Gaby pulled her knees up to her chest and held the phone closer. For so long, she had felt like a cat stuck in a tree, peering down and crying out. Now her mom’s voice was carrying her through the branches and safely back down to the ground.
“Roll over, Spike!” Alma ordered. The small dog dropped and rolled over. From a bench, Gaby and Daisy watched Alma lead Spike through various drills. Daisy held Feather on her lap. It was her way to let Gaby spend time with the cat. Gaby was grateful. Feather’s owners still hadn’t showed up, and it was looking more and more like they’d never return. And as long as Daisy was around, Gaby was allowed a break from copying and filing to go outside and watch the dogs train.
“Now for the finale!” Alma extended her right hand in front of Spike. “Stay, Spike. Stay!” Spike’s tail wagged and his ears perked up, but he stayed seated. Alma walked away.
Daisy nudged Gaby with her elbow. “Is he really going to stay this time?”
When Alma took a few more steps Spike darted past her and then circled her.
“Noooooo!” Alma covered her face with her hands. “What was that? Ten seconds, maybe?”
“Don’t give up, Alma,” Daisy said. “He’s improved 99.9 percent since he first arrived here.”
Alma dropped down on the grass. Spike sat across from her until he saw Atticus running loose and decided it was a good idea to chase a dog twice as big and three times as heavy as he was. Alma collapsed flat on the ground. Her hands beckoned the heavens. “He’s crazy!”
Spike tackled Atticus and was now gnawing on the poor shepherd’s neck. Atticus kept trying to swipe the small dog off with his paws, but Spike eluded each strike.
“How can that small creature scare all those big dogs like that?” Daisy smirked.
“Are you talking about Spike or Alma?” Gaby asked. Daisy laughed.
Just then, Dr. V. came outside with a man and woman. He was pointing at the dogs scattered throughout the yard. Daisy passed Feather to Gaby and joined Dr. V.
Spike let Atticus escape. He swaggered over to Alma and dropped his toy panda at her feet.
“A saliva-drenched stuffed panda! You shouldn’t have!” Alma grabbed Spike’s gift with the tip of her fingers. It used to be a plush panda bear, but now its ears were chewed off and it was missing an eye.
“Poor little bear! He needs a shelter of his own,” Gaby said.
Alma swung the bear in front of him. Spike pawed and lunged at it.
Gaby watched as Daisy, Dr. V., and the couple moved around the yard. They squatted down to pet the dogs. “They’re making eye contact with the dogs; that’s good.”
“Who?” Alma asked.
“That couple.” The man pulled out a flyer from his jacket pocket and handed it to Dr. Villalobos. “He has one of my flyers.” From across the yard, Dr. Villalobos met Gaby’s eyes with a worried look. Gaby hugged Feather closer to her chest.
Spike jerked the toy panda away from Alma just as Dr. Villalobos and the couple approached. He chomped on the panda’s remaining eye.
“Alma, this is Martin and Sylvia; they’re interested in adopting today,” Dr. Villalobos said.
Dr. V. handed the flyer to Alma. It was Spike’s flyer. Gaby gasped. Alma gave it back to Dr. Villalobos. She didn’t need to read it. Gaby had read the flyer to her a dozen times. She’d wanted to get Spike just right. And she did.
“Do you want to show them the tricks he’s learned?” Dr. Villalobos asked.
Alma exchanged a nervous glance with Gaby. “All right.” She clapped and called Spike. He dropped the stuffed panda and barked. “Sit, Spike, sit!” she ordered. Alma’s face became tense and her booming voice lowered. Spike immediately sat up, with his tail wagging happily.
“Silly dog,” Gaby whispered to Feather. “Doesn’t he know they’re going to take him away from Alma?”
“Roll over!” Spike dropped and rolled over in perfect form. The woman squeezed her husband’s arm and laughed.
“Isn’t that fantastic?” Dr. Villalobos grinned.
“Shake hands.” Spike lifted his paw and Alma gently shook it. The couple nodded approvingly. Alma looked up at the couple. “Well, that’s what he’s learned so far —”
The couple’s eyes widened. Gaby knew that look. She had seen those same glowing eyes and approving smiles from other folks who came to the shelter and then walked out with a pet. She stepped forward.
“There’s one more trick,” she called out. “You need to show them how he can ‘stay,’ remember?”
