“Don’t give up, Buddy,” Quinn said. “I still have hope. There’s still a chance!”
On Christmas Eve morning, Quinn’s eyes flew open just as the sun was starting to rise. Technically, there was no reason for her to be awake at the crack of dawn. She was on Christmas break—school had let out the day before—but who could sleep in on Christmas Eve? Not Quinn! Not when there were presents to wrap and cookies to bake and the last couple of ornaments to deliver. Plus, she wanted to stop by the pet store to buy Buddy a Christmas present—a new bone or maybe a squeaky toy. It was the least she could do, since it seemed she wouldn’t be able to keep her promise after all.
Quinn quickly got dressed, choosing her favorite jeans and a cherry-red sweater. For fun, she decided to wear her Christmas earrings before she had to pack them away for another year. They were shaped like little bells, and they rang every time she moved her head.
“Morning, Quinn,” her dad said when she came into the kitchen. “You look just like one of Santa’s helpers.”
“Merry Christmas Eve, Dad!” Quinn cried. “I couldn’t sleep in today—even if I tried. Hey, can you give me a ride?”
“Sure,” Dad replied. “Where do you need to go?”
“Downtown,” she said. “I need to do a little shopping.”
Dad made a funny face. “Shopping? On Christmas Eve?” he groaned. “Are you crazy?”
Quinn had to laugh. “I just have to buy one thing,” she told him. “At the pet store. I want to get a present for Buddy.”
“I take it he didn’t get adopted?” Dad asked.
Quinn shook her head. “Not yet,” she said. “Maybe it will happen after Christmas. Maybe Buddy will have a very happy New Year instead of a merry Christmas.”
Dad reached for his wallet. “Do you need any money for Buddy’s present?”
“No, I can pay for it myself,” Quinn said quickly. “I’ve saved all my ornament money and—”
Quinn’s voice trailed off unexpectedly.
“And what?” Dad prompted her.
“I…” Quinn said.
Dad started to look concerned. “Are you okay?”
“I… hang on. I need to… check something,” Quinn said. “Be right back!”
Quinn slid off her chair and hurried back to her room. Her heart was pounding in her chest, even as she tried not to get too excited—not yet, anyway. It was just an idea—a crazy, wild, unexpected, and unpredictable idea—but if it worked—and it just might work—
Quinn’s hand was trembling as she reached for the little notebook where she’d been keeping track of the money she’d made from painting ornaments. It was true—she really had saved every penny that she’d earned. Dad had assured her that it would be enough for an airplane ticket to California, with a little extra for spending money, too.
But would it—could it—also be enough to fund Buddy’s adoption?
If the only reason why Ms. Ferrino and Charlie weren’t able to adopt Buddy was money—couldn’t Quinn help with that? It would mean no trip to California—at least, not during spring break—but Quinn didn’t hesitate, not for a second.
She reached for a pen and started making a list:
• Food
• Dog bed and toys
• Leash, collar, tags?
• Vet bills
Quinn wasn’t sure how much all of that would cost.
But she knew how to find out.
A few hours later, Quinn rushed into the Marion Animal Shelter.
“Merry, merry!” Mrs. Alvarez called from the front desk. “You just missed Charlie. He and his mother stopped by to give Buddy a bone.”
“Mrs. Alvarez,” Quinn said in a rush, “I had an idea.”
Something about Quinn’s voice made Mrs. Alvarez put down her pen. “I’m listening.”
“I want to sponsor Buddy’s adoption,” Quinn announced. She placed her notebook on Mrs. Alvarez’s desk and continued speaking in a rush. “I spent all morning trying to figure out how much it costs to have a dog for a year. I priced out a year’s worth of food and figured maybe two visits to the vet? I know Buddy is already up to date on all his shots. And I looked up the costs for registering your dog with the county, and getting him new tags with the Ferrinos’ address printed on them, and I have enough. I have enough money saved up for all of it.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Mrs. Alvarez said, holding up her hand. “Slow down. You want to adopt Buddy?”
Quinn shook her head. “No, not me,” she explained. “I want to pay for the Ferrinos to adopt him. Don’t you see? It’s perfect! Buddy and Charlie get to be together—and Buddy gets to go home for Christmas!”
