Chapter 8

In December, Bruno stopped halfway up the stairs.

I was behind him with a basket of laundry. He looked back at me, embarrassed somehow, then tried another step. His back legs shook.

“Dad!”

We took him to the vet that afternoon. She examined him, adjusted his medicine, and showed us a safer way to help him on the stairs. She said he could still enjoy walks, but he needed us to let him set the pace.

On the drive home, I sat beside Bruno and watched him sleep.

I had spent so much of the fall afraid that somebody would take him away. Now I had to face something nobody could stop: he was getting older.

Dad saw my face in the mirror.

“We’ll help him,” he said.

“I know.”

“You can be worried and still enjoy him.”

I looked down at Bruno’s paw resting against my leg. I took a picture so I would remember that day, even though I hoped there would be many more.

At home, Caleb built a ramp for the two steps down to the yard with Dad’s help. His first attempt was too steep. Bruno looked at it and chose the grass beside it.

Caleb went back to the garage.

The second ramp worked. Bruno walked down it slowly while the three of us watched. Caleb raised both arms like he had won a championship.

“Don’t make a big deal,” he told Ava. “He’ll get nervous.”

“You’re making the biggest deal,” she said.

I laughed. Bruno reached the yard and turned to see whether I was coming.

I was.

Vanessa’s visits with Caleb and Ava continued. She had found an apartment, and they spent time with her there under the plan Dad had arranged. Sometimes Milo went with them. Bruno stayed home with me.

One Sunday, Caleb returned looking troubled. He sat on the floor beside Bruno and ran a hand down his back.

“Mom asked how he was doing,” he said.

“That’s nice.”

“She asked if you were doing okay, too.”

I waited.

“I told her you’re drawing again. And that you and Tessa made that huge poster for school.”

“Thanks.”

Caleb picked at a loose thread in the rug.

“She said she hopes you’ll talk to her someday.”

“I might,” I said. “I’m not ready.”

“I told her that.”

He looked relieved when I didn’t get upset. I moved closer and bumped his shoulder with mine.

“You don’t have to carry messages between us.”

“I know. I just wanted to tell you what happened.”

“I’m glad you did.”

Our school held an art show in January. I entered a drawing of Bruno and Milo asleep on opposite sides of the baby gate. By then, we no longer needed the gate every day, but I liked the picture. Both dogs were safe enough to sleep with their backs to each other.

Dad came. So did Leah and Tessa. Caleb and Ava spent ten minutes looking for my name on the wall and another ten telling strangers which drawing was mine.

Vanessa was there for Ava’s class display. I saw her across the room before she saw me.

My stomach tightened. Dad noticed and asked if I wanted to leave.

“No,” I said. “I worked on this for weeks.”

We moved to the next row of drawings. A little later, Vanessa approached with Ava beside her. She stopped several feet away.

“Your drawing is beautiful, Nia,” she said.

“Thank you.”

She looked as nervous as I felt.

“I won’t keep you,” she added.

Ava took her hand, and they went toward another display. I watched them go.

Dad waited until I spoke.

“That was okay,” I said.

“Okay is enough.”

After the show, we bought hot chocolate. I told Caleb his class project was better than he thought. Ava insisted we walk past her drawing twice so Leah could see the details.

Chapter 9

Dad asked if I wanted to choose Bruno’s birthday dinner.

“We don’t know his exact birthday,” I reminded him.

“We’ve always used the day he came home. I thought we should keep it.”

Bruno would be nine. I chose a small dog-safe treat from the bakery near the vet. Ava wanted a hat for him. Caleb said Bruno would hate it, so she put it on Milo instead.

On the morning of the party, Dad received a call from Mr. Patel. The shelter had completed its review of Bruno’s surrender. Its record now clearly stated that Dad had not authorized it and that the bite allegation was unfounded. Mr. Patel asked whether he could send us the final copy.

Dad thanked him and put the phone down.

“Is that it?” I asked.

“For Bruno’s shelter record, yes.”

“And Vanessa?”

“She admitted to the shelter and in the family meetings that she gave them false information. Our living arrangements and the rules about Bruno are written down. She can’t make a decision about him again.”

I sat with that for a moment. I had once imagined justice would feel like a sudden rush of happiness. It felt quieter. A file had been corrected. Vanessa had admitted what she did. Bruno was at home, waiting for breakfast.

“Can I see the final copy?” I asked.

“Of course.”

Dad printed it that afternoon. I read the line about the false bite report, then gave it back to him to keep with Bruno’s adoption papers.

“I don’t want it in my room,” I said.

“You don’t need to keep looking at it.”

At the birthday dinner, Leah brought a toy for Bruno. He carried it to his bed without letting Milo inspect it. Caleb gave the puppy a different toy, and peace returned.

We ate pizza while Bruno worked on his treat. Ava took pictures of him wearing a paper bandana she had made. Bruno tolerated it for almost a minute.

After Leah left, Dad asked whether I wanted to see a counselor again. I had gone several times after we brought Bruno home, then stopped when I felt ready.

“I’m doing okay,” I said. “If that changes, I’ll tell you.”

“I believe you.”

It meant more than he knew.

A week later, Vanessa sent Dad a message asking if I might be willing to speak with her. He showed it to me without urging me either way.

I thought about the art show. I thought about the shelter visiting room and the way Bruno had rushed into my arms.