Daisy and Dr. V. gave Gaby a confused look.
“That’s right.” Alma narrowed her eyes at Gaby. “Give me one minute.” Alma pulled Gaby away from the group. Spike followed them, which made everyone laugh. “What are you doing?”
“If Spike doesn’t stay put and starts one of his crazy tantrums,” Gaby whispered to her, “they won’t want a lunatic dog, right?”
Alma gazed down at Spike. His ears were perked up and his tail thumped against the ground. He was waiting for his next instruction. “But doesn’t he deserve a good home? Maybe they are the ones who will love him forever.”
“But you’ll lose him, Alma.”
“I know … you’re right. Why did you have to write such a cute profile for him?” She pouted at Gaby before turning back to everyone.
“I wish I hadn’t,” Gaby mumbled to herself.
“Okay, one more trick,” Alma announced. She bent down and extended her right palm in front of Spike. He looked up at her with wet brown eyes, and for a minute she didn’t say anything. She stayed there and stared at Spike with loving eyes.
“Alma?” Dr. V. asked. A few of the other girls giggled, and Gaby flashed them a look that said, “Don’t you dare laugh!”
“Oh!” Alma flushed. She straightened her posture and put out her right hand. “Stay, Spike! Stay!” She walked away.
Gaby felt her heart sink. Feather mewed. Spike sat completely still. He wasn’t pulling on Alma’s pant leg or attacking her shoes. In fact, he was sitting right where Alma had left him. He was staying. After several more steps, Alma turned around.
“Wow,” she said. “The little rascal finally did it.” Spike opened his mouth and showed all his teeth. All the girls who had fallen trying to hold Spike down applauded. This, they knew, was a major achievement.
Even as the girls cheered and the couple talked excitedly back and forth, Spike never moved.
“Good dog! Come here, Spike!” Alma clapped and Spike ran to her. She dropped down on the ground and hugged him. “That’s a good dog! Yes, you are!” He licked her face.
“We think he’s perfect for us; we’ll take him!” the man said.
All of the girls moaned. Gaby buried her head into Feather’s soft fur as Alma kissed Spike’s ear and whispered to him. She heard her friend say, “I love you, sweet Spike.”
After the couple left in their Volkswagen with Spike, Dr. Villalobos put his arm around Alma and tried to cheer all the girls up. “Think of it like this — now, instead of sleeping in a cage with newspaper and an old blanket, Spike will have a real home.”
Alma folded her arms across her chest and walked out of the shelter. Gaby followed her onto the bus, and they stayed there until the rest of girls and Mrs. Kohler joined them for the ride back to school.
It was a quiet trip. Every girl was upset by Spike’s departure. Alma sat in the back of the small bus, head against the window, with her knees drawn up to her chest. Gaby sat across from her in the same row and watched the tears stream down her best friend’s cheek.
As soon as the girls arrived home, Alma ran upstairs and locked the bedroom door behind her. Gaby sat downstairs at the kitchen table across from Alma’s mom. Both of them tried to remember a time when they had ever seen Alma so upset.
“There was one time when all the kids were running through the sprinklers in Marcos’s backyard and Alma stepped on a piece of glass,” Gaby offered. “She cried a little then.”
Mrs. Gomez groaned. A trip to the
emergency room and a dozen stitches later, Alma was back to her sassy self.
“We joke about that day now, you know,” Gaby said. “Alma tells Marcos, ‘The way you were blubbering, you’d think it was you who sliced up your foot.’ And he always says, ‘It was like a war zone with all that blood splatter. It freaked me out.’ And then Alma calls him a big crybaby.”
Alma’s mom laughed. “Marcos and Alma, they are like salt and pepper.” Alma’s mom had the best laugh. It was a laugh that reminded Gaby of when the music teacher at school played the scales on the piano. It was nice being in a home where people laughed. And ever since she’d moved in with the Gomezes, Gaby found herself laughing more, too.
Now, everyone in the neighborhood knew that Gaby was a permanent member of the Gomez family, and it felt good to her. Every Friday was movie night and Saturdays they went to the library to study. Gaby had checked out a book on Honduras. Soon, the animal profiles were not the only things that filled Gaby’s notebook. In between the profiles, she wrote questions about Honduras to ask her mom. She wanted to know about a street food called a baleada, the Mayan pyramids in Copán Ruinas, the exotic Roatán Island, and an indigenous people called the Garifuna. Mrs. Gomez even checked out a Honduran cookbook so they could learn some recipes. Gaby was grateful to have a home and a family where her fascination with Honduras was encouraged.
