“I think,” Maddy declared, rising to her feet, “she’s doing what all women do, which is to stand right in front of you and stab you in the back.”

  “Or threaten to shoot you in the back if you turn around,” JayB added.

  “I knew you’d say that,” Maddy retorted.

  Walter finally spoke again. “I’m sorry, but no more executive salaries for now.”

  “Let’s go, Rodney,” Maddy stormed. “These straws have broken our backs for the last time.”

  I wagged uncertainly as Maddy and Rodney stomped off again. I saw them stop and open a gate and hook Spartan up to a leash and then they vanished around the corner.

  “Hey!” Walter cried after them. “Don’t forget the party tomorrow. Four o’clock!”

  There was no reply.

  “Oh my God,” Walter lamented. “I’ve become one of those people who fire other people. This is the worst day of my life.”

  I sensed his anguish and nosed his hand. What I knew, but had no way to explain, was that if he only carried around a few treats in his pocket for moments like these, it wouldn’t take much to cheer him up.

  “Yeah, but think of what it means,” said JayB. “What if this really were successful, this business? Picture greeting parties of people at the door, saying, ‘Welcome to the Dog Park Restaurant.’”

  Walter gave my person a sour look. “Picture being the hostess, in other words.”

  Alana laughed. “Come on, Walter, where’s the eternal optimist? Where did that man go? There’s so much potential here. Can’t you picture how rewarding it will be to build on what you’ve started here?” She turned and gave JayB a sharp look. “Rewarding for Walter and you, I mean,” she told him sternly.

  “I didn’t say anything,” he replied innocently. He dug his phone out of his pocket. “Okay, I need to get you home so I can meet Mom for lunch.”

  Walter’s mood instantly improved. “Tell her I’ll pick her up at six.”

  JayB gave him a steady look.

  “I’m taking her to dinner, and then dancing,” Walter explained.

  JayB looked to Alana, then back to Walter. “I’d like to not be in the middle of any of that,” he said delicately.

  For some reason, that afternoon I stayed alone with Kelsey. I paced, nervous, worried JayB had forgotten where I was and was out there looking for me. I reacted joyously when I heard a noise at the door, smelling my person on the other side.

  I wanted to greet him with kisses and cries, but he quickly snapped a leash into my collar and we strode briskly up the street to Odin’s. When we were at the door, Alana yelled, “Come in!” and we entered. Immediately, I smelled Rhiannon. Odin was lying on the floor and flapped his tail in greeting.

  Alana came out of the kitchen. “So … how’d it go? With Celeste?”

  “Well,” JayB responded, “my mom and I have figured out a way to talk to each other without really getting into anything that’s bothering us.”

  “What happened between them last night?”

  JayB sighed heavily. “Turns out Twain left her for another woman.”

  “What?”

  “Walter knows, I know, and now you know, but otherwise she’s keeping it quiet.”

  “So she came back? To be with your father? Like he’s always dreamed?”

  JayB shook his head. “I did not ask about that. I have no idea why she’s here, or what she’s thinking. I try to stay out of it.”

  “Is it … painful for you?”

  “No, not really. I was upset when she and Howard split, even more than when the marriage to Walter fell apart, if you want to know the truth. But I’ve never had a relationship with Twain. Anyway. How are you? Can I help you with anything?”

  Alana looked around the marvelously empty room. “Nope. They picked up all my other belongings from our—” She paused. “From Guy’s apartment today.” Her mouth settled into a bitter line. “Guy and Nikki’s apartment, I guess I should say.”

  “Buy you dinner tonight?”

  Alana shook her head. “No, I think what I want to do tonight is just be alone, if that’s okay. I’ll take a bath and then, you know, walk around and remember seeing my mom in this place the last time I was here.”

  “What about the bedroom stuff, the remaining furniture?”

  “Donated. They’ll be here tomorrow. Then the cleaners, and the new owners will be here the morning after that.” She gave him a weak smile. “All done.”

  “All done,” JayB agreed sadly. “Well, if you change your mind about being alone, I’ll just be hanging out with Kelsey and Clancy. But I’ll see you tomorrow at your going-away party.”

