The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

dogs?”
    â€œOh no,” she said easily, and I felt myself relax. “Usually it’s more like five or six.”
    â€œWhat?” I asked, as Maya cut the engine and hopped out of the front door. Jasper seemed to realize this meant he no longerneeded to be afraid, and he lumbered over me to climb into the back. I looked down at my lap and saw it was covered with dog hair and what looked suspiciously like drool. I shook my head, then got out of the car, brushing off my dress.
    â€œSometimes dogs get walked alone,” Maya said. “Dogs that don’t play well with others—and sometimes it’s down to scheduling. But Dave—that’s my fiancé—and I have a philosophy that dogs are social animals. They’re happiest when they’re with friends. Just like us.”
    â€œOkay,” I said, even as I was pretty sure this was the opposite of okay. One dog seemed challenging enough. But six ? I looked around and realized where I was—what I’d missed with my visibility blocked by Jasper. I was right back where I’d been two days ago, just a few streets over from where Dr. Rizzoli lived. I followed Maya around to the other side of the car, wobbling on my heels.
    â€œHere,” Maya said, handing me an armful of leashes. “I usually take them off when we drive, because it’s a choking hazard if they get tangled. But they tend to rush the door and get really excited when they know we’re going on a walk, so you have to be careful and make sure they don’t go running when you open it.”
    I nodded, and even as I took the leashes, I was realizing that I’d let this go way too far. My competitive instinct had kicked in, but this was getting ridiculous. Was there a way to turn this around at this point without being rude? I set about untangling the leashes, trying to work through the possibilities. After a moment I concluded that there was really no way to tell her that she needed to get back in the car, drive me back to thecoffee shop, and probably really confuse the dogs as a result. I needed to just get through this, and then I could walk away and never have to tell anyone that I got dressed up to try to be a dog walker. I had a feeling Toby would never let me hear the end of it if she found out.
    Maya opened the door, and then there was a scramble, with the dogs all barking at once, everyone trying to get out the door first. I handed her the leashes, she snapped them on collars, and then we were standing on the side of the road, with four dogs trying to go in four directions. I had ended up with Jasper, even though he was by far the biggest of the dogs. Maya had a pug, some kind of shaggy mutt, and something that looked like a small collie. “Are you okay with him?” she asked, as she arranged the leashes so that all three were in one hand. “Jasper always seems to get tangled with the other dogs, so it’s easier if he walks by himself.”
    â€œSure,” I said, a little uncertainly, wrapping the leash around my wrist once, then once again. I was pretty sure I’d walked a dog before. I had to have, right? I was struggling to remember if I’d ever walked my ex Nathan’s dog when Maya started walking and Jasper, clearly not wanting to be left behind, lunged after her. I ran in my heels to catch up, feeling my feet already protesting.
    â€œGreat day, right?” Maya asked, looking over her shoulder at me as I caught up with Jasper.
    â€œUh-huh,” I said, barely listening as I tried to get a tighter grip on the leash, but I pulled a little too hard, and Jasper was yanked back by his neck. I was worried that he would be mad and would lunge again, or worse, start growling or snapping, but he seemed to forgive me instantly, just going back to sniffingthe ground. I didn’t know how this was going to work with all these dogs, if they’d start to fight with each other or something, but they all seemed