JayB sort of smiled at this.

  “This is wonderful,” Walter rejoiced, opening his arms as if to hug everybody. “Let’s call Celeste.”

  My person groaned aloud. “Dad.”

  “What?” Walter protested innocently. “We’re having a party. Everybody’s here. I think we should call her.”

  “Who’s Celeste?” Maddy asked suspiciously. “Your anthropologist?”

  “She’s JayB’s mom,” Rodney supplied helpfully. “She used to make me pancakes with bananas in them. I forget what they’re called.”

  “Banana pancakes,” Maddy advised primly. She shrugged. “You learn a lot, being a waitress.”

  “Why would you call Mom?” JayB asked Walter.

  Walter laughed. “Because I want to talk to her, of course. That’s why you call people. I’ve tried a bunch of times, but every time I do, the phone’s answered by some guy.”

  “That’s her husband, Dad. It’s his phone, which is why he answers it.”

  “Well, you can see why it’s awkward for me.”

  “I hate it when that happens to me,” Rodney interjected. “So like I’ll be dating some girl and her ex-boyfriend will call and I’ll answer and he’ll be all stuttering and weird about it.”

  “I don’t stutter,” Walter corrected irritably. “I just hang up on him.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Rodney agreed with a laugh. “They do that a lot, too. Click.” He glanced at Alana. “But I’m not dating anybody right now. I’m completely available.” He winked and then grinned at JayB.

  They ate some more, and finally a few pieces of succulent meat fell from my person’s fingers. Moments later, Alana surreptitiously lowered a cupped palm and Odin gratefully licked something from it. Good people know they should share food with their dogs.

  Rodney didn’t give anything to Spartan. Maybe that’s why Spartan didn’t care when the food arrived.

  People stood and began carrying things into the kitchen.

  “Well,” Rodney announced, “I’ll walk Alana home, so you guys”— he nodded to Maddy and JayB—“can clean up and, you know, do whatever else you feel like doing.”

  Maddy flinched. “Oh, excuse me? So that’s what this is? Some sort of tag team on me?” She turned to JayB. “I’m going to have to make that one of my eight simple rules.”

  “Sounds good,” JayB agreed affably.

  “Oh, I better go too, then,” Walter observed. “Hope I don’t wake up the neighborhood.” He gave a soft chuckle. “The Ferrari’s engine is like angels making thunder under the hood.”

  Rodney laughed. “Thunder under the hood,” he repeated. “That’s probably what my ex-girlfriends say about me.”

  Maddy rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. You don’t even have a hood.”

  Rodney looked puzzled, and JayB grinned.

  “I really don’t need you to walk me home, Rodney,” Alana said mildly. “It’s only a few houses up the street.”

  Rodney waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it. You can repay the favor someday.”

  Odin went out the door with Alana and then it was just me, the cat (hiding somewhere in hostility), Maddy, and JayB.

  Maddy folded her arms. “So,” she sneered, “I guess you got what you wanted.”

  “What I wanted? I wanted more ribs, but Rodney ate them all.”

  “No.” Maddy pointed to herself. “Alone at last.”

  “Right, sure, there is that.”

  “I took a Lyft to get here. So if you want to have some champagne or something, okay.”

  JayB seemed uncomfortable, and I raised my head to regard him alertly. “Maddy, I think maybe Rodney gave you the wrong idea about something.”

  “You can say that, but I know how men are. They always want two birds in their hands, unless they’re driving. So you don’t have to worry, I figured I’d give in eventually. This is technically more than our third date.”

  “That’s what I’m trying to talk to you about.”

  Maddy raised an eyebrow. “Oh, you want to talk first?”

  JayB sighed.

  Suddenly the front door opened. “Hey, you two,” Walter greeted sheepishly. “I’m sorry to interrupt.”

  “You didn’t,” Maddy assured him. “We were about two minutes away from that.”

  Walter laughed awkwardly, then turned to JayB. “Okay. Hey, would you do me a favor? I got the Ferrari started, but I can’t figure out how to get it into reverse.”

  “Sure.”

  We all went outside. I took the opportunity to lift my leg. The night had cooled and the bugs were singing to each other.

  JayB sat in Walter’s car. “Okay, you do it like this. See?”

