by Susan Hughes
“Thank you,” said Kat, feeling especially pleased. “Nice to meet you too. Now here we go,” she said and picked him up. He was so soft. Kat held the puppy close against her chest. She could feel his heart thumping. He was even tinier than his sisters.
Suddenly Kat was worried. The puppies were very sweet, but it might be difficult to find owners for all three. Especially in only a few days. Especially if one puppy acted a little shy. What would happen if they couldn’t find someone who would love each puppy forever? What would happen to this little fellow if they couldn’t find someone who wanted to take him home?
The door opened, and Grace peeked her head in.
“Kat? Maya?” she called.
“Hi, Grace,” replied Kat. “Come in quickly and close the door behind you. The puppies are loose!”
Grace quickly slipped into the room. “Hi, guys! Sorry I’m late,” she said. Grace caught sight of the three puppies. “Oh my goodness!” she cooed. She whipped off her backpack and dropped the art supplies by the door. “Look at you cute little things!”
Kat remembered the first time she saw Grace. It was just a short time ago. Grace had just moved to Orchard Valley. She was put in Kat’s class. She stood at the front of the room with their teacher, Ms. Mitchell. She didn’t smile. Her arms were straight down at her sides. Her face was stony.
At first Kat thought Grace was just…mean. That’s what all the other kids in the class thought too. But Kat had been helping Aunt Jenn look after a puppy called Riley. And Riley had taught her that Grace was just missing her own dog and her own home. Grace looked mean when she was scared or embarrassed.
Now Grace squatted on the floor. The two female pups were chasing a ball across the floor. But when they saw the girl crouching there, they hurried over to her, their legs flying. They jumped up at her like jack-in-the-boxes.
“Bichons are really great at doing tricks. In the past they performed in circuses,” said Kat, grinning.
Kat read about dogs on the Internet. She read every dog book she could get her hands on. Her favorite book was Dog Breeds of the World. She must have read it more than twenty times. She wanted to learn everything she could about dogs.
Grace clapped her hands together. “I can’t believe it! Just look at these two prance and pirouette!” She patted one puppy with each hand. “Hello, my friends!” Then she looked at the male puppy. “And what about this little one?” He was happily chewing on a squeaky toy. “Come on over and see me,” Grace coaxed. “Come on.” She stretched out a hand to the puppy. He wagged his tail, but he stayed where he was. His sisters jumped at Grace’s hand, wanting the attention back on them.
“So, first things first,” said take-charge Maya. “Grace, we have to find names for these three. I’ll get the books Aunt Jenn mentioned.”
Maya hurried out to the waiting room and returned with the books. She passed them out. Then she pulled out some paper and a pen from the bag of art supplies.
“I’ll be the recorder,” Maya said. “Okay, anytime you find a good name, call it out, and I’ll write it down.”
The girls settled into a brainstorming session. Kat sat on the floor near the male puppy. She found a section in her book on names for male dogs. As she looked through the names, she tugged on the squeaky toy. The puppy pulled back on the toy, his head down and his rear end up in the air. She liked his fierce little growling sounds.
“How about Snowball?” suggested Grace. She flicked the end of one of her long red braids. “Or Snowflake?”
“Good. I’ll write those down,” said Maya.
“Puff?” Grace added.
“You know,” said Kat thoughtfully, “the name bichon frise is French, and it actually means curly lap dog.”
“Perfect!” Grace laughed. “I bet I could fit both of these pups in my lap at once!”
“So, maybe it would be a good idea to give these puppies French names,” suggested Kat.
“Mais oui!” cried Maya. “That’s a great idea!”
Grace smiled, but it was difficult for Kat to tell if she agreed or not. She didn’t often tell the girls what she was thinking. Grace is a little like the third bichon frise puppy, Kat thought with a grin. A bit quiet. A bit cautious.
Kat wondered if Grace was like that with everyone. Or was it just with her and Maya? Kat had become friends with Grace first. Then she had introduced her to Maya. The two of them were getting along all right now, but the other kids at school still didn’t seem to know what to make of Grace. Kat hoped Grace would make more new friends soon.
