broth in a box, and he was unlatching cabinets, looking for a pot. “He probably hasn’t eaten for a few days. So we want to give him food that won’t upset his stomach.”
Both my sisters knelt over the dog. “Can we keep him?” Boop Two asked.
“First, we should put up signs and try to find his owners, if he has any.”
“I feel like he’s supposed to be our dog,” Boop One said. “He came to our yard. He found us. Maybe he’s an angel. For our family.”
By the time my mother walked in and noticed every cabinet door hanging open, rice fanned on the floor, and Eli stirring a pot on the stove, Boop One’s eyes had swelled almost shut. My mother screamed, then looked at me, accusing. I don’t know why I hadn’t noticed: her eyes were horizontal slits, and what showed was red, not white. On her arms, bumps pushed up from below the skin like marbles, growing. “Oh my God,” my mom said. “We can’t keep that dog here.”
“She was brushing him,” I said.
Eli squatted, murmuring to the dog. He poured the rice gruel into a bowl and blew to cool it. The Mims steered my sister into the bathroom.
“Should we be driving her to the hospital?” I called.
All the while, Eli baby-talked the dog.
I went to the Boops’ bathroom, where all three females stood in steam.
“Can you breathe, sweetheart?” my mom asked, hysterically calm.
“A ball is swelling in my throat.”
“Wait in the kitchen, Miles,” my mom said.
I scuffed back to where Eli seemed to be overpitying the dog.
“Honey,” he called. “Do you have Benadryl? Should I go buy some?”
“I’ve got Claritin, if it’s not expired,” she said.
He opened drawers until he found the medicine, then held the little bottle up. “It’s okay,” he said. He didn’t seem that worried. Did he think my sister was faking it? I couldn’t see how you could fake bumps coming up beneath your skin.
“I’m going to make a call,” he said.
My mom, who’d just come into the kitchen, looked up at him.
“A woman I know in Malibu,” he said, “she once helped me rescue a bird.”
The Mims looked away. She’d thought he was calling someone about her daughter. She took ice out of the freezer and said, “Miles, grab the thermometer.”
“I’m going to drive him to the shelter,” Eli yelled.
“Miles can go with you,” she hollered back. I didn’t appreciate being volunteered. I brought in the thermometer. “Can she breathe?” I asked.
“The bumps are going down,” my mom said, shower water still running behind her.
Eli carried the dog. “I don’t know how long I’ll be. I’m not going to leave him there if it’s not the right place.” I followed him to the car. I thought I had to. “I really don’t know what time I’ll be able to get you back.”
“I can take a bus,” I said, but I didn’t know where the pound was. And I had to read two chapters of a book for World Civ. In the car, you could really smell the dog.
Why did I have to go?
We drove through clouds of fog and finally parked in front of a low, flat building. He lifted the dog out of the back. I just followed along. After whispering to the dog, Eli talked to a man behind the desk. I still wanted a puppy but not tonight, not with my sister all allergic. I needed our house to go back to the way it was before. With the flip of a latch, the man opened a swinging door, and we followed him through a maze of cages. Dogs howled, pushing against their wire doors. I saw one of the kind my sisters wanted: a white fluff ball. The man shoved our dog into a cage, poured food, and filled another bowl with water from a hose. Our dog curled himself up in a back corner.
“How long do we have?” Eli asked.
“We’re just under capacity now. Not bad. At least three weeks.”
“We’ll check in every day,” Eli said.
I stayed quiet riding back. He parked in front of the house and turned the engine off. I didn’t know whether or not he was coming in.
“When he said
Both my sisters knelt over the dog. “Can we keep him?” Boop Two asked.
“First, we should put up signs and try to find his owners, if he has any.”
“I feel like he’s supposed to be our dog,” Boop One said. “He came to our yard. He found us. Maybe he’s an angel. For our family.”
By the time my mother walked in and noticed every cabinet door hanging open, rice fanned on the floor, and Eli stirring a pot on the stove, Boop One’s eyes had swelled almost shut. My mother screamed, then looked at me, accusing. I don’t know why I hadn’t noticed: her eyes were horizontal slits, and what showed was red, not white. On her arms, bumps pushed up from below the skin like marbles, growing. “Oh my God,” my mom said. “We can’t keep that dog here.”
“She was brushing him,” I said.
Eli squatted, murmuring to the dog. He poured the rice gruel into a bowl and blew to cool it. The Mims steered my sister into the bathroom.
“Should we be driving her to the hospital?” I called.
All the while, Eli baby-talked the dog.
I went to the Boops’ bathroom, where all three females stood in steam.
“Can you breathe, sweetheart?” my mom asked, hysterically calm.
“A ball is swelling in my throat.”
“Wait in the kitchen, Miles,” my mom said.
I scuffed back to where Eli seemed to be overpitying the dog.
“Honey,” he called. “Do you have Benadryl? Should I go buy some?”
“I’ve got Claritin, if it’s not expired,” she said.
He opened drawers until he found the medicine, then held the little bottle up. “It’s okay,” he said. He didn’t seem that worried. Did he think my sister was faking it? I couldn’t see how you could fake bumps coming up beneath your skin.
“I’m going to make a call,” he said.
My mom, who’d just come into the kitchen, looked up at him.
“A woman I know in Malibu,” he said, “she once helped me rescue a bird.”
The Mims looked away. She’d thought he was calling someone about her daughter. She took ice out of the freezer and said, “Miles, grab the thermometer.”
“I’m going to drive him to the shelter,” Eli yelled.
“Miles can go with you,” she hollered back. I didn’t appreciate being volunteered. I brought in the thermometer. “Can she breathe?” I asked.
“The bumps are going down,” my mom said, shower water still running behind her.
Eli carried the dog. “I don’t know how long I’ll be. I’m not going to leave him there if it’s not the right place.” I followed him to the car. I thought I had to. “I really don’t know what time I’ll be able to get you back.”
“I can take a bus,” I said, but I didn’t know where the pound was. And I had to read two chapters of a book for World Civ. In the car, you could really smell the dog.
Why did I have to go?
We drove through clouds of fog and finally parked in front of a low, flat building. He lifted the dog out of the back. I just followed along. After whispering to the dog, Eli talked to a man behind the desk. I still wanted a puppy but not tonight, not with my sister all allergic. I needed our house to go back to the way it was before. With the flip of a latch, the man opened a swinging door, and we followed him through a maze of cages. Dogs howled, pushing against their wire doors. I saw one of the kind my sisters wanted: a white fluff ball. The man shoved our dog into a cage, poured food, and filled another bowl with water from a hose. Our dog curled himself up in a back corner.
“How long do we have?” Eli asked.
“We’re just under capacity now. Not bad. At least three weeks.”
“We’ll check in every day,” Eli said.
I stayed quiet riding back. He parked in front of the house and turned the engine off. I didn’t know whether or not he was coming in.
“When he said
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