by Coco Simon
“Whatever. I’ll be fast. I guess I’m stuck with Jake, anyway, for the morning, so we’ll just meet you at the park after. I suppose this means we’d better finish up tonight, though.”
We redoubled our efforts and finished by seven. Alexis’s mom dropped me off, but not before I told them I’d see Alexis and Katie at the park at ten forty-five at the very latest the next morning.
I couldn’t wait for the next day. I had everything planned out perfectly.
Boy, was I wrong.
Things started off okay, but Jake is always slow, no matter what. The good news was he was excited about seeing Mia’s dogs, and he was proud to have a job to do, so that helped get us out the door. It was ten fifteen by the time we finally got into the car to Mia’s, though (Sam agreed to drop us off on his way to the library), and as we approached the house, who did I spy on Mia’s stoop but Sebastian and Dan.
“Whoa! Stop the car!” I said to Sam about three houses before Mia’s.
“What?” Sam looked at me like I was crazy.
“I’m getting out here. Jake, get the leashes and the dogs, and I’ll meet you on the corner, okay?”
Jake was even prouder, now that he was really on his own. “Okay!”
“Why are you getting out, weirdy?” Sam asked with a quizzical look on his face.
I snapped open the door. “I just am. Thanks for the ride. Bye.”
“Okaaaaay. Whatevs! Bye,” said Sam, and he continued up the road and turned into Mia’s driveway.
I turned on my heel and walked back to the corner to wait for Jake. I checked my phone: 10:28. Ugh. Like everything I did with Jake, this was going to take a lot longer than planned. I sighed heavily and tapped my foot.
Minutes went by. I checked my phone again: 10:33. Where was this kid? I craned my neck to see if I could see him. He was not coming, as far as I could tell.
I waited a few minutes more. Now, it was 10:38. It did not take ten minutes to snap two leashes on two collars and walk three-house lengths. “Come on, Jake!” I muttered out loud in frustration.
Ten forty.
I had to go get him. Thank goodness I’d taken extra time getting ready this morning, in anticipation of seeing Diego. I had blown my hair dry, put on cute earrings, and was wearing my best skinny jeans with my favorite striped T-shirt and a fitted, zip-up floral fleece over it, with cool flat sneakers. If I ended up seeing Sebastian, at least I’d look good.
When I reached the house before Mia’s, I could see some chaos in Mia’s front yard. Jake and Dan and Sebastian seemed to be chasing Tiki and Milkshake around. Everyone was kind of laughing, but they couldn’t catch the dogs. Why were they outside not on their leashes?
“Jake? Come on! We have to go!” I yelled from the sidewalk. But he either didn’t hear me or didn’t care.
“I’ve got this one cornered!” Sebastian yelled from in front of a bush. “Bring the leash!”
He dived to scoop up Tiki, but Tiki darted away and all Sebastian scooped was air.
This was a disaster. All I could think about was how late I was going to be for our Cupcake event, and more important, that I might miss seeing Diego. My anger made me brave, and I stormed across the yard.
“What is going on here?” I yelled.
Dan and Sebastian turned to me, laughing, but Jake was stressed.
“Oh, Emmy! The dogs wouldn’t follow me to meet you! I’ve been trying to catch them!”
I was confused. “But they should follow you when they’re on their leashes, Jake,” I said.
But he was shaking his head. “You didn’t say to put on their leashes. You just said get the dogs, get their leashes. When I opened the door to have them follow me, they ran away.”
Dan and Sebastian nodded. “It really wasn’t his fault,” said Dan. “It’s just they’re never let out in the front off-leash, so I think they’re excited.”
Sebastian nodded and added, “Plus, since he’s a kid, they think he’s playing with them.”
I was mad, though. It feels like something always goes wrong when I’m watching Jake. I sighed heavily in frustration, then I remembered something. I stormed up the front stoop and past the front door. I grabbed two treats from the jar on the hall table and came back out.
“Treats!” I called. “Tiki! Milkshake! Treats!”
The two dogs came bounding over to me instantly.
“Sit!” I commanded. They sat.
“Wow!” said Sebastian. “Impressive.”
