Rules of the Ruff

by Heidi Lang

  “Do you know what kind you’ll get?” he asked.

  “I haven’t decided yet. But lately . . . I’ve been thinking I kind of want a Klee Kai.”

  “A what what?”

  She laughed. “It looks like a husky, only small, like twenty pounds.”

  “That sounds like the cutest dog ever.”

  “Yeah, that’s what everyone says. The one I know, though, she’s kind of entitled. Sort of bossy, too.” She thought of how Hazel gave her kisses that one day and smiled. “But she can be sweet when she wants to be.”

  “Seems like you spend a lot of time with her.”

  “She’s Wes’s favorite. He watches her, like, almost every day.”

  Max nodded thoughtfully. “You like working for him?”

  “Yeah, it’s all right.”

  “It’s just, he seems kind of . . . weird. Grumpy,” Max persisted.

  “I think he’s just lonely. All he has are the dogs.”

  “Wasn’t he married before? Loral—I mean, I heard he was married, and his wife left him.”

  Jessie pictured Wes at dinner with his ex-wife, the way they sat together in the corner, so focused on each other they hadn’t noticed her staring at them.

  “What?” Max asked.

  “What do you mean, what?” Jessie asked, as innocently as she could.

  “You’re making a weird face.”

  “Maybe that’s just my face.”

  Max laughed. “Fine then. Don’t tell me. I don’t care.”

  “Yes, you do, or you wouldn’t have asked.”

  “Eh, I’m over it now.”

  Jessie scowled. “I saw him out at dinner with his ex-wife,” she burst out, and suddenly she was telling Max all about it, as if the story had been cooking inside her for days, and now that she’d started talking, there was no way to put a lid back on it. “I recognized her from the picture he has on his refrigerator,” she finished.

  Max tilted his head to the side. “He has a picture of his ex-wife on his refrigerator,” he said slowly. “That’s kind of strange, isn’t it?”

  “I think it’s sad, not strange.” Jessie thought of the pictures her dad kept of her mom. Sometimes he turned them over, too, when he couldn’t bear to look at her, but he never got rid of them. “I don’t think he’s ready to let go of her yet,” she decided, and for a second, she wasn’t sure if she was thinking of her dad or Wes. She gave herself a little shake. “Anyhow, I’m pretty sure he actually misses his old dog the most. That’s got to be why he won’t get another dog of his own.” She pictured Wes sitting in his chair, his eyes closed and hand resting on Hazel’s furry little head. Everyone leaves you eventually. Would another dog of his own help him move on?

  Or would it just remind him of what he was missing?

  Jessie scuffed her feet along the sidewalk. For the first time, she wondered if getting a dog would make her miss her mom more, too. She’d always pictured them walking her dog together. That would never happen now. It would just be her. All the responsibility would be on her. When she went back home, she wouldn’t have Wes to help, and her dad would be too busy.

  “Well, if Wes gets too strange for you,” Max said, “my mom could take you on, if you want—”

  “No, I’m good. Thanks.” Up ahead, Jessie could see Ann’s house, all lit up and waiting. She had a sudden urge to sprint for it.

  “You know . . .” Max began slowly, deliberately, every word dropping like pebbles into a pond, “Wes isn’t doing too well. I mean, I don’t know what he’s told you, but a lot of his clients aren’t that happy with him. They’ve been hiring my mom instead.”

  And just like that, the last of Jessie’s relaxed happiness vanished. “You mean she’s been stealing them,” she said coldly.

  “What? No. She’s not stealing them. She’s just . . . letting them know what they’re missing, being with someone like Wes, when they could be with her.”

  “You mean someone who’s more focused on taking cute little pictures than the walks themselves?”

  Max’s face darkened. “And what’s wrong with pictures? They make people happy, don’t they?”

  Jessie stopped walking and put her hands on her hips. “She should care more about the dogs’ happiness. But she doesn’t even seem to like them much.”

  “She does so like dogs.”

  “No, she owned a dog and made it sound like it was a huge hassle.”

  “Dogs are a hassle!”

  “Wes doesn’t think so. He loves dogs; they’re his whole life! And she’s trying to ruin that.”

