sniffed excitedly.
“You’re looking good, Philly,” said Jason, checking her out in a way that made me want to hit him. He turned to appraise the house while Benny capered about, tearing through Phyl’s flower beds. “Nice place you got here. You say this is Joanie’s brother’s?”
She nodded. Jason was the only person Phyl ever spoke to with any sharpness in her voice. “That’s right. So you’ll be back from New York on Thursday?”
“Yep. Jessica and I will take in a few shows between my meetings, maybe check out the Met. She’s the arty type.” Jason was always sure to mention his latest love whenever he saw Phyl. We half-expected to hear her measurements. “I’ll come by Friday for Benny. Glad this could work out.”
Phyl set up Benny’s bed in the utility room and his bowls in the kitchen. She had bought a couple new chew toys for the occasion, which Benny gnawed and growled over appreciatively, and things had calmed down somewhat by the time Daniel and Michelle made their appearance. Michelle had been a little cool toward us since Thursday night, and having Benny launch himself at her crotch for a sniff didn’t seem to help matters.
“Down! Off! Leave it!” commanded Phyl, grabbing Benny’s collar and hauling him off. “Sorry, sorry. He’s just here for a few days while my ex is out of town.”
“‘Leave it’ got Benny’s attention, I think,” said Joanie. “Leave it, Benny! Leave the crotch.”
Michelle smiled sourly.
I sprang up. “Let’s take him for a walk, Phyl,” I suggested. “Get some of his energy out.”
“Good idea,” said Joanie, “Before he humps Michelle’s knee.”
That first walk was quite the adventure for Benny. He dashed after birds and squirrels, burrowed under neighbors’ hedges, engaged in long sniffing encounters with fellow canines. After a solid forty-five minutes we returned, but Benny was rewardingly mellow the rest of the day. For the sake of household peace, I walked Benny on Sunday and Monday as well, and even pre-walked him Tuesday before meeting Nadina, so he would be calmer.
At 2:40 I was on the bench outside the school, and at 2:45 the students began spilling out again. As I hoped, Kyle slouched over to see me, squatting down to get face-to-face with Benny. He had never answered my email but now said without preamble, “I had this lame-ass computer science teacher who didn’t know jack but thought he was seriously Bill Gates in disguise. If I tried to correct him, he got really pissed off, so he started always talking down to me in class, and I got pissed off too. One day I told him what he could do with himself, and then I broke into the classroom. I did some redecorating and hacked into his computer and gave the whole class A-pluses.”
It was the longest speech from him yet, although he delivered it entirely to Benny’s left ear while he scratched him. By the end of it, Benny was snuffling Kyle’s long hair and whimpering ecstatically from all the attention.
“Oh, Kyle,” I said, “I’m sorry you thought you had to do that. But that’s all you did, right?”
His rare smile flashed. “Isn’t it enough?”
I saw Nadina and her friends emerging and waved. The dark-haired girl leaned close to whisper something to the others, and they erupted in laughter. “More than enough—don’t get me wrong. But did you know they have a nickname for you here?”
His stony face returned. “Yeah…‘Bandit’ or some dumb name like that. I ignore them.”
“But why ‘Bandit’?” I persisted.
Benny was licking Kyle’s face, so Kyle shoved him away and stood up. “I didn’t steal anything, if that’s what you mean. Maybe they couldn’t spell ‘Vandal’ or ‘Trespasser.’” He shrugged off my puzzlement. “So what’s your deal, Cass? Did you really sell out and switch to friggin’ High School Musical ?”
“Are you kidding? After mixing up Agen Kolar with Ki-Adi-Mundi, you think I’m going to risk losing even more
“You’re looking good, Philly,” said Jason, checking her out in a way that made me want to hit him. He turned to appraise the house while Benny capered about, tearing through Phyl’s flower beds. “Nice place you got here. You say this is Joanie’s brother’s?”
She nodded. Jason was the only person Phyl ever spoke to with any sharpness in her voice. “That’s right. So you’ll be back from New York on Thursday?”
“Yep. Jessica and I will take in a few shows between my meetings, maybe check out the Met. She’s the arty type.” Jason was always sure to mention his latest love whenever he saw Phyl. We half-expected to hear her measurements. “I’ll come by Friday for Benny. Glad this could work out.”
Phyl set up Benny’s bed in the utility room and his bowls in the kitchen. She had bought a couple new chew toys for the occasion, which Benny gnawed and growled over appreciatively, and things had calmed down somewhat by the time Daniel and Michelle made their appearance. Michelle had been a little cool toward us since Thursday night, and having Benny launch himself at her crotch for a sniff didn’t seem to help matters.
“Down! Off! Leave it!” commanded Phyl, grabbing Benny’s collar and hauling him off. “Sorry, sorry. He’s just here for a few days while my ex is out of town.”
“‘Leave it’ got Benny’s attention, I think,” said Joanie. “Leave it, Benny! Leave the crotch.”
Michelle smiled sourly.
I sprang up. “Let’s take him for a walk, Phyl,” I suggested. “Get some of his energy out.”
“Good idea,” said Joanie, “Before he humps Michelle’s knee.”
That first walk was quite the adventure for Benny. He dashed after birds and squirrels, burrowed under neighbors’ hedges, engaged in long sniffing encounters with fellow canines. After a solid forty-five minutes we returned, but Benny was rewardingly mellow the rest of the day. For the sake of household peace, I walked Benny on Sunday and Monday as well, and even pre-walked him Tuesday before meeting Nadina, so he would be calmer.
At 2:40 I was on the bench outside the school, and at 2:45 the students began spilling out again. As I hoped, Kyle slouched over to see me, squatting down to get face-to-face with Benny. He had never answered my email but now said without preamble, “I had this lame-ass computer science teacher who didn’t know jack but thought he was seriously Bill Gates in disguise. If I tried to correct him, he got really pissed off, so he started always talking down to me in class, and I got pissed off too. One day I told him what he could do with himself, and then I broke into the classroom. I did some redecorating and hacked into his computer and gave the whole class A-pluses.”
It was the longest speech from him yet, although he delivered it entirely to Benny’s left ear while he scratched him. By the end of it, Benny was snuffling Kyle’s long hair and whimpering ecstatically from all the attention.
“Oh, Kyle,” I said, “I’m sorry you thought you had to do that. But that’s all you did, right?”
His rare smile flashed. “Isn’t it enough?”
I saw Nadina and her friends emerging and waved. The dark-haired girl leaned close to whisper something to the others, and they erupted in laughter. “More than enough—don’t get me wrong. But did you know they have a nickname for you here?”
His stony face returned. “Yeah…‘Bandit’ or some dumb name like that. I ignore them.”
“But why ‘Bandit’?” I persisted.
Benny was licking Kyle’s face, so Kyle shoved him away and stood up. “I didn’t steal anything, if that’s what you mean. Maybe they couldn’t spell ‘Vandal’ or ‘Trespasser.’” He shrugged off my puzzlement. “So what’s your deal, Cass? Did you really sell out and switch to friggin’ High School Musical ?”
“Are you kidding? After mixing up Agen Kolar with Ki-Adi-Mundi, you think I’m going to risk losing even more
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