“Stay!” I held my hand flat, palm side down. The dogs stayed. They were watching the treats in my other hand. It wasn’t like they were doing it because I was so commanding, but whatever.
“Okay, Jake, clip the leashes on to the little rings on their collars, please.”
Jake rushed over and did just that. The leashes were mismatched—I could tell by the colors of the collars and the leashes which went with which, but I wasn’t going to get into dog fashion right now and correct Jake. (But it would have bugged Mia!)
“Give the leashes a little tug to make sure they’re secure, Jake. Okay.” I dropped a treat before each dog, and they snatched them up and stayed sitting. “All right, Jake, let’s go.”
I stole a glance at Dan and Sebastian, and I could see they really were impressed by my dog handling. I couldn’t help being a tiny bit proud. Take that, Sebastian! I thought.
“Bye!” they said in wonder as we trotted off down the yard.
“We’ll be back in a little bit,” I said, waving without turning around.
Jake was still a little miffed, I could see, but my irritation with him had settled down. He was right. I hadn’t said the dogs needed to be on their leashes before he let them out. Sometimes I forget how young he is and how much still needs to be explained to him. I tried to think of something to soothe his ruffled pride.
“Jake, good job with the dogs back there. You got them all warmed up for their walk. It won’t take long for them to do their business now. Plus, I don’t think anyone plays with them that much, like you did back there. They were psyched.”
Jake gave a sigh of relief. “You think? Yeah. I guess you’re right. They were having a lot of fun with me.” He smiled, thinking of it.
And I was right. Tiki and Milkshake were extremely efficient. They did what they needed to do very quickly, and then we walked them briskly around the block twice, anyway, just for exercise. Jake refused to pick up their messes in the little doggy poop bags, so I did it. I didn’t want to have to fight him, even if it really was his job.
Back at Mia’s, I was relieved to see that Dan and Sebastian were gone. Inside, we gave each of the dogs another little treat, hung up their leashes, and watched them dash right to their doggy beds for a well-earned nap.
“Good job, Jake,” I said. “Now let’s go to the park for the ARF event.”
I breathed a sigh of relief and then looked at my phone. Gulp. It was eleven thirty. Quickly, I texted Katie and Alexis that I was on my way, and Jake and I rushed over, taking a bus for part of the way.
I was out of breath by the time we got there at noon, an hour late—really, an hour and a half if you count the set-up time that I missed. But it was a beautiful day, and there were lots of people walking around and playing in the park. Jake and I found the ARF truck, and I was happy to see it was pretty busy.
“Come on, Jake!” I called, and we ran the last little bit of the way, laughing the whole time.
It was warm, so I peeled off my fleece, and I noticed most other people were in short sleeves—some even in shorts.
“Hey, girls!” I called to Katie and Alexis. They were standing a little off to the side. Not really working the table but available if needed.
“Hey!” they squealed, seeing me.
I looked around for Diego, trying not to give away what I was doing.
“He’s not here,” Alexis said, reading my mind, as usual.
“What? But he said he was coming for sure. That’s so weird,” I said.
Kat
ie shrugged. “You never know. Maybe he’ll still come.”
Disappointed, I turned to survey the scene. “How’s it going?” I asked.
“Lots of people are stopping. Most people leave with at least one cupcake . . . ,” said Katie.
I peered into the playpens they’d set up for the animals. “Any takers?” I whispered, as if the animals could hear me and understand. Jake was actually inside the dog pen, laughing and letting the dogs lick him. It was pretty cute.
“Nope,” said Alexis. “It’s like what Mrs. Barnett said. The kittens get a lot of attention. A few people check out the dogs . . .”
“But no one has taken any of them home,” finished Katie.
“Hmm,” I said. “Well, maybe I’ll go check in with Mrs. Barnett. . . . Can you guys keep an eye on Jake while I ask her?”
“You mean ask her where Diego is?” teased Alexis with a grin.
“Shh!” I said as I wandered away. But just as I rounded the truck to say hi, there he was!
“Diego!” I said happily. He was wearing a baseball hat pulled low, sunglasses, a turtleneck and sweatpants, despite the heat. Kind of a weird outfit for a warm fall day.