  “She needs the business! She needs to make a living here, too, you know.” Now Max’s hands were on his hips, too. “And she knows Wes is up to something. He’s messing with her stuff. She knows it.”

  Jessie felt the guilt crawling across her face, but she passed it off as anger. “Maybe she should just leave him alone, then. Just go off and start a new business.”

  “She can’t do that. She’s put too much time and money into this one.”

  “That’s her problem.”

  “It’s not a problem, because she’s doing just fine. And even if she wasn’t, what other kind of business could she start?”

  “She can . . . I don’t know, walk cats or something.”

  “Cats?” Max raised his eyebrows. “That’s your idea of a successful business? Cat walking?”

  “She wouldn’t have any competition.” She imagined Monique walking a pack of cats, all meowing and trying to climb trees and dart under bushes. It was hard to stay angry, picturing that.

  Max seemed to be struggling, too. His lips curved up in a small, amused smile. “That’s very true. Not a lot of competition in the cat-walking department.” He began walking again, and Jessie fell into step next to him. “Let’s not fight about this. I promised my mom I would ask you if you wanted to work with her, and I’ve done that. Clearly you don’t.” He shrugged.

  “OK then,” Jessie said.

  “OK,” Max agreed. They got to Ann’s doorstep and he stopped and looked at her. “I had a nice time, mostly.”

  “I did, too. Mostly.”

  “Friends?” He put out his hand.

  Jessie stared at it. What was up with this boy and handshakes? And why did she feel strangely . . . disappointed? What had she been expecting? “Sure,” she said finally. “But I’m not shaking your hand. I don’t know where it’s been.”

  He grinned. “You don’t want to know.”

  Jessie wrinkled her nose. “You’re gross.”

  “Aww, come on, I can’t be that bad. You were willing to get ice cream with me.”

  “My choices were finish washing dishes or eat ice cream. I would have gone with a plague-infested rat.”

  “Well. It’s good to know you have some standards.”

  Jessie smiled. Silence built up around them. She was torn between wanting to go inside, and wanting to stand here, and wanting . . . she wasn’t even sure what she wanted.

  Max cleared his throat. “Well. I’d better walk home. Getting late.”

  “Getting late,” she agreed.

  Max moved closer, and Jessie’s breath caught in her throat.

  “Soccer tomorrow?” he asked. “Meet me at the park at ten? I . . . I’ve missed playing you, Jessie.”

  Jessie. The way he said her name made her feel all tingly inside. “O-OK. Tomorrow morning,” she said. “But you’d better actually be there this time.”

  “I’ll be there. I promise.”

  And then he was gone, and she could breathe again. She headed into the house, her stomach flip-flopping, turning her ice cream into a milkshake inside her. But she was just excited about soccer in the morning. That was it. Just soccer.

  CHAPTER 26

  “I don’t know, Jessie, sounds like it was a date.” Ann fiddled with her bangs, straightening them and then curling the ends under.

  “Can’t be. He’s still dating Loralee.” Jessie kicked her feet back and forth. For once, she was happy to sit
on her cot in Ann’s room as the morning drifted lazily by. She had plenty of time to get to the park and nowhere to be before then. “Has . . . has Loralee mentioned if they’ve been having problems?”

  “No. But we haven’t really talked much lately.” Ann turned away from her dresser mirror.

  Jessie immediately felt bad. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t—”

  “It’s OK. It’s just . . . I miss hanging out with her.”

  “Well, you’ll get to hang out today. Aren’t you so lucky,” Jessie added drily.

  Ann flashed her a smile, which Jessie returned. While Jessie couldn’t think of anything worse than spending a day with Loralee, she knew her cousin was looking forward to it. She could tell, because Ann had changed her shirt about seven times until she was sure she had the right outfit, and she’d spent forever on her makeup. What a waste of time.

  “Well, I’d better run.” Ann hesitated. “You still sure about that outfit? I mean, this could be a second date . . .”

  Jessie threw a pillow at her. “It’s not a date. It’s just soccer.”

  “I don’t know, he might score a goal and then try to kiss you.”

