keeper yelled in fear as he clutched the arms of the chair. The chair toppled and threw him to the floor.
âI better go,â said Andy, hurrying out the door. âIâll be back, Brownie,â he yelled at the dog.
âI would have spun the creature into a black hole had you not stopped me,â said a Young One angrily.
âWe
Sidhe
strive to be like the meadow grass,â instructed the Old One. âWe bend with the force of the wind. You must learn patience.â
âIs that why you do nothing to rid us of the great ugly rat in the kitchen?â jeered the Young One. âOr is it because you are afraid?â
The Old One smiled. âAs well as patience, we must learn that all creatures are the same: each has the right to live its life.â
14
âTODAY WEâRE HAVING BREAKFAST for a change,â Andy declared the next morning. âI took some money from your coat pocket and bought stuff for pancakes, okay? And a jar of maple syrup.â
Vinny still hadnât found a job, and the rat had appeared in the kitchen again last night. Andy hadnât mentioned it yet. Vinny had done nothing about the rat. Heâd done nothing about the cockroaches either. Vinny sat drinking his nice cup of tea while Andy stirred his disappointments into the pancake batter.
âBreakfast is a grand idea,â agreed Vinny.
âDo you ever go to church on Sundays?â Andy asked him from the hot plate.
âHuh? Church is it? I do, the odd time. Good Friday, Easter. And Christmas,â he added.
âWhich one? St. Dominicâs?â
âThatâs the one.â
âCould we start going to church, Father? Together, I mean, Sunday mornings? Mom used to take me sometimeswhen I was little. I liked it. Everyone was dressed in their best, and the girls and women had hats and gloves and rosary beads. We could take a prayer book and go early and always sit in the same pew and sing the hymns together. What do you say?â He poured batter into the hot pan.
âIt would be grand altogether. Your mother could sing the hymns like a linnet when she was a girl. And at the ceilidh sheâd sing âDanny Boyâ and have everyone crying.â
âIâm starting school today,â said Andy.
âSchool?â Vinny sounded surprised. âWhat school?â
âSt. Dominicâs. I can walk there in five minutes.â Andy put a pancake down in front of him.
âThey didnât ask to see me?â
âI havenât been there yet. Iâll just go to the school office and enroll as a new kid from Vancouver. If they ask, Iâll tell them youâre at work.â
âJust like that?â
âJust like that.â
âThis pancake looks lovely.â Vinny picked up his fork. âEducation is the wonderful thing. I never had much of it myself, but Iâm glad to see you taking my advice. School is a remarkable idea.â
Andy brought his own pancake, flipped a second pancake onto Vinnyâs plate, and sat opposite.
âI only want whatâs best for you, Andy.â
âI know that, Vinny. Thatâs why I went to the pound yesterday. I found a dog I like. One that will keep the ratsaway. Might be good for the cockroaches, too. And heâll be a great guard dog. Heâs only a pup; heâs brown with floppy ears and big brown eyes. I called him Brownie and I could see his eyes light up; he liked his new name, I could tell. Youâll love him, I know you will. But you have to come with me to sign the papers, okay? After I get home from school?â
âAndy, Iâve got to be straight with you. The dog will have to wait till I find a job, and thatâs all there is to it. Once I have a job, you will have all the time in the world to find a dog, I canât be straighter than that.â
Disappointment, like a fist in his face. âYou donât want me to have a dog. Youâre just like my mother and
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