Then—even worse—she rubbed some foul-smelling soap into my fur.
“You’re going to look so beautiful for the art show,” she crooned as she worked. “That’s a good girl, Molly, just a little longer. You’re a good dog.”
Surely not! Good dogs got treats and petting and hugs. They did not get treated like this! All of the delicious scents my fur had gathered over time—dirt and old food and dust from the carpet—escaped down the drain with the warm water. I whined and tried to slip out of CJ’s hands, but my claws just scrabbled uselessly on the smooth surface of the box. CJ got a better grip on me.
“I just have to rinse you, Molly!” she said, and she poured more water over me from my nose to my drooping tail.
But then, it seemed, I wasn’t a bad dog anymore, because CJ let me go and grabbed a big towel. She wrapped it all around me and pulled me close to her. “Oh, Molly dog, oh, Molly dog, you are a schnoodle schnoodle dog,” she whispered, and I knew I was a good dog now, and that my girl loved me.
She rubbed me up and down with the towel until my skin felt so alive and buzzing that, when she let me go, I just had to run. I raced around the house, shaking myself to get rid of any last drops of that stinky, soapy water and leaping over chairs and on the couch. Then I flopped onto the carpet and scooted along, rubbing my belly and then my shoulders and then my back, until I began to smell like myself again and all the dampness was gone from my fur.
“What is that dog doing?” Gloria asked, standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room.
“She’s just happy!” CJ said. She was smiling and holding my brush. “Come here, Molly. Come and get brushed!”
“Outside!” Gloria said.
So CJ took me outside and brushed me until I was wiggling with pleasure. Then we went back in, and it was CJ’s turn inside the box with the water.
I lay on a towel, waiting for her, and wondering if CJ was a bad girl like I’d been a bad dog. But she didn’t seem sad about the water. When she got out, she brushed her hair like she’d brushed mine, and then she pointed something at her head that made a horrible, whining sound. I’d heard it before—it sounded like something being hurt—so I ran away and hid under the blankets on her bed until she was finished.
CJ found me there and pulled me out, and tied some sort of string around my neck. “There, Molly,” she said.
I nibbled at one end of the string. It did not taste very interesting, but it was better than nothing.
“No, Molly.” CJ pulled the string out of my mouth. “Don’t eat your ribbon!”
“CJ! Come and let me see what you have on!” Gloria called from her bedroom.
CJ went. I lay on the bed and got to work with my teeth, seeing if I could get the string completely off my neck.
I could hear bits and pieces of the conversation between Gloria and CJ as I chewed. “What’s wrong with the dress I picked?” CJ said.
“Well, obviously. Obviously,” Gloria said. “No, try on the blue one. Let me see.”
“But I like the red one.”
“Red is not your color, Clarity.”
“But it’s my painting that’s in the art show, right?”
“And you’re my daughter, and you’re not going in that horrible baggy red thing. It makes you look like you’ve gained ten pounds.”
I had the ribbon almost off now, but it somehow got stuck on one of my teeth. I had to twist my neck to yank it loose. When I got that over with, I could hear CJ’s voice again. I wagged, just because it was so nice to hear my girl. Even if she didn’t sound very happy.
“Makeup? Gloria, do I have to?”
“Hold still. Close your eyes. You have my eyes, you know, if you’d just do something with them.”
“I do. I see things with them.”
“Just. Be. Quiet. Clarity,” Gloria said, kind of growling.
Then the doorbell rang. I jumped off the bed with the string still trailing from my neck and ran to do my job and bark. CJ hurried to the hallway, too. She grabbed my collar and opened the door.
“Yes?” she panted.
“Your mom here?” asked the man standing on the porch.
“Well—” CJ hesitated.
“Gus!” Gloria said from behind us. She was wearing clattery shoes that made a lot of noise on the floor of the hallway. “Gus, come in. How nice to see you. Clarity, this is Gus. My boyfriend.”
