Each day, as soon as the sun came up, Henry and Mr. Duffy headed down to the lake. They strolled through the dewy grass, listening to the birds chirping their good-morning songs and watching the turtles in the lake climb onto logs to bathe in the warm sun.
Sometimes Mr. Duffy threw a stick for Henry to fetch or pointed out a rabbit for him to chase. His hip still hurt him occasionally, but not nearly as much as it had when he was racing.
After breakfast, they were off to the little gatehouse at Magnolia Estates.
The beginning of a new day.
But then one day, something bad happened.
Something that made Henry’s heart race.
Instead of driving to Magnolia Estates, Mr. Duffy drove to Wonderland.
What was going on?
Why was Mr. Duffy taking him to Wonderland?
When Henry saw Roger come out to the truck to greet them, he began to shake.
When Mr. Duffy opened the door of the truck and motioned for Henry to follow him into the cinder-block building with dogs howling in their kennels, Henry tucked his tail between his legs and hung his head.
But when they got inside, Mr. Duffy and Roger talked a while, and then Mr. Duffy took an old blanket out of his truck and made a bed for Henry beside a desk.
All morning long, Mr. Duffy looked at papers and talked on the phone. Henry stayed on the blanket, wondering what was going on. Was Mr. Duffy going to leave him here? Just the thought of it made Henry’s heart ache.
But then, at the end of the day, when Mr. Duffy motioned for him to get back in the truck, Henry’s heart soared.
Mr. Duffy wasn’t leaving him at Wonderland after all!
They drove back to the little trailer by the lake, and Henry chased bees and romped in the weeds while Mr. Duffy fished.
Then the two of them had liverwurst on white bread for supper while sitting on the couch in the glow of the television.
When the sun went down and the moon came up, the crickets chirped and the fireflies flickered down by the lake.
And Mr. Duffy and Henry went to bed.