  Jessie threw her other pillow.

  Ann caught it, laughing. “Fine, fine. Good luck anyways.” She left, her laughter echoing down the hall.

  Jessie shook her head. Ann was being completely ridiculous. Max had said “friends.” She wasn’t even going to waste another second thinking about kisses. And anyhow, he was with Loralee. But then, he had seemed pretty annoyed about her possessiveness . . . Maybe they would break up soon?

  Immediately, guilt slammed into Jessie, and she tried to push those thoughts away. Even if it was Loralee, that wasn’t fair.

  But thirty minutes later, she couldn’t get the thought out of her head. What if he did break up with Loralee and then tried to kiss her? Would she let him? Did she want him to? She thought of his fox smile, those dimples, the way his brown eyes crinkled at the edges . . . She wasn’t sure what she wanted, but her stomach felt all queasy and her skin was hot. She walked slowly to the park, kicking her soccer ball along, and for once, she didn’t notice the dogs she passed.

  As she kicked the ball around and did a few sprints and stretches to warm up, she kept getting distracted. Every person that came near was Max . . . until they turned out not to be. Every footstep had her whipping around. Every voice had her jumping.

  “Calm, confident energy,” Jessie told herself firmly as she stretched her hamstrings. She was being silly. If she wasn’t careful, she’d turn into Ann-Marie. Or even worse: She’d become like Loralee. Jessie shuddered. Never. She’d never be like her.

  And where was Max, anyhow? She knew it was way after ten. As the minutes ticked by and she got tired of warming up, she stopped wondering if he might try to kiss her and started wondering if he would even bother to show up.

  Footsteps crunched through the grass toward her. Her heart sped up, and she turned. “Finally—”

  But it still wasn’t Max. It was Ann. Ann, looking small. Looking crumpled.

  “I just,” Ann stopped, took a breath. “I didn’t want you waiting here too long. So, I thought I should find you. Max isn’t coming.” She sniffed. “I’m sorry, Jessie. I guess he’s . . . he’s with Loralee.”

  Jessie felt frozen. He had promised to meet her. He had said “friends.” And yet, once again, he had ditched her for Loralee. Jessie realized “frozen” was not the right word at all. No, she was burning, burning with anger.

  “He’s not worth it, Jessie,” Ann said. “Anyone who stands you up like that is not worth your time.”

  Jessie picked up her soccer ball and squeezed it, imagining it was Max’s head. His stupid head with his stupid fox smile. “Ouch,” she whispered. Soccer balls were not very squeezable.

  “Let’s go home, OK? We can . . . we can watch a movie, if you want? Anything but Die Hard.”

  Jessie nodded, silently following her cousin home. She didn’t really feel like watching a movie, but as she walked she realized: She wasn’t the only one who’d been stood up. Again. She watched Ann out of the corner of her eye, and her anger drained away, replaced by . . . Jessie wasn’t sure, exactly. But when they got home, she let Ann choose the movie, and even though it was a terrible romantic comedy, she didn’t complain.

  CHAPTER 27

  Sunday came and went. With no dogs to walk and no soccer to play, Jessie didn’t see much point in getting out of bed.

  “You can’t just mope all day.” Ann yanked the covers off Jessie. “No moping. Also your dad’s on the phone.”

  That got Jessie up. Her dad couldn’t talk long but wanted to let her know that everything was going great. “Swimmingly, really,” he assured her. “How are things in the dog-walking business?”

  She thought of Wes, and how they’d sabotaged Monique, and paused. “G-good.”

  “Hmm. Not having second thoughts about that dog, are you?”

  “Of course not,” Jessie said quickly. This was what she wanted. Wasn’t it?

  “Great. Because I’ve already picked one out for you.”

  Jessie dropped the phone.

  “Hello? Hello? Jess?”

  She scrambled to pick it up. “You got me a dog?” she whispered. “Really?” Her whisper turned into a squeak.

  “Well, I haven’t picked her up yet. I’m planning on getting her on my way out to get you in a couple weeks. So if you don’t want her . . .”