  Walter nodded. “Oh, okay. Got it.”

  JayB climbed out of the vehicle. “Hey,” he said brightly, “you know what? Maddy doesn’t have a ride home. Could you maybe give her a lift?”

  Walter beamed. “Oh, I’d be happy to. Want to see what this baby can do?” he asked Maddy.

  Maddy frowned at JayB, then turned and looked at Walter. “Okay, fine.” She walked past JayB, giving him a cold look.

  “Goodnight, Maddy,” JayB said to her.

  “Goodbye, JayB.”

  “Take care, Jago,” Walter added. “I’ll see you tomorrow, son.”

  With a lot of noise, he backed the car into the street and then drove off, his tires screeching.

  “Come on, Clancy, let’s get you a proper dinner,” JayB told me.

  There are many words a person can say, but “dinner” has to be the most wonderful of all.

  Later, JayB was staring at a book in bed when I heard an odd sound coming from the back bedroom. I trotted down the hall and looked in to see Kelsey at the open, screened-in window. Cooler air flowed in past her, carrying her cat stench straight to my nose. A moth was popping against the screen and Kelsey was batting at it spastically. She was so frustrated in her attempts to spear the innocent moth that she kept leaping onto the screen with all four claws extended, clinging to it. Then she would drop back down to the ledge, which was a short distance from the top of the mattress. It would be an easy leap for a cat—and for a dog, for that matter—to reach the bed where she was conducting her fruitless attack.

  I watched her, growing more and more incensed. JayB was lying in bed and deserved to have the attentions of his animals. But this one, this cat, did not care. She only wanted to hunt an innocent moth. Without even thinking, the next time she went all-four-claws onto the window covering, I leapt from the floor to the bed and threw myself against the screen.

  I dropped back to my feet as the screen fell out into the night, the cat still attached.

  Kelsey was outside.

  For a moment, I reviewed events, trying to figure out what had just happened. Did I do that? No, I decided, it was Kelsey who had jumped up on the screen, just like it was Kelsey who was now crouched in darkness.

  We would never have to see her again. Wagging joyously, I turned and went to check on my person.

  JayB held a book on his chest, but I could tell by his breathing that he would soon have the best night of sleep he’d ever had. No cat to leap on him in the middle of the night, making her ridiculous, deep-chested purring, rubbing herself all over his face so that his skin carried her insufferable odor the next morning.

  And then I heard an odd yowl, a low moaning. I lifted my head and began panting, as much to mask the racket as to work off the tension I felt.

  “What is it, Clancy?” JayB asked. He set the book down. “I heard it too.” He cocked his head, listening.

  I wanted to think of something dramatic that I could do to convince him to keep his attention on me, but I couldn’t imagine what that would be. Growl, lift my leg on the dresser, throw up? The best I could come up with was to leap nimbly to the floor, go to my water bowl, and lap up water as loudly as I could manage, deliberately rattling my steel collar tags against the ceramic rim.

  It wasn’t enough. Clearly rising above the distraction was the louder repeat of the same unwelcome noise.

  JayB threw the blankets off his feet. “Kelsey?” he called. “Kelsey, is that you?”

  I watched in dismay as he found the screenless window. He thrust his head out into the night. “Kelsey, what are you doing out there?”

  I could only hope he was telling her to go away and that all her food would be given to the dog. He turned from the window.

  He did not go back to bed.

  I watched sullenly as Kelsey scampered in the door the minute JayB slid it open. She gave me a single, haughty look, but otherwise devoted her efforts to smearing her scent around and around JayB’s ankles until he picked her up and stared into her face. “What did you do, Kelsey? How did you get through that screen, you silly cat?”

  I was hoping to hear words like “No!” and “Bad!” but I did not.

  I was no longer as happy as I had been.

  Dear Diary:

  Odin is unable to understand where he belongs. His house, still redolent of Helen, feels like home—but dogs know that home is wherever our people are. I can see he finds comfort in lying in his dog bed in its familiar corner, but he remains uneasy, thrust into uncertainty because Helen is gone.

  Will he accept Alana as his person, now? I don’t know if he can manage that.