“Hey, what’s up?” he asked, not his usual friendly self. He’d barely looked at me. It was like he was trying to get away.
“Um, are you just getting here?” I asked.
“Yup. You?” He looked elsewhere as he talked.
“Diego?” I tried to look at him directly, but he turned his face. “Everything okay?” I asked.
“Oh, what? Yeah. I just . . . need to check in with Mrs. Barnett. I’m . . . Let me just pop over there. See ya,” he said.
“Okay. See ya,” I said miserably. It was like we were never friends. What on Earth? I was mortified. And here I’d been expecting to spend the day in the park with him, hanging out at the ARF event. Maybe getting a hot dog at the concession stand for lunch (with Jake, of course. Sigh). He must not like me at all, I realized. And he’s trying to just avoid me.
My heart sank, and my stomach bunched into knots.
I looked around to see if my friends had seen our interaction, and it was clear from the expressions on their faces that they had.
And right then I heard Jake cry, “Rocky!” and a huge dog came bounding over and knocked me nearly off my feet.
“Hey, boy!” exclaimed Jake.
Oh boy, I thought.
CHAPTER 4
Good Boy, Rocky!
I just don’t get how my dad could ever have said this dog was on the smaller side,” I said incredulously to Katie and Alexis. Rocky and Jake were snuggled up on a blanket on the grass while we squatted next to them, and Coach Mike and his new wife, Sandy, tossed a Frisbee back and forth nearby.
“Maybe he grew?” suggested Alexis.
“He certainly seems to love Jake,” Katie said with a smile.
“And I love him!” Jake said happily.
“Um, Jake?” I said, peeking at the dog. “Rocky isn’t a him, bud. He’s a she.”
“What?” Jake said, snapping upright. “He’s a girl dog?!”
I laughed and nodded.
Jake stared accusatorily at Rocky. “You’re a girl dog?!”
Rocky turned, looked at Jake, and panted.
There was a moment of tension when I actually thought Jake was going to get up and walk away in disgust. But finally he said, “That’s okay, boy. I don’t mind if you’re a girl.” And he flopped back down.
We all laughed.
“Phew!” I whispered to my friends.
My phone chirped with a message from Mia. How did the walkies go?
Oh boy. I hesitated. I wasn’t in the mood to type some long reply. I could save the story for school on Monday. GR8, I texted, adding a dog and smiley icon.
There was a pause, and then Thank you!!! Big hugs to Jake!
I showed my phone to Jake, and he smiled sleepily and snuggled back into Rocky’s side.
Katie was staring at Jake and Rocky. “If you dogsit that dog,” she whispered, “you’re going to have a heck of a time getting Jake to give her back.”
I nodded. “You’re right. But I’ll let that be my parents’ problem. It would be a good experience for him.”
Alexis stood. “I’m going to go back over there and check on the ARF table.”
“I’ll come,” I said.
“I’ll stay with Jake,” said Katie.
We walked back to the table. We had not yet discussed the Diego weirdness. I was worried if I started talking about it, I’d cry. I mean, it wasn’t like we were supposed to go on a date and he stood me up, but it kind of was, in a way. Alexis was tactful enough to not bring it up. I could talk to her about anything, and I would, but in a little while. I still had to process it. He’d gone to speak with Mrs. Barnett and then left, flinging me a brisk wave on his way. I’d returned the wave halfheartedly and stared at him in total puzzlement as he’d walked away.
Now, at the ARF table, Mrs. Barnett and her crew were neatening up the display, restacking the leaflets. There were about two dozen cupcakes left, and Alexis freshened up the platter and removed wrappers and napkins to the trash.
“How’s it going?” I asked Mrs. Barnett.
“Well, the cupcakes were a HUGE hit! Thank you! People loved them!” she said. “It was a big draw and a really good idea.”
Alexis came back in time to hear the praise. We both smiled.
“It was Diego’s idea, actually,” offered Alexis.
“True,” said Mrs. Barnett. “He’s a great kid!”
“How about the pets?” I asked quickly, to change the subject. “Any interest?”
“We had lots of patters and holders, but no takers today,” she said brightly. “It’s okay. Pets are a huge commitment. People should be very sure before they take one home.”