“So that’s the last time you’ve seen Alma cry, huh?” Mrs. Gomez got up from the table and gave Gaby a kiss on the top of her head. “Well, now that you two are under one roof, I hope to hear more laughing than crying.”
Then, just like that, Gaby remembered the real last time she had seen Alma cry. It was the day Mrs. Gomez had picked the girls up from school early to tell them that Gaby’s mom had been arrested at work. Alma wept immediately. She seemed to know what it meant before Gaby could even grasp Mrs. Gomez’s words. Two weeks later, when her mom was deported, Gaby cried for a week straight. It was Alma who finally dragged her outside and back into the world.
Gaby had to return the favor.
She went upstairs and stood outside the bedroom door. She could hear Alma crying softly inside. She tapped on the door. “I have a new profile, Alma.” Gaby could hear Alma’s bed rattling as her friend pulled herself up. She opened her bedroom door. Alma’s eyes were red and puffy. Gaby sat on the floor and Alma slid down next to her. “I finished the profile for Atticus.” Gaby read it aloud.
“It’s beautiful,” Alma said. “Atticus and Finch should always stay together.” She wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
“Like us,” Gaby added.
Alma nodded and held Gaby’s hand like they used to when they were in kindergarten. “It’s weird, you know? Our number one goal at the shelter has been to get all the animals adopted and yet when it happened with Spike … I wanted him to be unadoptable. I didn’t want to lose him. Some Furry Friend I am.”
“You loved him,” Gaby said. “And in the end you did the right thing. Unlike me with Feather.”
“But Feather’s owners weren’t nice. That’s different.”
“Maybe.” Gaby shrugged. “Still, I’m going to have to say good-bye to Feather someday.”
Alma let out a heavy breath and wiped her eyes. “I miss Spike so much.”
Gaby opened her arms wide. “Have you ever had an eraser hug?”
“A what?”
“I used to give them to my mom all the time. Here, come closer.”
Alma backed away. “Is this going to hurt?”
“C’mon, Alma.”
Alma scooted closer. Gaby closed her arms around her until the eraser hug took over and neither one of them could stop giggling.
On the last day at the shelter, Gaby and her classmates buzzed from one cat and dog to another, kissing farewells. Cameras zoomed in and out, flashed and clicked to capture whiskers, ears, muzzles, and paws forever.
“We are the puppyrazzi!” Alma shouted.
Dr. Villalobos came out of the shelter, lugging a camera and tripod. He didn’t wear his usual blue jeans, T-shirt, and sneakers. Today, he was dressed to impress in khaki chinos, a blue polo shirt, and loafers. “Group meeting!” he yelled. Gaby liked that he hadn’t gone with a long-sleeve shirt to cover his tattoos or removed the silver stud from his ear. The clothes were more formal, but he was still Dr. Villalobos. The girls gathered around him. “Daisy’s got good news!”
Daisy stepped forward. “This past weekend, Atticus and Finch were adopted by a nice family, who has three little boys and lots of land. They’ll be here today to take Atticus and Finch home.” All the girls squealed and clapped. “It seems Gaby’s flyer did the trick again. Great job, kiddo!” She gave Gaby a salute. “And a lady who moved here from Albuquerque is planning to come tomorrow to adopt Puck. How’s that for a great beginning to our Barkapalooza open house?”
Dr. V. stood in the center of the group, as silent as any of the girls had seen him. “I am really going to miss you,” he said. “So before our guests arrive, I want to let you know that this is the last time you’ll ever see me in a polo shirt.” Everyone laughed. “Would you honor me with a group picture?”
While Daisy corralled Atticus and Finch, the girls lined up to pose with a pet of their choice. Gaby held Feather. Alma took the new kitten Milagro. Secret nestled in Mrs. Kohler’s arms. Dr. Villalobos sat in the center with Snowflake on his shoulder and Puck on his lap. Daisy set the camera’s timer and rushed over to join the group. “Say ‘kitties,’ everyone!” she shouted.
