I’m sure you have some more questions for me, and I think I know what they are. So I guess I should try to help you find the answers.

How come some moms (like Fleischman’s mom) change their last name when they marry, and some moms don’t?

Different moms are going to have different reasons, so go ask your own mom why she didn’t or did. And how come, if she changed her last name, she didn’t give you a first name like Anderson, or Kelly, or even Fleischman.

Why in the world did Lulu say, “¿Comprendez?,” rather than saying, “Do you understand?”

She was hoping that Fleischman would think that she was able to speak Spanish. She actually can’t.

What did Fleischman say the first time he talked to Cordelia in German?

He told her she had won first prize in the International Dachshund Beauty Contest. She actually hadn’t.

Is there a musical instrument called the gusli?

There is. But only a Fleischman would want to play it.

So what is this superspecial thing that Lulu wants to buy, this thing that she says she will want FOREVER and ALWAYS, this thing that her mom and her dad keep saying (with many sorries and sighs) they cannot afford, this expensive and wonderful thing that Lulu will someday be able to pay for with the money she has earned by walking the dogs?

I really don’t feel like discussing that right now, but if you insist, I guess we’ll have to go into overtime.