She sighed. For some reason, friendship was definitely not easy. And sometimes kids at school seemed to make things even harder. Dogs seem to make friends a lot easier than people do, Kat thought.
Just then, the male puppy picked up the squeaky toy and trotted to the other side of the room. He flopped down and curled up with the toy, all alone.
Except for this guy, that is, Kat thought. He doesn’t seem to want to make friends with us!
“So come on, girls,” Maya said impatiently. “Names! We need names! And in French, si’l vous plaît!” Maya made googly eyes. “That means please, for those who don’t understand French as well as moi!”
Kat and Grace giggled. Soon the names were flying. Maya listed them all.
While the girls worked, the two female puppies fell asleep near the basket of toys—one on top of the other, exhausted from their exploring, running, and tugging. The male puppy snoozed, tucked up against his squeaky toy.
“Okay,” announced Maya after a while. “I think we have a long enough list.”
Maya read out the names one by one, and the girls voted for the names they liked best. Grace jotted down the scores.
“Now for the results,” said Maya after doing a tally. “First, the female with the deep, dark eyes. She will be Aimée, which means loved. The female with the chocolate-brown eyes is Chantal. I don’t know what it means, but it sounds so pretty. Chantal, Chantal!” repeated Maya, grinning. “And the male? Say bonjour to Bijou, which means jewel.”
“Perfect,” said Grace. “I love these names.”
“Me too.” Kat smiled, delighted.
Grace pulled out the markers, pens, paper, and poster boards. The girls talked about what to write on the posters so they could find good homes for the puppies.
“Must be kind and loving,” suggested Maya.
“Must be willing to go on walks—rain or snow,” said Grace.
“Must need a very special friend,” added Kat, looking at Bijou.
Then, all at once the puppies woke up. Right away, they were on the go! Chantal scooted to the corner of the room and peed. With a happy yip, Aimée pounced on a marker that had fallen to the floor. And Bijou decided to try to chew open a bag of dog biscuits that Aunt Jenn had set by the back door.
The girls decided to take turns playing with the puppies and making the posters. As they worked, Aunt Jenn came into the doggy day care room.
“How’s it going in here?” Aunt Jenn asked. She popped a piece of gum in her mouth. “How are the little ones?”
“We’ve named the puppies Aimée, Chantal, and Bijou,” explained Kat. “We’re making posters, and we’re going to post them up and down the main street and at school!”
“Wonderful!” exclaimed Aunt Jenn. “Please put the Tails Up! telephone number on the posters. Tony can arrange for us to meet with any interested callers.”
She grinned as Aimée and Chantal came tumbling toward her. “I hope there are three families out there who want new puppies—and soon! These scallywags really need to be with their own people soon.”
Aunt Jenn squatted down. The two fluffy white puppies covered her hand in kisses. “But I’m sure we won’t have any trouble once they meet them. These two certainly are hard to resist!” She laughed.
Kat looked at Bijou, who was sitting watching his
sisters. He had his head cocked to one side. What about him? Kat wondered. Will Bijou be friendly enough to get a family of his own?
It gave her a funny feeling. Part of her wanted the puppy to be left behind. Maybe she could convince her parents to let her bring him home! But another part of her knew that wasn’t possible. And if no one wanted him, what would happen to the sweet little guy?
Kat shuddered and put the thought out of her head.
“I must get back to my clients,” said Aunt Jenn, standing up again. “Now, girls, when you leave, please make sure the puppies are safely back in their kennel.” Aunt Jenn blew a pink bubble with her gum. “Also, Kitty-Kat, could you, Maya, and Grace come after school on Monday and help out with these three again? That is, if they’re all still here.”
“Sure,” said Kat. She looked at Maya and Grace, who both nodded enthusiastically.
“Lovely. Well then, ta-ta!” Aunt Jenn said cheerily. And off she went.
