Shark performs all of his tasks joyfully, and is rewarded with Meghan’s approval and a round of the tug-of-war game. But he knows that her heart isn’t in it, and very quickly the game is over. Today she and Spike’s person spoke words that put both dogs on alert. There was a sharpness, a blade’s width of anger in their voices, although they spoke softly, privately, in that place. Even Shark could smell the disarray in Marley. Respectfully, he let Spike do her job, just as he did his with Meghan. When they parted, it did not feel right. And now, curled into a ball at Meghan’s feet, Shark concentrates his whole being on Meghan’s soft sighs.