The man stepped inside. Since he was in the house, it wasn’t my job to bark at him anymore, so I sniffed his shoes. They smelled like grass and sweat, and something sweet had been spilled on the left one. I licked it up.
“What’s on that dog’s neck?” the man asked.
“Um. A ribbon,” CJ mumbled. “Boyfriend?”
“Used to be a ribbon, maybe,” the man said.
“Of course!” Gloria said.
“You never said anything…” CJ looked at Gloria. I licked her fingers, and she tugged the ribbon off my neck. Thank goodness that game was over.
“Well, I don’t tell you everything!” Gloria said brightly, and laughed. The man called Gus laughed, too. Then CJ and Gloria went back to their rooms while Gus sat on the couch and tapped one foot impatiently. Finally, CJ and Gloria came back out, and all the people gathered by the door. CJ was wearing a pair of those loud shoes, too.
It looked like they were getting ready to go out, and I ran over in case they wanted me to go with them. Often that didn’t happen, but I was always prepared.
“That’s right, Molly. It’s your night, too!” CJ said, and she picked my leash from a hook on the wall.
I danced around happily. “Clarity, really!” Gloria grumbled, and CJ clipped the leash on, and finally we all went outside. I never understood why it takes people so long to get outside, but never mind that. I was going somewhere with my girl!
Gloria and Gus got in a car. CJ opened the back door and called me in. She got in, too, and fastened a strap around herself. I flopped across her lap, panting happily.
“Don’t let that dog get hair all over that dress!” Gloria called back.
“I won’t,” CJ said quietly.
“So how long does this art show thing go on for?” Gus asked as he started driving.
“Oh, not very long. An hour. Of course, Clarity might have to talk to some people at the museum. Press, you know.”
“Mom!” CJ said, horrified. “It’s just a show of work by kids. It’s not some big thing!”
“Clarity June, really. It is a big thing. You were the only student from your school to get a painting in, weren’t you?” Gloria said.
“Well, yes, but—”
“I knew you’d be talented. Even when you were a baby,” Gloria said. She sounded very happy. “It runs in families, you know. I had quite a successful singing career before Clarity was born, Gus.”
“Yeah?”
“Oh, certainly. Of course, everything is different when you’ve had a child. But I wasn’t surprised to get that letter from your art teacher. Not surprised at all.”
CJ lowered her head to hug me. Gloria chattered away and Gus answered her, but CJ didn’t say anything. Maybe she wished she could ride in the front seat, too. I could understand that. I liked it better when I got to be a front-seat dog as well.
“Pull in there,” Gloria said to Gus, pointing.
Gus stopped the car. I jumped up to look out the window and wagged hard, banging CJ in the face with my tail. We were at Trent’s house!
A moment later, one of the car doors opened, and Trent slid in beside CJ and me. It seemed like there wasn’t going to be any playing or wrestling with Rocky, though, because Gus began driving again right away. Too bad.
“Hey, Molly. Hi, CJ,” Trent said. “Wow, you look…”
“Gloria did my makeup,” CJ mumbled.
“Wow,” Trent said again. Then he got quiet, too, and looked out of the window. I lay down so my front legs were on CJ and my back legs were on Trent. They both petted me. Sometimes their hands bumped.
Then Gus stopped the car again, and we all got out and went inside a really big building, even bigger than the place where we played with Andi or the one where we went to do art. And there were lots of people standing around. Some of them were talking. Others were staring at the walls.
People really do very strange things.
CJ kept hold of my leash, so I stayed close beside her. She and Trent went over to one particular wall and looked at it.
“It’s a great painting, CJ,” Trent said.
CJ shifted her weight from foot to foot. “Stop. You’re embarrassing me.”
“Come on. You must know how good it is. Here, let me take a picture of you, okay? You stand there with Molly, right next to the painting. The artist and her model!”
Trent backed away and held out a little rectangular box. CJ rolled her eyes. Then she picked me up and held me close to her face, smiling.
“That’s great,” said Trent. “Molly has just the same expression on her face as she does in your painting. You can really see how you got just what she looks like.”
