Read Online Whippoorwill by Joseph Monninger - Free Book Online

in range, a piece of gum snapping around back in her jaws. “I mean, I thought they looked good, but now I see they look ridiculous.”
    â€œWhat does?”
    â€œMy Uggs. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
    â€œThey look warm.”
    â€œDo you have an extra pair of flip-flops?”
    â€œAt home.”
    â€œI don’t know what I was thinking.”
    â€œIt doesn’t matter.”
    â€œI have got to go shopping soon. I need some cute sandals for summer.”
    â€œNo one’s going to notice the boots.”
    â€œYes, they will. People do. Did you hear about Julia?”
    Then she was off to the races, telling me what was supposed to be a juicy piece of gossip about Julia Fields, one of the cheerleader types rumored to be pregnant. I didn’t care one way or the other, but I listened because Holly liked telling the story, and she bent close to me and whispered when she got to the grimiest parts, and her breath smelled of cinnamon. Then the bell went off and we both plunged into French class, where Mrs. Baboo, not her real name, greeted us all with a big, phony “
Bonjour.
”
    After school Holly snagged me again. She had talked to her mom, and they were going to the mall, and did I want to come? It was Friday afternoon. The weekend was here.
    â€œI have to get home,” I said. “I’m taking care of a dog.”
    â€œA dog?” Holly asked. “What dog? This is the first I’m hearing about a dog.”
    â€œIt’s our next-door neighbors’ dog.”
    â€œAre they away or something?”
    â€œYes,” I said, agreeing because it was an easier route to follow with Holly. “They’re away.”
    On the bus ride home I wondered why I didn’t tell Holly about Danny. Didn’t mention Danny. It wasn’t as though either one of us went out with boys often, or even had a date.
If it was a date,
I reminded myself. Tied up in it was my own confusion about what I wanted. Then gradually the herky-jerky motion of the bus, all the stops to let kids off, started making me sick. I put my forehead against the window and closed my eyes. The coolness from the glass made me feel better, and in a little while my stomach settled.
    Â 
    Wally looked beautiful in the afternoon sun. I watched him out of my bedroom window. He didn’t fuss, didn’t move around or try to be anyplace he wasn’t. He didn’t sleep, either, but simply stared ahead, just being. Dogs are a little Zen that way, and I watched him until he stood up, circled, and sniffed at the corner of his house. He peed at the edge of his chain length. Then he heard Danny come out, his door slamming, and Wally jumped up and dangled on his chain. Danny came over and thumped Wally’s ribs, but I saw he kept Wally from jumping on him. I had to duck down and watch from the edge of the window, because Danny glanced up at our house, patted Wally some more, then glanced up again.
    Before I knew what I wanted to do, I knocked on the window with my knuckle and raised my finger to tell him I’d just be a minute. Danny smiled and nodded. He kept petting Wally.
    Â 
    â€œI got him some stuff,” Danny said, waggling an orange plastic bag at me. “At the pet store. I got him a tag with his name on it, so if he gets lost or gets away, someone will know he belongs to me. See? It says Wally and my phone number. And a collar called a gentle leader and some biscuits and a long training lead. The lady there knew about Father Jasper. She says he knows what he’s talking about.”
    â€œWally want a biscuit?” I asked, bending close to the dog.
    Wally looked good and happy, not quite as spazzy as he had been. The warm sun had heated his fur and he seemed to enjoy the decent weather. Danny already had him off his pole. He made him sit before we gave him a biscuit.
    â€œThat Father Jasper guy says you should always attach a reward to anything he does,”