“I’ll talk to her,” I said, “if we do it at Leah’s. And you stay with me.”

Dad checked that I was sure, then helped arrange it.

Vanessa arrived on Saturday afternoon. Leah took Ava and Caleb to the park so nobody would have to listen through a door. Dad sat beside me at the kitchen table.

Vanessa looked at me first.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I took Bruno because I wanted things my way. I told lies to make the shelter accept him. You had every right to know where he was and to keep him.”

My hands shook under the table. I put them on top of it.

“Why didn’t you just tell Dad you didn’t want him in the house?”

“I was afraid he’d say no. I knew you would.”

“He would have said no,” I replied. “We could have found help for his care.”

Vanessa nodded. “I know that now.”

“I don’t know if you do.”

She let me finish.

“When I came home and saw Milo, I thought you wanted me to love him so I’d stop asking about Bruno. Then I read what you told the shelter about me.”

“I had no right to say any of it.”

“Bruno could have stayed there because of it.”

“I know.”

I looked at Dad. He didn’t speak for me.

“I’m glad you told the truth,” I said to Vanessa. “I’m still going to take time.”

“You can take as much as you need.”

The visit ended soon after. She didn’t try to hug me. When the door closed, I leaned against Dad and cried.

“Was that a mistake?” I asked.

“No. You said what you wanted to say.”

That evening, Caleb and Ava came home asking how it went. I told them I had talked to Vanessa and that I was okay. They didn’t ask for more.

Later, I took Bruno into the yard. Milo followed us, carrying the toy Caleb had given him. Bruno walked slowly along the fence, stopped to sniff a patch of grass, and waited for me to catch up.

I rested my hand on his back.

Chapter 10

On the first warm Saturday of spring, Dad announced that everyone had a job.

Caleb would pack the picnic. Ava would bring water for the dogs. I would choose the trail at the park. Dad would drive and try, in Caleb’s words, not to get lost.

Leah came, too.

Bruno stood by the front door as soon as he saw his red leash. Milo spun in circles around Caleb’s feet. For once, we got out of the house with everything we needed.

The trail I chose was short and flat enough for Bruno. We let him stop whenever he wanted. Milo wanted to run ahead, but Caleb kept him close. Ava carried a bowl that folded flat in her bag and offered both dogs water at every bench.

Halfway around, we sat beneath a tree to eat.

Bruno lay beside my legs. Milo settled beside him after a few attempts to steal Caleb’s sandwich. I looked at the two of them and remembered the first day I saw Milo, when I thought his arrival meant Bruno had no place in our home.

Now Ava rubbed Milo’s ears while Bruno slept against my shoe. Caleb passed me another sandwich. Dad and Leah argued about who had packed the napkins.

There was room for all of us.

My phone buzzed. It was a message from Tessa asking whether I had finished the drawing I planned to submit to the summer art program. I had, but I was nervous about sending it.

I showed Dad the message.

“You said you liked the drawing,” I told him. “Were you just being my dad?”

“I was being your dad when I asked to see it. I liked it when I did.”

Leah leaned over. “I liked it, too.”

“You haven’t seen the finished one.”

“Then show me when we get home.”

Caleb grinned. “It’s going to win.”

“You haven’t seen it either,” I said.

“I know how you draw.”

I looked down at Bruno. He had opened one eye at the sound of my voice.

The drawing was of his bed beside my bedroom door. Milo slept nearby, one paw stretched toward him. I had drawn the doorway open.

After the picnic, we finished the trail. Bruno walked the whole way. Back at the car, Dad helped him onto the seat, and he rested his head on my lap before we pulled out of the parking lot.

That evening, I submitted my drawing.

I called Tessa afterward. She shouted so loudly that Ava heard her from the hall and came running to ask what had happened.

“She sent it!” Tessa announced through the phone.

Ava cheered. Caleb appeared behind her and asked whether there were prizes. Dad stood in the doorway smiling.

I felt embarrassed and happy at once.

Two weeks later, the art program accepted me.

I read the email twice before I showed anyone. Then I ran downstairs, nearly tripping over Milo at the last step.

“I got in.”

Dad took my phone and read the message. He handed it back and hugged me.

“I’m proud of you.”

Leah came over for dinner to celebrate. Caleb offered to make a cake, which worried all of us, so Dad helped him. Ava decorated it with crooked letters and a picture of two dogs.

At the table, Dad asked me what supplies I needed for the program. I started making a list while Caleb served cake. Ava wanted to know if she could visit the final show.

“You all can,” I said.

Bruno waited under my chair, hoping for a crumb. I reached down and touched the soft fur between his ears. He leaned against my hand.

After dinner, Dad helped Caleb clean up. Leah read with Ava on the sofa. I took Bruno and Milo into the yard for their last walk of the day.

The sky was turning pink. Bruno moved slowly, but he went to the far fence where he liked to sniff the grass. Milo trotted beside him, then came back to me.

When we went inside, Bruno headed for my room. I followed him upstairs. His bed was beside my door, his blanket tucked around the edges. He circled once and lay down.

Dad stopped in the hall.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

I looked at Bruno, then past Dad to the light downstairs where Caleb was laughing at something Ava had said.

“Yeah,” I told him. “Everything’s okay.”

Dad smiled and went to help them put away the books.

I sat beside Bruno for another minute. He pressed his nose into my palm, warm and familiar.

THE END!!!