  “Yeah,” Alana responded cautiously, “about that. Do we really think Maddy and Rodney will be there?”

  “I don’t know. Usually in a situation like this, you don’t hear from people again. But what do I know—the last person I fired came back and punched me in the nose.”

  Alana laughed. “I don’t see Rodney doing that, but I wouldn’t put it past Maddy.”

  “Honestly? I think they’ll show. They’re off somewhere, planning some last-minute appeal to Walter. They had such a good thing going, they won’t give up after just one try.”

  “And your mom will be there?”

  “I guess. You’ll get to know her better. All the dogs, you, me. It’ll be like old times in the van.”

  On the way out, I gave Odin a final sniff before leaving. He didn’t open his eyes.

  Dear Diary:

  Humans probably don’t even realize how many wonderful things they have discovered for dogs. Canines never could have figured out that cars can be used for car rides, or that refrigerators contain so many wonderful scents that they’re worth swooning over.

  Beds are amazing—soft things layered in softer things with large, rounded, even softer things on top of the layers, designed to entice a dog into the deepest nap ever.

  Dog dinner is much better than anything I’ve scarfed down furtively on my own, because there’s more of it and the aroma is heavenly. Some of the things I’ve eaten off the floor I didn’t even like.

  A table can be a glorious place. Built to accommodate a dog or two underneath them, tables are where humans set out foods to be handed down in small pieces to the receptive and appreciative dogs at their feet.

  Sometimes, though, people will sit at a table and talk instead of eating. This is perplexing behavior, but there’s nothing a dog can do about it except lie there loyally and wait for the situation to change.

  It’s all different, though, when a dog’s person is upset, or sad. JayB is that way now, cycling through dark moods that are so unlike him.

  I am lying under the table now, not because I’m waiting for him to toss down cheese, but to let him know that whatever is making him sad can probably be fixed if he only remembers he has a dog.

  Though, I wouldn’t turn down the cheese.

  Love,

  Clancy

  Thirty-four

  Back at our house, JayB didn’t say much to me, and he fed the cat without a word. I watched as Kelsey haughtily leaped up on the counter, and then I realized something: I was happy, of course, because even with Kelsey making her tiny, disgusting chewing noises, I was with my person. But I felt even happier when Alana and Odin were with us. JayB carried a lightness with him when Alana was in the house. Also, Odin terrified Kelsey, which lifted everyone’s mood.

  These were delightful elements of life that, in my opinion, should be experienced daily. I didn’t understand why things that were so obvious to a dog were so difficult for a human to understand.

  The next day, I knew something fun was happening because of how long JayB stood in the shower with water pouring on his head. He pulled several things out of his closet before getting dressed, and I wagged as we got ready for a car ride. It was exciting to go back to our personal dog park. I couldn’t pick up Phoebe’s scent, however, except as a lingering presence in the pen where she and I had last frolicked. I took this to mean that Phoebe would not be coming today.

  For a while, JayB and Walter waited in a big room in the back of the building. Walter was pacing.

  DesMoines brought in a tray of food and set it down. “I’ll hold off on the rest until everybody else gets here.”

  Walter nodded.

  “Are you going to be okay?” she asked him.

  He gave DesMoines a startled look. “Why do you ask?”

  “Because you seem really agitated at the moment.”

  “Right. But it’s a good agitation,” Walter explained. “Like the best kind.”

  “Okay.” DesMoines looked between the two men. “I guess you and I have different definitions of good agitation.”

  “We’re having a going-away party for Alana,” JayB explained. “Would you like to join us?”

  She shook her head. “We’re too busy up front, but thanks.” She cocked her head at him. “Are you going to be okay?”

  “Me?” JayB smiled. “I’m fine. Thanks, DesMoines.”

  She turned to Walter and handed him a small piece of paper. He stared at it numbly.

  “It’s my phone number,” she told him. “I think you could use a friend right about now, Walter. A good friend. Call me. Maybe I’m that person.”

