eb93c43e214c621f9157c05b4b6a6878

Dooley and I stared at our voluminous friend.“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Now that the baby has arrived. You’ll probably have to move out, right?”

“And why would you think that?” I asked, a fresh wave of concern rippling through me.

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? Baby comes, pets have to move out. Seems like a natural thing.”

“Well, for your information, Kingman,” I said, not hiding my annoyance, “it is not.”

“No, we’re staying put,” said Dooley. “Marge promised, and Marge’s word is her bond.”

“Mh,” said Kingman, not hiding his skepticism. “Let’s just wait and see, shall we? Wilbur’s niece had a cat, a very pretty Burmese, I might add, who got the boot when she had the baby. Cat ended up living with relatives until the baby was big enough.”

“Oh, no,” I said. “Not this story again!” Frankly I’d had it with fearmongering.

“They promised, Max!” said Dooley, turning to me. “They solemnly swore!”

“And they’ll keep that promise, Dooley,” I said. “And don’t you believe otherwise.”

“I won’t,” he said, but it was obvious that doubt once again held him in its iron grip.

Just then, a woman came toddling up along the street. She was walking with a dog on a leash, and when we looked closer, we saw that it was none other than… Windex!

The woman entered Wilbur’s shop, but before doing so tied Windex’s leash to a metal bar outside that Wilbur has installed especially for his canine-loving clientele.

“Hey, you,” I said, greeting the tiny doggie like an old friend, which she now was.

“Hey, Max. Hey, Dooley,” said Windex, looking more happy than ever. “Kingman.”

“Windex,” said Kingman. “So how are things at the nursing home?”

“Oh, so you heard about that, did you? Well, pretty great so far. They’re all treating me like royalty back there, and of course the reunion with Eileen was heartwarming. Boy, was she glad to see me. And me to see her again, of course. She actually thought I’d been snatched by dog snatchers and sold to some Middle-Eastern maharajah for big bucks.”

Why a maharajah would pay big bucks for a dog that looks like a bat was frankly beyond me, but then Eileen Dobson was probably one of those pet parents that think their pet baby is the most beautiful and precious pet in all the world. Which, if you get right down to it, is what every pet parent thinks—and by extension every parent, period.

“Odelia had her baby,” I said, filling Windex in on the latest from our home front.

“Oh, that’s so great,” said our canine friend. “Look, I’m sorry I couldn’t come to the park last night, but I’m still settling in, and Eileen wouldn’t have liked me wandering off in the middle of the night.” She grimaced. “I guess she’s afraid I’ll disappear again.”

“Totally understandable,” I said.

“So where are you on the investigation?”

“Nowhere,” I said honestly. “Plenty of suspects but nothing concrete.”

“Too bad,” she said. “Marsella deserves to be happy with Dewey, and as long as he’s a suspect that’s going to hang over them, won’t it?”

“I’d totally forgotten that you know Marsella,” I said.

“Oh, sure. She took such good care of me. And Shelley, too, of course.”

“If Odelia would have kicked us out we had decided we wanted Shelley to adopt us,” Dooley confessed.

“Who’s this Shelley person?” asked Kingman.

“She volunteers at the shelter,” I said. “Very sweet girl.”

“I hope she and Gavin will finally be happy,” said Windex.

“Shelley and Gavin? I didn’t know those two were an item.”

“Oh, absolutely. They’re actually engaged, but don’t tell anyone. It’s a secret.”

“Shelley is secretly engaged?” said Dooley excitedly. “That’s so cool!”

“Why keep it a secret?” asked Kingman.

“Shelley’s dad isn’t too fond of Gavin,” Windex revealed. “The Ecclestons are a very wealthy family.”

“Cement, right?” I said.

“Yeah. And loaded. So Burke Eccleston, that’s Shelley’s dad, wants his little girl to marry someone with the same financial status, not the son of a local shoe salesman. Shelley introduced Gavin to him once and he told her not to let things get too serious. Said he didn’t think he was the right boy for her. But she and Gavin are in love, and so they got engaged last month and are planning to elope and get married in the summer.”

“That’s so romantic!” said Dooley.

“How do you know so much about it?” asked Kingman.

“I lived at that shelter, remember?” said Windex with a smile. “And I overheard every single conversation Shelley and Gavin had. My heart really bled for them, and I hope they’ll get their happy-ever-after at some point. Though if I understood correctly, the moment Shelley announces that she and Gavin are husband and wife, her dad will probably disown her and kick her out of the family firm, wanting nothing more to do with her. Which is so sad, really. But she doesn’t care. She’s going to marry Gavin anyway.”

“Ooh, I hope they’ll be together forever, and that one day her dad will realize what he’s done and will beg her forgiveness and she will give it,” said Dooley, the eternal romantic.