All morning and all afternoon, Kat couldn’t stop thinking about Bijou. She sat in class at her desk with her math questions in front of her. But she didn’t see numbers. Instead she saw a cute little white bichon frise chewing on a squeaky toy. She saw him cuddled up across the room, sleeping. She saw him looking at her, his head cocked to one side, cautious.
Kat looked at the clock. She sighed. The hands did not seem to be moving very quickly today.
Come on, she told herself. Just focus. Do your assignment. It might make the time go by faster.
She bent over her math questions and began to work.
When she looked up again, the hands on the clock had moved. Finally.
Kat grinned and looked at Grace, who sat at the desk beside her. Grace was pulling at one of her braids and staring into space. Her paper was blank.
“Hey,” Kat whispered. “I know what you’re thinking about.”
Grace smiled back at her.
“Bichon frise puppies? And the interviews?”
Grace nodded.
“All right, class,” said Ms. Mitchell. She stood at the front of the room. Behind her, on the blackboard, she had written the same math questions that were on their papers. “Now, I need some brave souls to come up and show us their work. But I’m not going to ask for volunteers this time.” She looked around. “Owen, Cora, Lindsay, Grace. Come up, please.”
Grace shot Kat a panicked look. She didn’t move from her seat while the other children got up and went to the board.
“Grace, you have to go,” Kat told her. She gave her shoulder a gentle push.
“I can’t do it,” Grace said. She flushed.
“That’s okay. Just go and try,” Kat suggested.
“I’ll get them all wrong,” Grace said.
“Ms. Mitchell will help you,” Kat told her.
Someone snickered from behind. It was Megan. She sat behind Grace.
Kat turned around and glared at Megan. Megan rolled her eyes, like she thought Grace was stupid. It wasn’t the first time. Megan had been mean to Grace from the start.
Kat decided not to say anything. It might just encourage Megan. That’s what Kat’s mom said sometimes when she was arguing with Aidan. Megan snickered again, and Grace must have heard her. Grace had that mean look on her face. Her face looked like stone. Kat knew it meant Grace was embarrassed or uncomfortable. It didn’t mean she was going to do something nasty. It didn’t even mean she was thinking unpleasant thoughts. That was the thing you had to know about Grace. How she looked didn’t often equal how she felt. It wasn’t like a math question.
Grace got up and began walking to the board.
“The new girl. What’s her name again?” Megan said, pretending she’d forgotten. She spoke just loud enough so Kat and Grace could hear.
Grace kept walking. Her arms were straight down at her sides.
She picked up the chalk and looked at the math questions, but she didn’t write anything.
Just as Kat had predicted, Ms. Mitchell came and stood beside her. She talked to Grace in a soft voice, pointing at the numbers, explaining what to do. In only a few minutes, Grace was filling in all the answers and they were correct.
When the end-of-the-day bell rang, Kat and Grace hurried out to meet Maya.
“That Megan is so mean,” Kat said to Grace.
Grace didn’t reply.
“I should say something to her. Defend you,” suggested Kat. “Tell Ms. Mitchell she’s bothering you. Or…do something mean to her. Take revenge. That’s what Maya always says, and maybe she’s right…” Kat didn’t like the idea, but maybe it would work.
“No!” Grace said. She turned to Kat and put her hand on her arm, stopping her. “No. Don’t.”
“But…” Kat stopped. She could see tears in Grace’s eyes.
“Don’t. Please,” Grace insisted.
“Okay,” agreed Kat. “I won’t.”
• • •
Maya was waiting at the usual spot.
“So?” she asked, as they headed down the street toward the grooming salon. “Let’s have it. Joke of the day. You forgot to tell us one this morning before school.”
Grace slapped her forehead and tried not to grin. “And I thought I’d escaped.”
“No, it is a tradition that we must endure,” said Maya. “Come on now, Kat-Nip. Hit us with one.”
Kat thought for a moment. “What do you get if you cross a sheepdog with a rose?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” said Maya.
“Me neither,” said Grace.
“A cauliflower!” cried Kat. “Get it? A collie-flower?”