  Odin looks to me to lead him toward understanding because I am a dog with a person, and he knew us before Helen was wheeled away by the softly speaking people. But I don’t know anything except that humans will decide everything, as has always been true.

  Alana and JayB speak of Odin sometimes. We both look up when we hear his name.

  “What happens to dogs like Odin?” Alana presses JayB. “An old guy, his owner dead. Where will he live?”

  “He’s a wonderful dog. If he were a different breed, or if Kelsey were a different cat…” JayB shakes his head. “I just can’t take him. I don’t know what happens.”

  “Poor Odin,” Alana says sadly.

  Love,

  Clancy

  Nine

  The morning light was barely beginning to filter in through the windows when I reacted loudly to a knock on the door, earning a stern, “No barking. Stop that barking!” from JayB. I didn’t know what he was talking about, but he went to the door clutching his fragrant coffee and opened it, peering out through the screen.

  It was Rodney and, unfortunately, Spartan.

  “Hey, buddy,” Rodney greeted cheerfully.

  I stepped out with my person and went to sniff Spartan. Despite the fact that we were arguably part of a pack, Spartan remained wooden and unfriendly. He allowed me to examine him a little and then spun and looked me directly in the eye, a clear act of hostility. I went over to mark the shrubs in front of our house, putting him on notice that the entire yard smelled of my urine for a reason.

  “So, hey, how do I look?” Rodney wanted to know. He was wearing pants that left his legs bare and a shirt that did the same for his arms. He hoisted his hands up and curled them, grinning. “I pumped a little iron.”

  “You look like someone who’s brought his dog over to my house too early,” JayB replied. “You’re not due for another half an hour.”

  “I know. I couldn’t wait any longer. I texted Alana to tell her, so it’s okay.” Rodney turned. “So, check out my butt. That’s all Alana’s going to see on this run … get it?”

  “Thanks, I’d rather not look at it.”

  Rodney turned back. “Hey, I want you to know, I’ll never forget how you set the two of us up. I mean, we’ll probably talk about this for a long time. You’re a good wingman, JayB.”

  “I don’t feel like that’s at all what happened.”

  “Oh, come on, you saw the sparks. You got to admit”—he leaned forward and lowered his voice—“she’s really hot. Don’t you think?”

  “Yes, that’s what I think,” JayB admitted reluctantly.

  “And smart. Do you get that she’s smart? I mean, nobody wants a woman who’s too smart, of course. That’s the worst. But I think she could keep up with me easily, long as it’s the right topic.”

  “There’s no doubt in my mind about that.”

  “So. Now you get it. You meet a chick like that, you do your inventory on her. Looks: check. Brains: check. Not crazy: check.”

  “I like your list better than Maddy’s.”

  “Point being, I’m not going to let this opportunity pass me by.” Rodney glanced at his watch. “Time for me to meet up with her.”

  “Come right back,” JayB admonished.

  Rodney looked nonplussed. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, come back and get your dog. This is a Saturday. I’m not walking any other dogs today. I’m just watching Spartan as a one-time, what-was-I-thinking favor to you.”

  “A favor to me and Alana,” Rodney corrected. “Well, ‘come right back,’ you say, but I mean, what if things start to get, you know, friendly?”

  “I promise you that’s not going to happen.”

  Spartan watched his person run off without him and did not change expression. Maybe the animal couldn’t change expression. There was something so wrong with his face, he seemed capable of nothing but staring.

  I had no use for a dog like Spartan, but apparently we had traded Odin for him, since JayB put us both in the backyard. While JayB was out there with us, he lifted the screen up and pounded it back into its place over the window. I pictured Kelsey hurtling out of it, clinging to the screen, and couldn’t help but be a little happy with the image.

  There were, I knew, more moths to come. Kelsey might once again ride out into the night.

  Some time later, a loud panting sound drew our attention. Spartan didn’t move but I went to the gate and wagged as Rodney staggered up the driveway. He was breathing heavily, his scent strong with salt and sweat.

  “Hey, Spartan,” he called over the top of the fence. Spartan stood up but did not wag.

  The slider opened and JayB stepped out to join us. “How’d it go?” he asked Rodney. “Should I expect a save-the-date card?”

  Rodney nodded but seemed to have trouble breathing enough air to make words.

