The next morning,
my mom asked me
to put together a big bag for Antoine,
with his food
and bones
and favorite toys
and the blanket he loves to sleep on.
I didn’t want to gather his things.
Because that would make it easier for him to go.
But I knew what he loved best
and what he’d miss most.
And I wanted to make sure he had everything.
So I put together his bag.
Then I put Antoine on his leash,
and our family went downstairs together.
To wait for the doggie camp van.
It was supposed to arrive at 10:00 that morning.
But we were still waiting at 10:18.
“I hope they haven’t forgotten,” my mom said.
“I hope they have,” I said.
A squirrel ran by,
and I had to keep Antoine from chasing it.
Then he said hello to Duchess,
the giant poodle
that lives in the apartment below us.
Finally,
a white van pulled up.
It had these words painted on the side:
YIP-YAP U
A COLLEGE FOR CANINES
“We’re sending Antoine to college?” I said.
“They’re just being clever,” my mom said.
“He won’t go to Harvard until he’s eighteen,”
my dad said.
“Everyone is being clever,” my mom said.
And then a tall man with very curly hair
hopped out of the van.
“You must be the Kanes,” he said to us.
“I’m Pete.”
After the grown-ups shook hands,
Pete crouched down in front of Antoine.
I wanted Antoine to growl at him.
Maybe even nip.
Instead, he wagged his tail.
Especially when Pete started feeding him treats.
That’s cheating, I thought.
I glared at Pete, the big fat cheat,
who’d come to take my dog from me.
But he didn’t notice.
He was too busy rubbing
the little space between Antoine’s eyes.
“We’re going to be good friends, aren’t we?”
he said to Antoine.
Then he stood back up
and glanced at his watch.
“Traffic,” he said, shaking his head.
and I have two more dogs to pick up.”
“Here you go,” my dad said,
handing over Antoine’s bag.
Pete slung it over his shoulder
and scooped Antoine up with one hand.
“Put him down!” I wanted to say.
I hadn’t even said good-bye!
Maybe Pete understood,
because he said to Antoine,
“Give everyone some love.”
We all gathered around
and said a quick good-bye.
“We’ll miss you, little guy,”
my dad said, rubbing Antoine’s neck.
“I want you to have fun,” my mom told Antoine.
And I said, “Don’t be scared.”
Then Pete put Antoine’s bag
and Antoine
“Don’t worry,” he said.
“I’ve got him in a doggie seat belt.
Very safe and comfy.”
I could see Antoine through the van window,
sitting on the seat,
all buckled up.
Looking confused.
I hated that we were giving him to a stranger.
“What’s your last name?” I shouted at Pete
as he walked around the van.
He shouted back something
that sounded like “Pain!”
“We don’t know anything about that man,”
I told my parents.
“Please don’t worry,” my mom said.
“Everything will be fine.”
Then Pete Pain climbed into the van.
And we all watched
farther and farther away.
“I’m having bad memories,” I said.
“I’m remembering Bibi,
waving good-bye.”
“Me, too,” my parents both said, together.
Because when I was eight,
my very special babysitter, Bibi,
rode off, too.
In the backseat of a cab.
And moved to Florida, forever.
“Antoine will be back,” my mom said,
“in two short weeks.”
“He might have to escape from Pete,” I said.
I imagined Pete with a mask on,
carrying Antoine in a sack.
And Antoine struggling to get out.
“He will not have to escape from Pete,”
my mom said.
“I give you my solemn promise.”
“So do I,” my dad said.
He put his arm around me,
and I decided to believe both of them
as we all went upstairs together.