“But how did—”
“My ornament money,” Quinn answered before Mrs. Alvarez could finish her question. “I was going to buy a plane ticket to visit Annabelle… but making sure Buddy has a home is more important. I can save up more money. Maybe I can visit Annabelle next summer instead.”
Mrs. Alvarez’s smile was quivering, like she was feeling something much more than simple happiness.
“Will it work?” Quinn asked, an edge of nervousness in her voice. “Do my figures make sense?”
Mrs. Alvarez glanced at Quinn’s notebook. The moments before she answered felt like an eternity to Quinn. At last, Mrs. Alvarez looked up.
“You worked hard to earn that money, Quinn,” she said. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Positive,” Quinn replied. “I’ve never been this sure about anything. Will it work? Did I forget anything?”
“It looks good to me,” Mrs. Alvarez finally said. “I mean, we can’t predict the future. But, to answer your question, yes—the amount of money you’ve saved for Buddy’s care should last at least a year.”
Quinn started to cheer, but Mrs. Alvarez stopped her. “What about the second year, though?” she asked. “Remember, Ms. Ferrino won’t be done with nursing school for two more years.”
“More ornaments,” Quinn said right away. “I’ll advertise next fall. I’m sure I’ll be able to get more orders. Maybe I can hang a sign here—so everyone who adopts a pet will be able to order one. And I was also thinking I might start doing pet portraits. Something you could frame and hang on the wall… and something people would want to buy all year.”
“That’s a great idea,” Mrs. Alvarez said. “I think you’d have a lot of customers, young lady.”
“So can we do it?” Quinn asked, her voice high and hopeful. “Can we bring Buddy to the Ferrinos’ house today?”
“Maybe,” Mrs. Alvarez said. “But I have to talk to Ms. Ferrino first.”
“But then she’ll know about the surprise,” Quinn said.
“We have to get her permission,” Mrs. Alvarez said. “It would be against all our regulations to send a dog to someone’s house when they weren’t expecting it.”
Quinn didn’t like it, but she had to admit that Mrs. Alvarez made a good point. “Can it at least be a surprise for Charlie?” she asked.
“That’s up to his mother,” Mrs. Alvarez said as she reached for the phone. “I’ll call her right now. Do you want to spend some time with Buddy while I’m on the phone?”
From the way Mrs. Alvarez said it, Quinn could tell it wasn’t a question. For whatever reason, Mrs. Alvarez didn’t want Quinn to hear her side of the conversation. Quinn was on her way to the dog wing when she heard Mrs. Alvarez say, “Hello, is this Olivia? This is Anita Alvarez calling from Marion Animal Shelter.”
Quinn slipped into Buddy’s pen. He looked up and his tail went thump-thump-thump.
She sat next to Buddy and started to pet his back. “This could be it, Buddy,” she whispered. Her thoughts were pounding like her heartbeat: I hope, I hope, I hope.
The minutes ticked away while Quinn waited for Mrs. Alvarez to finish her conversation. Ms. Ferrino had to say yes! This was it: the Christmas miracle that Quinn—and Buddy—had been waiting for.
At last, Quinn heard footsteps. Buddy heard them, too. They jumpe
d up at the same time as Mrs. Alvarez and Tommy appeared in the hallway.
“Well?” Quinn asked. “What did she say?”
“She said… yes!” Mrs. Alvarez exclaimed as her face broke into a beaming smile.
“Yes!” Quinn shrieked. “Yes, yes, yes, yes!”
Then Quinn was hugging Buddy and Buddy was barking and Tommy and Mrs. Alvarez were laughing, and Quinn was so happy that she wanted to cry and laugh and sing all at the same time.
“You’re going home, Buddy!” Quinn cried. “Home to your new family! Home to Charlie!”
Buddy tilted his head as he looked at her, puzzled. She knew he didn’t understand—how could he? But he’d heard Charlie’s name, and he knew who Charlie was, and soon they’d be together all the time. Quinn’s heart was so filled with happiness it felt like it could burst.
“Can we take him right now?” Quinn asked.
Mrs. Alvarez glanced at her watch. “Soon,” she said. “We’ve got to get supplies for him from the pet store.”
“I’ll go,” Tommy volunteered.
“Here,” Quinn told him, pressing an envelope of money into his hands. “I left my list on the front counter.”
