Read Online Pet Disasters by Claudia Mills - Free Book Online Page A

and bookcase, and just one monkey-shaped handknit pillow on his bed. There was nothing on the floor except for the rug. Mason didn’t mind the rug. It kept his feet from being cold in the winter before he put on his brown socks.
    Amidst all the turtles in Brody’s room sat Albert’s bowl, with Albert’s can of fish food beside it.
    “
One
pinch of food every
morning
,” Brody said. “So one pinch on Saturday morning, and one pinch on Sunday.”
    He showed Mason how many flakes of goldfish food were in a pinch. Mason tried not to blame Brody for being so careful with his instructions.
    “Then talk to him for a while, so he doesn’t get lonely. Try talking to him now so he can get used to the sound of your voice.”
    “Hi, Albert,” Mason said. He tried to think of something else to say. “I’m the kid who used to have Goldfish. Before Goldfish—well, you know. You were there at the funeral.”
    “Albert, Mason is going to be taking care of you while I’m camping,” Brody explained, saying every word slowly and clearly as if Albert would understand him better if he spoke that way.
    Albert swam over toward the side of the bowl where the boys were standing. Maybe he really was listening.
    Suddenly Brody’s face crumpled. “Oh, Albert, I don’t want to go away and leave you!”
    Mason knew Albert wasn’t the only one Brody didn’t want to leave.
    “Maybe …” Brody’s face brightened. “Maybe I don’t have to go away! Maybe I can stay with you and Dog at your house!”
    Brody tore downstairs to ask his mother. Mason noticed that Brody hadn’t bothered to ask him, Mason, first.
    “Can I stay at Mason’s house?” Brody begged as his mother sat on the back porch surrounded by camping gear. “Can I, can I, can I?”
    “
May
I,” she corrected automatically. Then she seemed to realize for the first time what Brody was asking. “No, Brody. This is a
family
trip. We’re
all
going.”
    “I don’t want to go!”
    “But, Brody, you love camping,” Brody’s mom said. “You’ve always loved camping. Albert will be fine with Mason to take care of him. He won’t even know you’re gone.”
    It was the wrong thing to say.
    “He will, too!” Brody burst out. “Albert loves me! And what about Dog? Dog loves me, too. I just got Dog! I can’t go away and leave him!”
    “Mason will take good care of Dog, too. Won’t you, Mason? Dog will be perfectly fine without you.”
    This was also the wrong thing to say.
    “I won’t go! You can’t make me!”
    Mason had never heard Brody say such a thing. Brody never refused to do anything. Brody loved doing everything. Right this minute Brody didn’t sound like Brody.
    He sounded like Mason.

    Brody came over to Mason’s house to give Dog one last goodbye hug before he went away on the campingtrip. He hugged Dog as if he would never let him go. Then he got into the station wagon with his parents and his sisters, and the Baxter family drove away.
    Mason had been afraid his parents might expect him to walk Dog all by himself that evening, but instead his dad called for Dog once supper was done, leash in one hand, plastic bag in the other.
    “Want to come with me?” he asked Mason.
    Mason looked at the plastic bag. He had visions of his father saying,
Now
you
try it
.
    “I’ll just stay here,” he said.
    He did pat Dog a few times later on in the evening and was glad enough to have Dog lying by his feet as he watched TV. But when he went to bed, he made sure to close his bedroom door. He was ready for a good, non-doggy night’s sleep.
    Saturday was a glorious day filled with glorious nothing. Mason got up early just for the pleasure of not having to go to art camp. As soon as he came downstairs, Dog came bounding over to him, tail wagging, tongue ready to lick. He jumped up on Mason and tried to lick Mason’s face.
    “Down, Dog!” Mason commanded.
    Dog obeyed.
    “Sit, Dog!”
    Dog sat.
    Goldfish, Hamster, and Cat had never done anything that Mason