After the picture, the girls scattered to make final preparations before guests arrived. While some girls set up the refreshment table with cookies and punch, others unfolded chairs on the lawn. As part of the welcoming committee, Gaby and Alma sorted through name tags and brochures with Daisy at the entrance.
Sister Joan and a flock of nuns from school were the first to arrive. For several days now, there had been rumors that Sister Joan planned to adopt Snowflake. As soon as she appeared, several girls ran to find Dr. Villalobos, because they were 100 percent sure that Snowflake was still draped around his neck. Behind the nuns, a group of eighth graders slinked in like alley cats. Gaby was happy to see that Dolores and Jan were not among them. Their lip-glossed mouths gaped open as they took in the shelter’s big backyard. Gaby was forced to welcome them because she was one of the only greeters who hadn’t run off to find Snowflake. Alma stayed close.
“Thank you for coming to our open house!” Gaby said. “Would you like some punch?”
The girls looked at one another and laughed. Gaby froze. Alma charged forward.
“Hey, if you don’t want punch, that’s fine, but don’t be rude,” she snapped. The laughing stopped. “Especially you, Rosa!” Alma pointed. “My mom knows your mom! And she would not be cool with how you, Dolores, and Jan have been treating Gaby!” Rosa winced and stepped back as if Alma had threatened to confiscate all her lip gloss.
“It’s okay, Alma.” Gaby waved Alma off. She straightened her shoulders and looked Rosa in the eye. “There are animals here that need homes. If you think that’s funny, laugh all you want, but don’t waste my time.”
Rosa shook her head. “No, no, we weren’t laughing at you,” she said. Her light brown eyes lowered and then she looked directly at Gaby. “Really, we weren’t. We laughed because all day Dolores kept saying how lame this thing was going to be, but as usual she was wrong.” A smile spread across her face. “This is way cooler than our stupid clean-up-the-park day.” Her friends mumbled agreement. “And I happen to love punch.”
“So, then, you’re not here to make fun?” Gaby asked.
“No way.” She shook her head. “I’ve always stood up for you because … well, besides the fact that Dolores and Jan are certifiable idiots” — all of her friends nodded — “it’s not right.” Her voice softened. “My cousin was deported around the same time as your mom. We haven’t heard from him since.” Rosa’s voice choked.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know that.” Gaby’s heart sank.
She knew that feeling.
“That day in the cafeteria you said your mom was coming back. Did she make it?”
“No, but she’s okay.”
“Good, I’m glad. Anyway, I wanted you to know that you’re not alone.” Then Rosa shook herself like a delicate bird stepping out of a bath. She turned and pointed at Alma. “And you, Miss Thang! Dolores and Jan are scared of you. Do you even know that?”
Alma shrugged. “I have that effect on certifiable idiots.”
Rosa giggled and looped her arm through Alma’s like they were long-lost BFFs. “So where’s the punch?” As Alma led Rosa and her posse to the refreshment table, Gaby stood still, stunned. All this time, there were actually eighth graders at St. Ann’s that didn’t want to make her life miserable. And not just any eighth grader, but Rosa Solis! She was the queen of the eighth graders. Gaby would have stayed frozen longer had Cinder not jumped on her and licked her entire face. “Oh! My shy girl, Cinder!” Cinder wore a pink bandana tied around her neck. The firemen gathered around and gave Gaby big hugs before they moved on to the refreshment table.
As more parents and pet owners arrived, some toured the shelter while others mingled near the refreshments. Gaby introduced Chloe from the coffee shop to the couple that had adopted Willow. Chloe was there to adopt Pouncer and wanted tips on organic cat food. A few minutes later, Gaby felt a tug on her sleeve. Three small, redheaded, freckle-faced boys gazed up at her. “We brought treats for Atticus and Finch,” they said.
“Treats! Treats!” the smallest boy repeated. Above them hovered a mom and dad just as redheaded and freckled. They reminded her of a patch of strawberries.
“Oh, Atticus and Finch told me to take you to them as soon as you arrived. They are so excited!” Gaby held out her hands and the boys quickly grabbed ahold and walked with her toward Atticus and Finch’s cage.
While punch glasses were refilled and a second batch of cookies was brought out, Alma’s parents arrived with Marcos and Enrique. The boys had lawn chairs flung over their shoulders.
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