  After she left, Walter leaned forward. “I drove the Ferrari here,” he whispered.

  “What? You’re not supposed to drive anything,” JayB objected. “There’s probably not a cop in town who doesn’t recognize that car.”

  “It’s important that your mom see it parked out front when she arrives,” Walter explained.

  I sniffed hard and wagged: Maddy and Rodney were here! So was Spartan, but I was learning to tolerate his presence. I watched expectantly, then stopped wagging because Maddy and Rodney wore grim expressions as they stepped into the room. They ignored JayB, both staring intently at Walter. Maddy, as usual, smelled angry, but Rodney smelled like Maddy—and also angry, I realized. I wondered if Maddy’s anger had worn off on him, the way her other odors had.

  Spartan, of course, was oblivious to everything. He didn’t even glance my way or raise his nose toward the food on the table.

  “I’m going to be very fair here,” Maddy warned Walter. “We’ve come up with eight simple reasons why cutting our pay would be a huge mistake and destroy everything.”

  “You sort of ambushed us, Walter,” Rodney added. “I mean, yes, I’m quick on my feet, and I can handle adversity better than just about anyone you’ve ever met. But still…”

  “In fact, adversity is one of the eight simple reasons,” said Maddy.

  Rodney frowned. “We said that one was mine.”

  Maddy nodded. “Oh, of course it is, honey. I was just giving him a preview of the coming attraction.”

  “Celeste!” Walter called, rising to his feet.

  The nice lady I had met at Walter’s house, the one with the strong fragrances, strolled into the room with a smile. Walter hugged her affectionately. He called her Celeste enough for me to understand that this was her name. JayB, by calling her Mom, was only confusing matters for the rest of us.

  Rodney and Maddy seemed cowed by the new arrival. They said their names to make sure I knew who they were, then stopped talking and filled small plates from the platter in the center of the table.

  “Is this all?” Maddy challenged. “Because if I were putting on the party here, which”—she turned to Walter—“in my position I’m in charge of, I would make sure there was a lot more food.”

  “But not an unpaid position,” Rodney reminded her.

  “Right. No salary, no food. The customers can starve, for all I care.”

  “We’re going to wait until Alana arrives before we serve the rest of it,” JayB advised.

  “But I can’t wait.” Walter grabbed a big bottle out of a bucket of ice, making a swirling sound. He started twisting at the top. “You guys are not going to believe how cool this is going to be.”

  “It seems like that must be true,” JayB said agreeably.

  With a loud bang, Walter suddenly had a dog toy in his hand. He threw it on the floor, where it bounced between Spartan and me. I seized it, of course, but it felt like less of a victory because Spartan didn’t care.

  Meanwhile, Walter had shoved a finger into the neck of the bottle, squelching the strong odors that wanted to escape into the room. “You ready?” he asked in a tone that suggested he was about to give us some treats. I watched with eagerness as he vigorously shook that bottle.

  “Dad…” JayB cautioned.

  When Walter took his finger out of the top of the bottle, it sprayed foam everywhere. He directed the spray at the wall in front of him. I found this to be a very interesting development. A sweet-smelling liquid painted the white surface and dribbled to the floor. I eased over to it and sniffed. Though it didn’t smell like anything I had ever eaten, I gave it an experimental lick, deciding instantly that I didn’t like it.

  I lapped at it anyway.

  “Well, I don’t get it,” Walter muttered after a moment.

  “What’s not to get?” JayB responded. “You just took a perfectly good bottle of champagne and sprayed it all over the wall. Now the wall will have to be scrubbed and probably repainted. Well, you were right: we can’t believe it. Clancy, stop that.”

  I heard my name and the tone of voice and shrank away guiltily.

  “No,” Walter corrected testily, “I mean, there are supposed to be words. I looked it up online. You’re supposed to be able to read the words I wrote ahead of time, revealed like magic.”

  “I think it’s cool anyway,” Maddy assured him.

  JayB nodded. “Okay, then. What would the words have said if we could read them?”

  Walter blinked. Then he turned and his face changed. He smiled broadly at Celeste. “Celeste.”