Trent’s box made a little noise, and then CJ set me down. My girl and Trent wandered around for a bit, looking at some more walls, while I sniffed at feet and legs and noticed that a lot of the people had drinks or napkins in their hands. Sometimes they dropped little bits of cheese or chunks of crackers. I was happy to clean those up.
Against one wall of the room was a table with more food. I wished CJ would head over there. I looked up at her to see if she had any intention of going where the food was, and then I felt her stiffen.
“There’s Sheryl,” she whispered to Trent.
CJ sounded nervous. I took a look around to see if there was a threat that I should know about.
“So? I thought you liked her,” Trent said quietly.
“I did. I do. But what if she’s mad at me? About the thing with Shane?”
“CJ, you’re nuts. She stood up for you with the principal, didn’t she? She entered your painting in this show. So why do you think she’s mad?”
“I don’t know,” CJ said. “I just…”
“She’s coming over. Chill out. It’ll be fine.”
“Hello, CJ,” said a familiar voice. It was Sheryl, from when we did art building! “Hello, Molly.”
I wagged furiously. “Oh. Um,” mumbled CJ, twisting my leash in her hand. “Hi, Sheryl.”
“We’ve missed you in art class,” Sheryl said. “Will you be coming back when the community service is over?”
“I don’t know,” CJ said awkwardly.
I pressed close to my girl’s knees, trying to comfort her.
“I hope so,” Sheryl said. Her voice was warm. “Class isn’t as good without you. And of course everybody wants to see Molly again!”
Sheryl bent down to pet me. I felt CJ relax a little, and I wagged again as Sheryl rubbed both hands along my ears.
“Such a famous girl tonight!” she said.
I could smell cheese on her breath, and crackers, and something else, something familiar. I knew what to do. I lay down with my paws crossed, and lowered my head onto them.
“Oh, how cute,” Sheryl said, smiling.
CJ drew in her breath with a gasp of horror.
No one remembered to give me a treat.
12
CJ whispered, “Excuse me,” to Sheryl. She grabbed Trent by the arm and pulled him away. Since she still had my leash in her hand, I went with her as well.
That was lucky, because someone had spilled a sweet-tasting drink, and I was able to lap it up while CJ talked to Trent in quick, low words.
“You’re kidding,” Trent said.
“I’m not kidding!”
“You think she has cancer? And Molly can tell? Seriously?”
“I mean it, Trent. In Andi’s experiments, Molly gets it right every time.”
“That’s crazy. Sorry. I don’t mean you’re crazy. I just mean—” Trent shook his head. “It’s just so wild, you know? That Molly can tell something like that?”
“But, Trent, what do I do?” CJ asked.
I looked up. My girl was worried. I could hear it in her voice. Even her smell had changed. I gave one last lick to the sticky floor and went to nuzzle at her hand, to remind her that everything was all right, since I was there.
CJ stroked my head, but she clearly wasn’t paying real attention to me. I had to keep nudging her hand because she’d pet me once and then let her hand just hang there, doing nothing in particular.
“Should I tell her?” CJ said.
“Well, you have to tell her,” Trent said.
“But here? Now? It’s an art show. There are all these people.”
“She’s got to know, CJ. And it’s not like there’s ever going to be a good time.”
I felt a little of CJ’s worry ease. She stood a bit straighter.
“You’re right. Okay.” She nodded. “Oh no. Look over there.”
“What?”
“Sheryl’s talking to Gloria. I can’t believe it. Of all people…”
“I’ll come with you, if you want,” Trent offered.
“No, wait for me here, okay? Sheryl probably won’t want an audience. I’ll figure out a way to get her away from Gloria. Come on, Molly.”
I stuck close to CJ’s side as we made our way through all the people. Even when someone dropped a cracker right in front of me, I didn’t swerve to eat it. I could tell my girl needed me.
Sheryl was standing and talking to Gloria when CJ reached her side. Gus was at Gloria’s side with a glass in his hand. “Sheryl?” CJ said nervously. “Can I talk to you? Right now?”
