It was dark when I heard the phone ring. Then there were voices. Loud voices. I looked at my clock. It was ten. Next to me Callie slept.
Callie? Where was Jack?
When I got out of bed, I saw that the outside house lights were on, even the spotlights that lit up the fenced-in yard.
Kodi was staring out the windows of the kitchen. He ran to the door asking to go out.
Daddy came in the door, wearing a wet slicker.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
I rubbed my eyes.
“Jack got out,” said Daddy. “Mama’s going after him.”
“How?”
“The gate was open. He ran off.”
Daddy grabbed a plastic bag of dog snacks and the big flashlight.
“Are you going too?” I asked.
Daddy shook his head. “I have an emergency. Mama will have to handle it. She’ll be all right. She’s been through this before.”
Mama came into the kitchen, and I could hear heavy rain in the darkness outside.
“I’m going to take Kodi,” she said. “He’ll help find Jack. Zoe, you’ll have to keep Callie calm. She might be scared that the other dogs are gone.”
“She’s sleeping on my bed,” I said.
“Well, good. Give her snacks, play with her. Anything to keep her happy.”
Mama slipped the leash over Kodi’s head. He wagged his tail and pranced, ready to go out.
“Don’t worry, Zoe. We’ll be back sometime. And I have my cell phone, if it works in this weather.”
Mama and Kodi were gone.
I looked through the window and saw wind and rain in the lit backyard.
“I’ll be at the clinic, but you can call if you need me,” said Daddy.
And then Daddy was gone too.
It was quiet in the kitchen. Alice was sleeping. Callie was sleeping.
I sat at the kitchen table.
I thought about Jack out in the rain and dark.
At least Mama and Kodi had each other while they searched.
But Jack was alone.
A clap of thunder made me jump. I heard Callie whimper in my bedroom.
I went in and lay down next to her. I put my arm around her and felt her shaking.
“It’s all right, Callie,” I whispered. “The thunder will be gone soon. The rain will be gone soon. Everything will be all right.”
She stopped shaking. She slept.
I slept some, but the rain and wind kept waking me.
But in the morning, at first light, the rain had not gone.
And everything was not all right.