The next day, we hit the ground running, trying to get the business going again. The boys put up posters on the parts of the island that we've missed, and the girls follow up with all our old clients, making sure we know what their needs are so we can give them priority in the schedule.
"We're going to be very busy this summer," Paul, Atticus's dog-dad, tells us.
Micayla, Claire, and I are sitting with Paul and his girlfriend, Andi, on his porch. Atticus and Rascal are gnawing on rawhide chews in a corner. Atticus's triangular German shepherd ears perk up and he tries to steal Rascal's rawhide. They behave like real brothers now that they live together, always wrestling and snatching each other's treats. But Rascal stays calm. His black, velvety Newfoundland fur almost glistens in the sun. He sits there all dignified, as if he doesn't have a care in the world.
"We are?" Andi asks Paul with stars in her eyes. They share the wicker love seat, sitting as close to each other as they possibly can.
He nods. "Yup. I have a lot of things planned."
Maybe he knows about the shortened summer, too. Maybe he's trying to squeeze in as much as he can before the big storm. Ever since I talked to Mr. Aprone, I've been worrying about it, but I keep the worries to myself.
Right now it feels like a secret that only Mr. Aprone and I know. If I don't talk about it, maybe it won't become real.
Paul grabs Andi's hand, and I wonder if Claire and Micayla feel as awkward as I do. It seems as if we caught the grown-up couple in some intimate moment, even though they knew we were coming over.
"Which reminds me," Paul continues. "I wanted to ask you if you ever take dogs overnight."
The three of us look at one another.
"How on earth would they do that, Paul?" Andi yelps. "They're kids, not a kennel!"
He shrugs. "Just thought I'd ask. No need to bite my head off!"
She kisses him on the forehead. "Sorry."
"Well, no one has ever asked us that," I reply. I don't know exactly how we'd do it. But I hate to say no. I guess we could always beg our parents to let us keep the dogs in our houses.
"Well, keep it in mind," Paul says. "Andi's mom could use some extra help with Rascal."
Micayla's been pretty much silent this whole time, looking at her feet and fiddling with the strings on her hoodie. And then I realize she probably feels weird sitting on her teacher's porch, watching him hold hands with his girlfriend.
"Can you watch both dogs every morning until about two or three in the afternoon?" Andi says. "If you want to pick them up, that would be great, but we like to go for a morning stroll, so we can always drop them at Dog Beach, too."
I write that all down and then look up. "Picking them up works." I turn to face Micayla and Claire. "You guys cool with that?"
They nod.
"Okay, so we should be up and running by early next week, I think," I tell them. "We just need to iron out the schedule with our other clients, and then we'll be ready to go. Anything new we should know about?"
Andi and Paul look at each other and laugh a little bit. "Nothing, really," Andi says. "The dogs are happy as clams, and they love being together."
"Just like us," Paul says.
"Sounds great," I reply, and I stand up.
"Really great," Claire adds, as if it's something she feels she's supposed to say but not necessarily something she feels.
Micayla looks down at her feet again. "See you guys soon," she says. "We're excited about taking care of Atticus and Rascal again."
Claire needs to go home, so Micayla and I decide to walk to Mornings to get a snack. I'm happy to have some alone time with her. I hope she's not still feeling left out.
"That was weird, wasn't it?" I ask her. "Was it crazy to be at your teacher's place?"
"Yeah, I couldn't wait to leave. And Mr. Jennings was just being so strange. Wasn't he? What kind of plans do you think he was talking about?"
"Maybe getting married?" I shrug. "Who knows?" I pull up the hood on my windbreaker as the breeze kicks up and it starts to rain.
Finally we're at Mornings, and thankfully grumpy Beverly isn't there.
We take a table by the window and share a chocolate croissant, an apple cinnamon muffin, and two hot chocolates. It's cold and gray and rainy. Not a good way to start the summer.
I look outside, and everything seems ominous. Maybe Mr. Aprone was right and a dangerous storm is going to swamp Seagate Island this summer.
"What are we gonna do with the dogs if it rains like this all the time?" I ask Micayla. Maybe she knows something about a ferocious hurricane season and isn't telling me.
"I was just thinking the same thing," Micayla answers. "I don't know. We were so lucky last summer. Only a little drizzle here and there. No real rainy days."
"Think Mr. Brookfield would let us bring all the dogs to his basement?" I ask. "There's not much down there. Just boxes of random stuff."
"I don't think that would be great for the dogs," Micayla says. "It's not really that big. They wouldn't be able to run around."
I guess she's right.
"Bennett is a giant now, isn't he?" Micayla asks me, totally changing the subject.
"A giant?" I cover my mouth and giggle. I'm picturing Bennett as the Jolly Green Giant, and I can't stop laughing.
"He's taller than he was last summer!" she says defensively.
"He is taller," I admit.
We sit and talk and finish our treats, and Micayla fills me in about what happens on Seagate after everyone leaves.
"So you know those grills down by the stadium that anyone can use?" she asks.
I nod.
"Last October, everyone left on the island came out with stuff to grill, and we had this giant barbecue." She takes a sip of her hot chocolate. "It was crazy. The parents were totally living it up. They had music playing, and they were all dancing. It was really kind of weird to see the parents acting so silly, but it was kind of fun, too. They were like teenagers! Anyway, I think that's when Daisy got into a fight with Mrs. Pursuit, and I'm pretty sure they haven't spoken since."
"What was the fight over?" I ask.
"I don't know. Something about the placement of garbage cans on Seagate. It got really heated." Micayla takes the last bite of muffin, and we clear our plates. "It's really sad. They've been best friends since they were our age."
"Listen, I'm sorry I didn't tell you that Claire slept over," I say. "It wasn't a big deal, but I should've told you. I'm sorry if you felt left out."
She nods and finishes her last sip of hot chocolate. "Feeling left out might be the worst feeling in the world."
"I know." I put my arm over Micayla's shoulders. "Promise me we'll never fight over something as dumb as garbage can placement?" I ask, and we start laughing.
"Of course not." Micayla puts her arm around my waist. "I promise."
