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you stole Grace?”
    â€œPower. He’s mad I got the best of him.” Adam untied the raffia bow of his cellophane bag and handed Lila a small cat-shaped cookie. “Want to give Grace a biscuit? See how gentle she is?”
    The last thing Lila wanted was to get her hand near that dog’s fangs, but she was too proud to refuse and stand there like a quivering violet. Pinching the cat’s paws between her thumb and index finger’s tips, she held out the biscuit toward Grace, who must have sensed that Lila was recoiling. Obviously offended, Grace gave her a disapproving look, as if she were foaming at the mouth with rabies Grace didn’t want to catch. She turned her head away.
    â€œYou have to act like you’re enthusiastic.” Adam took the biscuit and beamed at Grace. “Look what I’ve got!”
    She whined and her face lit up. She chomped down on the cat, crunched it to rubble, and swallowed. Anyone could tell she was thrilled.
    Adam stroked her floppy ears. For a man his size, his touch seemed gentle. “See. Nothing to fear.”
    â€œYou’re never going to change me into a dog person. I want you to know that,” Lila said.
    â€œCan’t help but try. You don’t know what you’re missing.”
    â€œYes, I do.” Bites. Bloody hands. Stitches.

9
    O n Cristina’s street early in the morning, Lila fumbled with the buttons of Greg’s flannel shirt to fasten them up to her chin. For two days she’d practiced with buttons, zippers, and snaps so she could dress herself when Cristina was gone.
    The cold, damp air smelled of bay trees. Fog inching over Mount Tamalpais looked like gray fingers reaching out to clutch the Sleeping Lady’s shoulders. On any other day, the pink banners festooning the sky would have lifted Lila’s mood, but she felt sad as Cristina backed out of the garage. In minutes she and Rosie would be gone, and Lila’s only company would be that dog.
    When Lila had been packing lunch, Cristina came into the kitchen and squeezed her hands together in a guilty, worried way. “I’m sorry you have to take care of Grace for a few days,” she said. “The last thing I wanted was to bother you with her, I swear.”
    Her apology was surprising because last night after Adam had left, Cristina and Lila tiptoed around the eggshell of Grace without mentioning her name. It was as if they had an unspoken agreement to part without strife. At breakfast Lila had stretched the truth and said the dog would be no problem.
    Now in a cloud of exhaust, Cristina rolled down the van’s window. Mascara on the lashes of only one eye signaled how frazzled she was. “I’ll miss you. Greg’s dumb job. I hate leaving you.”
    â€œYou’ll be glad once you get on the road.” Lila’s heart felt heavy, like it had gained a pound. She bent down and waved to Rosie, who was belted in a car seat in the back. “I’ll draw Gerald some more animal friends.”
    â€œHe wants a giraffe.” Rosie waved, and crushed goldfish crackers in her hand flew into the front seats.
    â€œOh, God.” Looking stressed, Cristina brushed them to the floor. As she changed gears, the poodles, incarcerated in matching carriers next to Rosie, whined and pawed at their barred doors, searching for a way out.
    â€œDon’t forget Adam’s on my contact list. You need anything, call him,” Cristina said. “He’s a good person. You’ll like him if you get to know him.”
    â€œPossibly,” Lila said, as neutral as beige, “but he doesn’t like me much.” To win his approval, she’d have to become a wolfhound zealot.
    â€œI’m sure he likes you. He just broke up with a leech. He’s about to be happy for the first time in years, but he doesn’t know it yet. You and Adam could be friends.”
    â€œWe’ll see.”
    Lila reached out and squeezed