene for about an hour and high-fived each other when our rehearsal was over. We had nailed it and not messed up once. I knew Mr. Matheson would be happy. We spent the rest of the afternoon emailing everyone from school—teachers, parents, and kids in all grades—about our downtown adoption on Saturday. Ashton came up with the subject line: In honor of Danny, the missing dog, come help us save others!
“Rayleen picked up three more dogs in the past two days because of him,” I said.
Ashton was lying on the floor with Buster and Bullwinkle slobbering all over him.
“Consuela says people who do good deeds get good things in return.” Ashton rubbed his nose against Buster’s flat one.
“People should do good deeds and expect nothing back,” I said earnestly.
Ashton turned from his spot on the ground and looked at me. “Do you really believe that?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Wow. That’s amazing.” Then he added softly, “Like you.”
I blushed. “Why, thank you, King Oberon.”
It was still light out when I got home, and I told my dad that I was going around the corner to check on Martha.
“Make sure you walk home before it gets dark, kiddo,” he said as he watched me leave. My dad had a worried look on his face, and I knew it wasn’t because I was walking alone down the street. He had just found out that he’d be leaving again on Monday to cover a story about a terrorist cell in Afghanistan. The fact that my mom was still so upset with me didn’t make his leaving any easier, and although I had apologized to her over and over again, she was disconnected and distant toward me. I vowed I would never say anything that cruel to her again.
Martha came to the door when I knocked. She was wearing a yellow robe and slippers and apologized for not being dressed. She still looked pale, but at least she was up and walking around. The house smelled better and was cleaner, but it wasn’t quite as fresh and polished-looking as it had been the first time I met her.
“I have the perfect solution for you,” I said when we sat down.
“And what’s that?” she said. Her voice still sounded scratchy and dry.
“I’m going to bring you someone to care for. Someone who really needs a lot of love and attention.”
Martha’s pale blue eyes brightened. “Well, I can’t imagine,” she said. Her bony hand went to her mouth and I could see the purple bruises where the IV needle had been inserted.
“His name’s Neptune,” I said, and took a breath. “He’s a dog that got dumped at the shelter by his owner. He’s sad and confused and needs someone kind and loving to take care of him.”
Martha looked at me and shook her head.
“Bree, dear, that’s awfully sweet of you, but I’ve never had a dog. I’m not sure I’d know what to do with him.”
“Feed him, care for him, give him love. I’ll walk him for you,” I added quickly, realizing that Neptune might be too much for her to walk on leash in her frail state.
“Well, I can barely take care of myself right now.” She touched her hair, which clearly needed washing. “I don’t think I’m up for this….”
“Martha.” I moved closer to her. “You said taking care of someone gave you a purpose.”
She nodded slowly.
“Let Neptune be that someone,” I said gently.
Martha ran her finger over a coaster on the table, which needed dusting. “Well, when you put it like that, let me think….”
I felt my heart pounding inside my chest, like I was waiting for the results of a huge test. “He might be killed if we don’t get him out in time,” I said slowly.
Martha’s eyes went wide. “Well, we can’t have that, now can we? Why didn’t you say so in the first place?”
“Martha.” I looked into her watery blue eyes. “Are you saying yes?” Outside, people were taking their late afternoon walks to Ocean Avenue. Boys whizzed by on skateboards and cars came to a halt at stop signs. But inside a white-shuttered house on Marguerita Avenue at that exact moment, Martha took a step back into life.
“Yes, Bree.” She smiled and folded her hands in her lap. “I am saying yes.”
“Yippee! Hallelujah! Praise the gods above!” Rayleen whooped on the phone when I told her, “But listen, sweet pea, we’re gonna have to show her the ropes, get the dog food, buy him a spanking new collar with her name and phone number on it, and make sure her yard’s secure. I don’t need another one gettin’ out of a new home like Clay-man.”
“I’ll help her. I will.”
“I know, sweet pea, but you’ve gotta know, there’s a chance it won’t work out. We’re rollin’ the big dice on this one: little old lady, big strong dog. Not usually the combo choice I’d make. If it doesn’t work out…”
“I’ll take Neptune.” I said the words so fast I could barely believe I’d uttered them. “I can have two dogs. When Danny comes back, I’ll just have them both.”
Rayleen was silent for a moment. I heard her breathing against the receiver before she spoke again. “Good answer, sweet pea,” she said. Then she hung up.
Chapter Nineteen
Neutrality: to be unen
gaged in a contest between others.
Omission: something left out or not done.
Fiasco: a complete disaster or failure.
Capitulate: to give up or surrender.
Tenable: ??
Stubborn: fixed or set in one’s ways or opinions.
Those were the words on my vocab pop quiz the next day. Miss Jenson kept looking over at me since I kept looking up at the board hoping that the answers would miraculously appear.
“You won’t find the answers there, Bree.” She pointed to the board. “They’re supposed to be in here.” She held an index finger against the side of her head. I had studied the words late last night and was having a problem remembering what “tenable” meant. I’d get a B if I missed it. I’d been so busy responding to emails and calls about the adoption event from total strangers and even a few teachers and students I barely knew who had promised to come. I also had to work out the details of getting Neptune to Martha. The paperwork was already done. It had been emailed to Martha and she had signed it and sent it back with her credit card number for the seventy-eight dollars it would cost to get him out. Neptune would be vet checked and given shots, neutered, and microchipped before he was released from the shelter. Rayleen and I had decided that it was best to take him to Martha late Saturday, after the event. That way we could spend time getting him settled. All of this, of course, had kept me from studying, and now I was facing the consequences.
Kate was sitting at a desk across the aisle from me, and she kept looking over at me, hoping I could telepathically give her the answers. She clearly hadn’t studied hard enough either.
I looked at the word “tenable.” I knew I had connected the answer to my mom while I was studying, but I couldn’t remember why or how.
“You two need to make up properly before I leave on Monday,” my dad had said as we sat through an uncomfortable dinner the night before.
“We’ll be fine, Todd, stop worrying.” The newsmom had given me a weak smile.
“Tenable” and Mom. I said it over and over in my head while Miss Jenson stood over my desk. Then it came to me. Manageable, workable, if not wonderful. We just had to get along reasonably well before my dad left. I quickly scribbled my answer. Done! Miss Jenson squinted down at my page, then nodded her head and moved on.