“Be back as soon as I can,” Tommy promised.
Mrs. Alvarez turned to Quinn. “Okay!” she said. “Let’s get Buddy ready to go.”
“Ready to go?” Quinn repeated. “What do you mean?”
“Bath, brushing, clip his nails,” Mrs. Alvarez replied. “The works!”
“I get it!” Quinn giggled. “A doggy makeover!”
“Exactly,” Mrs. Alvarez said. “Follow me!”
Mrs. Alvarez led Quinn and Buddy to the grooming room. The gleaming white tile room had a few different grooming stations, complete with sprayers attached to rubber hoses.
“I’ve never helped with dog grooming before,” Quinn said.
“Well, let me get you the most important tool you’ll need,” Mrs. Alvarez said as she disappeared into the storage room. Quinn wondered what it would be. The nail clippers? A brush? Special dog shampoo?
But when Mrs. Alvarez returned, she wasn’t carrying any of those. Instead, her arms were filled with raincoats!
“I learned the hard way,” Mrs. Alvarez told Quinn as she handed her one of the raincoats. “Wet dogs like to shake—and it feels just like being in a rainstorm!”
Quinn pulled on the raincoat and zipped it up. It was too big for her, but she figured that would just give her extra protection from the doggy downpour. “How do I look?” Quinn joked. “I feel runway ready—not that Buddy and I should hit the runway again anytime soon!”
Mrs. Alvarez laughed. Then she reached for a bottle of lavender-scented dog shampoo. “Ready, Buddy?” she asked. “We’re going to get you all cleaned up for Christmas!”
Mrs. Alvarez showed Quinn all her best dog grooming tricks—how to clip Buddy’s nails so that they were neat and even (but not too short); how to wash his coat without getting any soap in his eyes; and how to brush his fur until his coat gleamed. Buddy, who’d spent so many lonesome days living in the shelter, loved every moment of the special attention. The look on his face was pure bliss.
By the time Quinn and Mrs. Alvarez finished, Tommy had returned from the pet store. “You would not believe the crowds,” he said as he dropped several huge bags on the floor. “Whoa!”
“That bad?” Mrs. Alvarez asked.
“Worse,” Tommy said. “Looks like everybody in Marion had to make a few last-minute purchases today. But never fear, I got everything on your list, Quinn.”
Tommy started rummaging in one of the bags.
“And I even got something that wasn’t on your list!” he announced happily, holding up a doggy-sized Santa hat. “Don’t worry—I bought it with my own money,” he quickly added. “You worked way too hard on those ornaments for me to waste your money on something this silly.”
Quinn wasn’t worried, though—she was cracking up! She took the hat from Tommy and perched it on Buddy’s head. He looked up at them, blinking, as his pink tongue lolled out of his mouth.
Thump-thump-thump!
“There goes Buddy’s tail,” Mrs. Alvarez said. “I think that’s his seal of approval!”
“He looks great,” Quinn said happily.
“Oh!” Tommy exclaimed. “I almost forgot!”
He rummaged around in the shopping bag one more time and pulled out a length of red velvet ribbon. “How about a bow around Buddy’s neck?” he suggested.
“Absolutely,” Quinn replied. She knelt down to tie the ribbon in a big, floppy bow—and was rewarded with a kiss from Buddy when he licked her cheek.
“Buddy, you’ve never looked more festive,” Mrs. Alvarez declared. Then she reached into her pocket, pulled out her keys, and jingled them in the air. “What do you think, Quinn? Ready to go?”
“Absolutely,” Quinn said. “We’ve been ready for a while now—haven’t we, Buddy?”
Thump-thump-thump!
Tommy offered to stay behind at the shelter to feed the other animals while Mrs. Alvarez and Quinn took Buddy to Charlie’s house. It was late afternoon, and the sun had just started to set. Quinn knew that the days would get longer and lighter soon, now that they’d passed the winter solstice. But for now, it was still dark well before dinnertime.
Buddy knew that this was no ordinary day. Quinn held tightly to his leash as they walked through the parking lot to Mrs. Alvarez’s car. There was definitely an extra spring in Buddy’s step; he was almost prancing, sniffing eagerly at the air and looking in every direction.