  “I do! I want her!” Jessie danced in place, so happy she thought she might explode with it. Then reality trickled in. “What kind of dog?”

  Her dad laughed. “It’s a breed you told me about.”

  “I’ve told you about a lot of different kinds of dogs.”

  “I know. I’m letting it be a surprise.” Jessie could hear the smile in his voice. “Now, she’s young, but she’s not exactly a puppy, OK? I thought about it, but there are so many dogs who need homes. This particular one was adopted out once before, but it didn’t work out, so she was taken in by a rescue.”

  “Didn’t work out?” Jessie’s heart clenched. Poor little pup.

  “Apparently her original owners didn’t have enough time for her.” He sighed, his voice getting super serious. “So, I want you to be sure you want her, OK? That you’ll make the time for her. Because I will be busy working, and I promised she’d be in the best home.”

  The best home. Would that be with Jessie? She thought suddenly of Monique. I wanted a dog when I was younger, too. It was a lot more work than I thought. But Jessie already knew dogs were a lot of work, and she was ready for it. She could take a dog out for a walk before school and then right after. She could skip soccer games, and soccer camp, and hanging out with her friends. Dogs were better than people anyhow. And if she wanted to provide the best home, she’d have to be as devoted to dogs as Wes was. She could do that, couldn’t she?

  “Well, kiddo, I gotta run. Love you.”

  “Love you back,” Jessie said.

  Click. Jessie stared at the phone for a long time and then hung up in a daze.

  “You OK?” Ann asked.

  “Dad got me a dog. He actually did it.”

  “Really? That’s great. I’m really happy for you, Jessie.” Ann smiled, and it was so like the old Ann that Jessie’s heart ached.

  “You . . . wanna watch a movie?” Jessie asked, and Ann’s smile widened.

  “I thought you’d never ask.”

  Jessie spent the rest of the day hanging out with Ann, and surprisingly it wasn’t terrible. They walked to the candy store, just like they used to; watched a bunch of movies, most of them with explosions and chase scenes but a couple with kissing, too, to keep Ann happy; and then ended the day with a bike ride followed by a few video games. Jessie lost every single one. She wasn’t good at anything that involved sitting around. But it was still fun, and she didn’t think of Max once the whole day. OK, maybe once. Or twice. But definitely no more than a dozen times. And when Monday morning rolled aroun
d, she’d completely banished him from her thoughts forever.

  She got to Wes’s house right on time, but he wasn’t out on his porch. That wasn’t terribly unusual. Bursting with her news about her own dog, Jessie knocked rapidly and waited, shifting her weight onto the balls of her feet and lifting her heels up and down. She’d spent too much time sitting this weekend and had a ton of energy to burn.

  “Hello! Wes?” She knocked again, louder.

  Nothing.

  Frowning, Jessie pounded on the door one more time and put her ear to it. Still nothing. Maybe he’d headed out early?

  “You’re Wes’s little helper, aren’t you?” a man asked.

  Jessie turned. The man behind her was very tall, with hunched shoulders, his gray hair streaked with white. It took her a minute, but then she remembered. “Angel.”

  “That’s right, Angel’s my dog, and the reason I’m here.” The man glanced around, as if ensuring his wife wasn’t hiding in the bushes, and then whispered, “You were absolutely right. We made a mistake switching. Do you think Wes will take us back? I left him a message yesterday but haven’t heard back.”

  “I . . . I’m sure he will,” Jessie said, trying to keep her voice level. Calm. Professional.

  “Can he start today? Angel misses him.”

  “Sure, I’ll tell him for you. He’ll be happy to have him back.”

  The man relaxed. “That’s great. Thank you.”

  When he was gone, Jessie tried knocking again. Wes’s car was there in the driveway. He had to be around. She would just knock until he came out, or his door splintered.

  KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK.

  The door flew open. Wes’s hair was a tangle around his head, his shirt was wrinkled, and he wore a pair of faded old sweatpants. “Go. Away.”

  He slammed the door so hard it opened again, and Jessie caught the edge. “It’s dog walking tim—”

  “I DON’T CARE WHAT TIME IT IS,” he roared. “I’m done, you hear me? I’m done.”