Sheryl looked a little surprised, but she smiled in a kind way. “Of course, if it’s important,” she said.
“It’s kind of private,” CJ told her.
“Private!” Gloria stood up straighter. “I’m your own mother, Clarity June. What’s private from me?”
CJ squirmed a little. Sheryl looked back and forth from her to Gloria. Gus frowned.
“We won’t be a minute,” Sheryl told Gloria, and she reached out to take CJ’s arm. They walked across the room, toward the doors. Maybe we were going outside! A walk would be more fun than staying in the room, even with the occasional bit of food on the floor.
When they got to the doorway, CJ talked. Sheryl listened. She shook her head. Sheryl grew paler and put out a hand to touch the door frame, as if she needed to lean on it for support.
“I don’t know, I can’t be sure, maybe Molly’s wrong,” CJ said in a rush. “Except she’s never been wrong in the experiments. I just … I had to tell you. You should go to the doctor right away. Andi, she’s the dog trainer, she says early detection is a really big deal, the biggest deal there is.”
Sheryl’s eyes were wide and bright. “My mother—she died of breast cancer,” she murmured. A few tears started to slip down her cheeks.
“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry, Sheryl,” CJ said. She sounded like she might cry, too.
I looked back and forth from one to the other. Both of them were worried and anxious. And we didn’t seem to be going on a walk. I wondered why not. I was sure a walk would make us all feel better.
“I have to … I have to go,” Sheryl said. More tears came down her face. “I’m sorry, CJ, I just can’t—I have to leave. Now.”
And she pushed her way out of the door, moving like she couldn’t see very well.
I put a paw on CJ’s leg to get her attention. Then a voice spoke from behind us.
“What on earth was that all about, Clarity?”
It was Gloria. Gus was right behind her.
Gloria stood looking at us with her lips pinched together. “What did you say to that teacher?” she said, her voice low. “Whatever it was, you certainly caused a scene.”
CJ rubbed a hand over her face. “I had to tell her something, Gloria. It was important.”
Trent began pushing his way toward us from across the room where CJ had left him.
“Isn’t that
just like you, Clarity,” Gloria said impatiently. “Because something’s important to you, you think it must be important to everyone else. But it’s time you started to grow up and think a little about other people. It’s embarrassing to me to have you behave like this.”
“CJ was thinking about other people,” Trent said angrily, coming up behind Gloria and Gus. “You don’t know what happened. She did the right thing.”
“Trent, stop,” CJ said wearily. “You’ll just make it worse.”
Everybody was upset. Nobody was eating any food. Nobody was petting me. Nobody was even looking at the walls anymore. Instead, lots of people in the room were staring at us.
I would never understand why people spent so much time standing around and making words at each other when those words didn’t seem to make them happy.
Gus looked at Trent. “Kid, go look at the art some more.”
Trent’s jaw set in a stubborn way. He looked like Rocky when my brother was getting ready to plow into me and knock me over.
“Just go,” CJ said softly to Trent. “It’s okay. Please.”
Trent let out a long breath and walked away. Not very far away, though. He stood looking at a wall with his hands in his pockets.
“Now, let me handle this,” Gus said to Gloria.
“Gladly. I’m going to get myself something to drink,” Gloria answered. She turned around on the heel of her loud shoes. She walked over to the tables where there was food.
I looked at CJ to see if we’d be doing the same thing.
Instead, Gus took CJ by the arm and pulled her out the door.
CJ was so startled that she dropped my leash. But that didn’t matter, because of course I went with her. Gus shut the door so quickly it nearly caught my tail.
“Let go!” CJ protested.
I felt the fur on the back of my neck start to rise.
“Listen,” Gus said to CJ. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I do know one thing. You’re going to start talking to your mother with respect. Hear me?”
CJ was twisting and pulling at her arm, trying to get it out of Gus’s grip. “You’re right. You don’t know what’s going on!” she said angrily. “So leave me alone!”