Chapter 5

 

Barking and shouting from the top of the hill intruded on our conversation. We watched Star throw a stick, and Sunny and Paddy both ran full tilt down the slope in our direction. As they came nearer, my heart sank at what I saw. Paddy was dragging a sodden leash, dripping water and flinging brown globs with every shake of his body, and the girls were well dotted with water spots and mud. Sunny was wet to the knees, her socks sagging over the tops of her sneakers. She was grinning from ear to ear, and so was Paddy. Star was trying to maintain some dignity as the mature one of the group, but her eyes were bright and she broke into a real smile as they came nearer.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” I began, as I stood up. “This dog can’t seem to stay out of trouble for ten minutes.”

Len laughed, a deep laugh that shook his round hips. “Don’t you worry about a little mud. Our trailer isn’t one of those fancy starter castles like over in Emily City. I haven’t seen those girls so happy for quite a while. You’re a real hit here, today.”

Sunny ran up to me. I thought she was going to hug me, but Star grabbed her arm, stopping her abruptly. “Don’t touch her,” Star said in a sharp tone. “You’re filthy, and she’s wearing good clothes.”

Of course, Star had no such luck controlling Paddy, who was trying to rub against my legs while I circled around him in an effort to stay clean.

“Go get one of those old blankets from the back closet,” Len said, and Star immediately headed for the house.

“Ana!” said Sunny, quickly glancing at her grandpa, “I mean Ms. Raven; Paddy is the best dog ever. I wish I could play with him again.”

“You may call me Ana if it’s all right with your grandfather. And I’m sure we could work it out for you to play another time.”

“How about ‘Miss Ana?’” said Len, turning toward me. “I like the girls to show a little more respect for grownups.”

“Miss Ana! Could we?” Sunny caught on quickly.

Before I could answer, Star appeared with a well-worn, but clean, synthetic blanket. She unfolded it, wrapped Paddy expertly from ears to tail and began to rub him down. The dog stood still for her and wagged his tail beneath the blanket, making the Sponge Bob print dance at a furious pace.

“Please,” begged Sunny.

“Yes, we can do that,” I said to Sunny. To Star, I added, “Thank you. It looks like you’ve done that before.”

“Our Gracie liked to play in the creek, too,” Star said. “It’s easy enough to wrap him up and hold in the mud.” She averted her eyes, and I thought maybe she was trying not to cry.

“Take the blanket with you for now. You can keep your car cleaner that way,” said Len.

“I guess I’d better do that. You girls are teaching me a lot about how to take care of a dog. How would you like to come to my house and bake cookies one day soon?”

“That’d be fun,” Star said quickly, looking me full in the face for the first time since I’d driven into the yard.

“Hooray!” chimed in her younger sister.

“Is Saturday morning all right?” I asked Len.

He looked at Star and Sunny, “Do you have any other plans?”

They shook their heads. We agreed that I’d pick them up at ten o’clock Saturday, and I bundled Paddy, with the blanket, into the Jeep. Driving out of the dusty driveway, I could see both girls in the rear-view mirror, watching the Jeep and waving. As I turned onto the road, Sunny blew a kiss in my direction.

What had I accomplished? I found out that Len hoped the girls would find a mentor, and he was hoping to be a better example himself. I discovered that because of this exuberant puppy, the mentor might turn out to be me. And I learned that sometimes people who have the least are the most generous. Instead of me leaving anything with the Leonards, I was taking away a blanket and a kiss.