“Ready for a ride?” Quinn asked as she opened the car door for Buddy. She slid in after him, buckled her seat belt, and put her arm reassuringly on Buddy’s back. She could hardly believe that the moment was here at last: Buddy’s adoption! After all those weeks of wondering and worrying, things were happening faster than Quinn had ever expected. She couldn’t imagine what the shelter would be like without Buddy there to greet her every day. She could already tell she was going to miss him.
Ms. Ferrino and Charlie lived only a few blocks from the shelter. Maybe, Quinn thought, they’ll let me come visit Buddy once in a while. Mrs. Alvarez pulled up in front of a small brick house. Quinn grinned when she saw the fence around the perimeter of the yard. It was the perfect yard for a dog; Quinn could just picture Buddy and Charlie playing Frisbee in the springtime… splashing in a wading pool in the summer… and jumping in leaf piles all fall.
It was going to be the life Buddy had always deserved.
“Here we are,” Mrs. Alvarez said.
“Okay, Buddy,” Quinn said, with a strange feeling of finality. “This is it! Ready to see your new home… and your favorite boy?”
Thump-thump-thump!
Quinn wrapped Buddy’s leash around her hand, then opened the car door. She could see a Christmas tree gleaming with lights in the front window; there was a festive wreath on the door.
Buddy trotted along next to Quinn as they approached the front door. On the doorstep, she paused to straighten Buddy’s Santa hat and adjust his bow. Then, impulsively, she reached down to give him one more giant hug.
“You’re the best dog,” she whispered near his ear. “Merry Christmas, Buddy.”
Then Quinn reached out and pressed the doorbell with her gloved finger.
Ding-dong!
Quinn’s heart was pounding so much that she thought it might drown out the thumping of Buddy’s tail.
“Mom! Somebody’s here!” Charlie’s voice was muffled by the door.
Quinn squeezed Buddy’s leash in anticipation. This was it—this was the moment—
The door began to open, spilling warmth and light onto the doorstep. Charlie was standing there, with Ms. Ferrino behind him. Already her eyes were brimming with happy tears. But it was Charlie’s face—and his wide, wondering eyes—that captured Quinn’s full attention.
“Merry Christmas!” Quinn cried. She held out the leash to Charlie.
Charlie still didn’t
quite comprehend what was happening. It was too impossible to believe. He looked from Buddy to Quinn to his mom and back to Quinn.
“Buddy—” he began, unsure.
“Belongs to you,” Quinn said. “He’s your dog now. Forever and ever.”
“But—” Charlie said. He glanced back at his mom, still unsure.
Ms. Ferrino kissed the top of his head and said, “Merry Christmas!”
And that was when Charlie really and truly understood. He lunged toward Buddy; at the same time, Buddy leaped up and put his paws on Charlie’s shoulders. As Charlie staggered backward, Ms. Ferrino caught him, and then the three of them tumbled onto the floor, a noisy, happy mix of laughter and barking and Buddy’s tail—always!—going thump-thump-thump.
Their joy was overwhelming. It was infectious. It was as warm and wonderful as the sun shining after a cold rain, and Quinn was inexpressibly grateful for the opportunity to stand on the front step and bask in it.
I’ll slip away now, she thought, taking a quiet step backward. She didn’t want to intrude on their special Christmas surprise. But before she could, Charlie looked over. He scrambled to his feet and gave Quinn a sudden, fierce hug.
“Thank you,” he said. “Thank you for bringing Buddy to me.”
Quinn smiled down at him. “Thank you for being Buddy’s best friend,” she replied.
Then Charlie turned back to Buddy. “Come on, Buddy! You’ve gotta see my room!” he said. “You can sleep on my bed. My sheets are cool; they have trains and trucks.”
“How can I thank you, Quinn?” Ms. Ferrino asked. “You’ve given Charlie the greatest Christmas present ever. I’ll never be able to tell you how grateful I am.”
“No,” Quinn said quickly. “Thank you for adopting Buddy. I wanted him to have a home more than anything in the world.” And as she said the words, Quinn realized how true they were.
“I promise I’ll pay you back,” Ms. Ferrino told her. “Every penny, just as soon as I’ve finished school.”
But Quinn shook her head vehemently. “I wouldn’t accept it. Being here—seeing this—it’s payment enough.”
Celebrate the Season--The Twelve Pets of Christmas Page 8