“Oh! So bad,” moaned Maya.
“So, so bad,” echoed Grace. “Worst ever.”
Kat started to laugh. But just then Megan and Cora rode by on their bikes.
“Kat and Owen sitting in a tree,” they chanted. “K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”
The two girls didn’t even look at Kat. But Kat knew they meant her to hear them. That Megan. Take the g out of her name and it spelled mean.
Maya frowned. “I thought they stopped teasing you after you stood up to them,” she said to Kat.
“Yeah, well, they started again,” Kat said. She shrugged. She tried to pretend it didn’t bother her. She hoped they weren’t teasing Owen too. He wasn’t her boyfriend, but he was nice.
Soon the girls reached Aunt Jenn’s salon. Inside it was as crowded as usual. Tony looked up, gave a friendly wave, and then went back to typing on the computer. Marmalade stuck her tail up in the air and pretended the girls weren’t there.
Kat stroked Marmalade’s back anyway. “You can’t fool me,” she whispered into the tabby cat’s ear.
Then Kat led Maya and Grace past the five clients: a border collie, two Pomeranians, a West Highland terrier, and a Doberman.
Kat paused with her hand on the door to the doggy day care room. What if one or two of the puppies were gone? What if Bijou wasn’t there?
Kat breathed a sigh of relief. All three of the puppies were still there. Kat wanted the puppies to find homes, but she didn’t want them to leave without saying good-bye! And of course Aunt Jenn wouldn’t let that happen. Not even if the puppies did find homes.
The girls put down their backpacks and hurried over to the kennel.
“Hello, Chantal. Bonjour!” said Maya, lifting out the brown-eyed puppy. Chantal licked Maya’s cheeks and wiggled with excitement.
“Now you, Aimée. Out you come,” said Grace. She gave the snow-white puppy a quick kiss on her tiny head.
“And you too, Bijou,” murmured Kat. The puppy wagged his curled-up tail while she held him close. He was being so friendly. Maybe he remembered her! Kat smelled his lovely puppy smell. She stroked his soft coat.
“Play time!” announced Kat. When the girls set down the puppies, Chantal and Aimée scampered toward each other and began to w
restle. Bijou, however, had other things on his mind. He headed over to the toy basket and found a small plastic ball. He tried to bite it, but it was much too large for him to get a grip. It rolled away, and he chased it and tried again.
“Those sisters are going to miss each other,” said Maya, watching them tussle. “But this one?” Maya added, pointing to Bijou. “Not so much. He’s a bit of a loner, isn’t he?”
The time went quickly. The girls knew they had to make the most of it. Perhaps all the puppies would have new homes by tomorrow!
Maya and Grace played with Aimée and Chantal. They sat on the floor across from each other with the puppies in between them. They rolled a soccer ball back and forth to each other. The puppies ran back and forth too, chasing the ball. A few times, Chantal was so excited she almost did a somersault. Aimée kept skidding into the girls’ legs, unable to stop in time.
Bijou seemed happy playing alone, but Kat was worried. “You need to be able to socialize,” she whispered to him. “It’s important. Most people get dogs because they want to play with them. You won’t get chosen if you don’t seem very friendly.”
Kat took Bijou’s ball and threw it for him, but he wouldn’t chase it.
He headed back to the toy basket and picked out a toy bone. He growled and shook it in his mouth.
Kat laughed. “Here, bring it here!” she said, crouching down and patting the floor. “Bring it to me!” But Bijou didn’t come. He didn’t even look at her.
Kat got a real dog biscuit from the bag that was now up on the shelf. She sat down across from Bijou.
“Look, Bijou! A biscuit for you!” she said, trying to tempt him. “Come here. Come here and you can have it.”
Bijou dropped the toy bone.
“Here you go. Good puppy!” Kat said encouragingly.
Bijou turned and went back to the toy basket to look for another toy.
Kat looked at Maya and Grace. They were both lying on their backs giggling, and Chantal and Aimée were climbing up and over them.