  Celeste looked alarmed. “Oh, Walter.”

  He held up a hand. “Here’s what I painted on the wall that was supposed to appear by magic. Will you marry me, Celeste? And what I mean by that is, marry me again, and for good this time?”

  Everyone except the dogs seemed to suck in a breath. The room went utterly quiet, save for the steady dripping of the sweet liquid making its way onto the floor.

  “Oh, Walter,” Celeste said again. “Can we talk? Alone? This isn’t something I want to play out in front of strangers.”

  Maddy arched her eyebrows at Rodney. “So now we’re demolished to strangers?”

  “Life can turn on you in a second,” Rodney agreed bitterly.

  Celeste gave them both a blank look before walking away. I followed her and Walter out the door, thinking that’s what we were all doing. When it shut behind me and I discovered I was alone with them, I was disconcerted. Looking back at the door separating me from JayB, I settled uneasily onto the floor while they sat on a bench.

  Walter was still smiling. He seemed very happy. “I guess this comes as a shock.”

  She shook her head sadly. “Oh no, Walter. You’ve been telegraphing this for months.”

  “Well, your arrival changed everything.”

  Celeste put a hand on his. “Look at me, Walter.”

  Walter looked at her, his grin faltering.

  “I’m going to tell you something now, something you may find hard to hear.”

  I sensed an uneasiness in Walter as Celeste pinned him with her stare. “I told Jago what I told you, that Twain and I are getting divorced.” Walter made a slight noise, but Celeste held up a hand. “It isn’t easy for me. It feels a little like, three strikes and you’re out. But that doesn’t mean you and I are getting back together. That’s never going to happen.”

  “I don’t understand,” Walter murmured hoarsely. “Haven’t the past forty-eight hours proven what I’ve always said, that we belong together?”

  Celeste sighed, then regarded Walter with a long, sad look. “Many years ago, I had a date with a man who captured my attention. I think at the time you were selling automobiles, and you picked me up in a brand-new Lincoln.”

  Walter nodded. “It was a dealership demo.”

  “And you were dressed so nicely. And you took me down to Crown Center and we watched the ice skaters. And then we drove back and the lights were on, the Christmas lights in the Plaza. And it was so beautiful. And we went inside. I think it was called the Ritz-Carlton back then.”

  “It’s changed hands a lot. Now it’s the Intercontinental.”

  Celeste shook her head. “Let me tell it, Walter. We went in and there was a wedding. The party was in full swing, and no one stopped us when you escorted me out onto the dance floor. And we danced and danced. And the new couple was so beautiful, and everyone was so elegantly dressed, and I felt enveloped in your strong arms. The way you looked at me … no one had ever looked at me like that before. Part of me felt we were all alone under the lights. And when you whispered that you thought you could get us a room upstairs, I never hesitated.”

  Celeste’s eyes were moist as she gave him a sad smile. “And that was the start of our romance, Walter. You’re a romantic to the core. Remember how you picked me up and carried me across the threshold into that hotel room? That’s how every day felt to me at first. Like you’d swept me off my feet and were carrying me in your strong arms, carrying me into a wonderful future. Do you remember?”

  Walter’s voice was a whisper, immeasurably sad. “Of course.”

  “I accepted your invitation to come visit you here because I do care about you, and to try to see if I could recapture a little bit of that magic. I wanted to close my eyes and feel as if we had just left the dance floor, hand in hand, ascending in that glass elevator, seeing all the beautiful lights as we sped to the penthouse. I wanted to know if that young woman, that girl, still lives.” She touched her chest. “Lives inside my heart.”

  “She does. You haven’t changed, Celeste. You look exactly the same.”

  Her smile was wry. “Thank you. I would say you haven’t changed either, but I’m not sure I would mean it as a compliment.”

  Walter frowned. “I don’t think you understand.” He gestured. “This is my restaurant. I’m a businessman now. I have a Ferrari, and a beautiful home. When you and I split, I had not a penny to my name. But I can support you now, Celeste. And we don’t have to live here. We can move to Florida or wherever you want. Paris, even.”