  “Wow, you look completely wiped out. How far did you run?”

  Rodney held up some fingers.

  “Four miles?”

  Rodney nodded.

  “She have trouble keeping up?”

  Rodney found his voice. “You could say that. Come on, Spartan.”

  I was glad to see Spartan ease through the gate.

  “You’re welcome,” JayB called.

  Rodney waved dismissively and walked his dog away.

  Later, we wandered up the street to visit Odin. Alana opened the door, smiling. “You really are the nicest man in town. I’m so grateful for your help.”

  “No problem. So how was the big road run? I guess you went four miles?”

  Alana laughed. “If that. Rodney had a lot of trouble keeping up. I kept waiting for him so I could see where to turn. But it was nice out. There were so few cars, and the park was mostly empty, so it wasn’t like running along the bike path in the Marina, where you have to dodge people every ten yards. A lot of folks had dogs with them. I don’t know why he didn’t take Spartan. I figured Odin wouldn’t be up to it.”

  “That’s true. If you want to drop Odin off next time,” JayB offered, “I’ll be happy to watch him for you. No charge, of course. You’re a premium customer.”

  They smiled at each other.

  Soon, we were down in Helen’s basement. There were several musty boxes opened on the floor. Alana gestured. “I guess … I don’t know. Just start. I’m taking the top boxes and opening them up and dividing everything into piles. There’s a pile to keep that’s mostly nostalgic stuff. There’s a pile of items I think might be worth selling. That’s the smallest pile. And there’s the stuff I hope that charity will take, because if they won’t, we’ll send it straight to the dump.”

  JayB nodded. “I’ve heard that there are companies that will come and buy everything in the house, all the furniture, the clothing. They want it all. So if they don’t sell it in an estate sale, it all goes to a charity that they find for you. They’ll even clean up the house after they’ve taken everything.”

  “Oh, I never knew that. I guess I could have looked online.”

  “I’d be happy to kind of investigate that for you, if you’d like.”

  “That would be really nice, JayB. Thanks.” She gave him a searching look.

  “What?”

  She shook her head. “Nothing.”

  A little while later, JayB pulled coffee mugs from a box. “None of these match. Do you want them?”

  Alana laughed ruefully. “I can’t imagine having any sentimental attachment to a Royals coffee mug. Oh, look what I found.” She waved some papers and then sat on the basement floor. “It’s a letter from my dad to my mom.”

  “You okay?” JayB asked, concerned.

  I glanced at Alana. I could feel strong gusts of emotion coming from her now. I looked over at Odin, and I could tell he felt it too. Alana took a deep breath, and when she spoke, her voice was soft. “Just give me a moment.”

  Odin and I glanced at each other, and Odin eased to his feet. He felt compelled to go to Alana as she sat cross-legged on the floor. He thrust his head forward and gave her a concerned kiss.

  Odin was a good dog.

  Alana wiped her face, gesturing with the papers in her hand. “I never knew anything about this. My dad wanted to take a transfer to Texas, a big career move. And he wrote down all the reasons why they should go.” She looked up at JayB with a half smile. “My mom wrote back, ‘Can you imagine someone like me living in Texas?’” Alana laughed bitterly. “That’s so my mom. She would make up her mind about something and that was it. There was no changing it.” Her smile faltered a little bit. “Obviously, we didn’t go to Texas. As much as it meant to my dad.”

  “Career stuff is really hard,” JayB observed cautiously.

  Alana nodded. “Yeah, I know. Tell me about it.” She looked at JayB. “So, what, those people hit you and you sued or something?”

  “Settled,” JayB corrected. “No lawsuit.” He sighed. “I have a master’s in human resources, and worked in the industry for quite a while before I realized I didn’t really like it very much. You spend most of your time listening to employees tell you things they hate about the company, and then it’s your job to report what you’ve heard. And then we had to lay people off, people considered ‘non-essential,’ like there’s any such thing. My job was to get them to sign the paper. It was soul-killing. So, when I got punched, I hired a lawyer and the company’s insurance wrote a check. I decided it was a reset, an opportunity to start over and see what I really want to do in life. I’m still trying to figure that out, though apparently I’m a natural as a dog walker.” He smiled ruefully.