I looked sadly at the animals in the pens. Poor little guys. “So what happens now?”
She smiled. “We’ll take them back and place some ads and spread the word and keep trying.”
I climbed into the pen with the kitties. “Lex, wouldn’t you like a sibling for Puff?”
Alexis climbed in next to me. “I totally would. I just know my parents wouldn’t go for it. They love Puff, but they’re not really cat people, you know? She trashed a chair in the living room with her claws, and my mom was not pleased.”
I cringed. “Bummer.” Alexis’s house is superneat, and all the furniture is in perfect condition. Unlike my house, where pets couldn’t do much more damage than the boys already have. My mom always talks about her dreams for the day when we are all out of the house and she can redo everything in just the fabrics, rugs, and paint colors she loves, without thinking about them getting trashed.
Just then a tiny black-and-white kitten climbed up my calf, her needle-sharp claws digging through my pants and into my legs.
“Ow, little guy!” I cried. “I can see what you mean about the claws,” I said to Alexis as I gently set aside the kitten and scooped up a small mostly grown tiger-striped cat. “But they are so darn cute. I actually like the adult ones better, in a way, though. They’re mellower. I’d love to take this one home. Tigerlily, I’d call her.” I smoothed her fur back from her face.
Alexis smiled and patted a silky all-black kitten. “Are you okay?” she asked, not looking at me.
I patted Tigerlily, who purred noisily on my lap. “Yeah. I guess so. Thanks. That was . . .”
“Weird. He was weird,” Alexis said definitively. “Something was going on, for sure.”
“Maybe he decided I’m annoying or something. I get it. I can be a total loser sometimes.”
Alexis looked up and swatted me, laughing. “Now you’re acting like a loser, but no one thinks of you as a loser. You’re the hardest worker I know, you’re totally relaxed around boys, you’re sporty, you’re smart, you’re nice, and you’re a model, for goodness sakes! What’s not to love? Seriously, don’t talk like that about yourself. It’s awful!”
“Thanks,
but I’m sure it’s something I did or said.”
“It was definitely. Not. You. Want me to go ask Mrs. Barnett what happened to him?” Alexis offered.
“No! What if she told him we’d been asking about him? I’d be mortified!”
“She doesn’t seem like the type; she’s so serious. Gossiping about teenagers seems a little beneath her. Plus, she obviously knows we’re friends with him. He recommended us!”
“Well. I don’t know. Let’s just leave it alone for now.”
“O-kaaay!” Alexis sang out. “Hey, look at Jake!”
Jake was throwing the Frisbee for Rocky, and Rocky was running and catching it in her mouth in midair and bringing it back to him, nearly knocking Jake over on the return. Jake was laughing his head off, and so were Katie, Mike, and Sandy, just from watching them. At one point, Jake basically tackled Rocky in a hug, and Rocky just stood and patiently absorbed it.
“I want to go ask those guys about Rocky,” I said, gently depositing the sleeping Tigerlily on a bale of hay. “He’s a pretty cool dog. I mean, she,” I corrected myself.
“I’ll come,” offered Alexis. “By the way, I think you should get that cat.”
I grinned. “I’d never thought of it before. We had a dog. But a cat of my own would be so cute.” I looked at Tigerlily wistfully. “Maybe I’ll ask my mom. But they are expensive to have. . . .”
“Tell me about it!” agreed Alexis. “But you do make plenty of money, Em.”
We reached our little group, and I began asking Mike all about Rocky. It turns out her name was actually Roxy, but his niece, who was a toddler, couldn’t pronounce it and said “Rocky” instead. Then it just stuck.
Mike told me she had been bred using a miniature poodle and a golden retriever, but the thing about these new kinds of breeds was you just never knew which genes were going to take and how. In this case, Rocky got her size from the retriever and her fur from the poodle. He’d seen other dogs from the same litter that were the opposite. Rocky had been small for the first nine months, and then she’d had a huge growth spurt.
“Is she done growing now?” I asked.
“Oh, I hope so!” moaned Sandy. “She’s so giant in our tiny apartment. When she walks past the coffee table, her tail swipes everything right off. I can’t even put my coffee down on it.”
