There was every possibility that some other ghost from my past would show up at any minute.
Buddha bumped up against my leg. He stuck his head under my hand, begging to be petted. He didn’t do that often, and only when I was upset. Clearly, he sensed my agitation.
I sighed and rubbed his ears. There was no way I could keep what happened in San Francisco a secret for much longer. I had to trust someone.
I walked to the front door and pulled the leashes from the hook. “Come on guys,” I called. “Let’s go to the spa.”
Sue just nodded when I came through the front door of Doggy Day Spa with Daisy and Buddha on their leashes. It was like she’d been expecting me.
She had a beagle on the grooming table, clipping his nails.
“About time you showed up, Neverall.”
“I’m hungry,” I said lamely. “You want to get some lunch?”
Sue glanced at Daisy and Buddha. “You know someplace that will serve Airedales?”
I chuckled. “Figured they’d stay here and guard the place, and maybe I could get you to give them a bath after we eat.”
Sue finished with the beagle, and lifted him off the table. She put him in one of the kennels in the back of the shop and slipped him a green treat, all the while crooning to him in baby talk.
After the beagle was tucked away with a scratch behind the ears, she walked back up front and skimmed the appointment book. “Colleen will be here to pick up Peanut in a few minutes and we can go. The afternoon’s pretty quiet, so I should have time for the guys.”
Sue snapped her fingers. “In fact, I could use your help.” She dug around on the desk for a minute and came up with one of the thumb drives I’d insisted she get. We traded grooming for computer services, and it looked like it was time for me to pay up.
“I can’t get the computer to read this thing. I plug it in and nothing happens.”
She handed me the drive. “Where do you want to have lunch?” It was another one of Sue’s conversational U-turns.
I checked my watch. “Dee’s?” Dee’s Lunch was close and cheap, and it would be near closing time. With luck, the place would be empty.
“Works for me. You want to take a look at the computer?”
The bell over the front door rang, interrupting our conversation. Colleen came in and claimed Peanut. She stuffed some bills in Sue’s hand, and hurried out without asking me about the accident. I took that as a good sign.
We put the dogs in the big pen at the back of the shop, locked up, and walked down Main Street toward Dee’s Lunch. It was just down the block, past the Radio Shack franchise and across the street from Katie’s Bakery.
The aroma of fresh bread wafted across from Katie’s and I knew I’d have to take a loaf home with me. The stuff in the refrigerator was past its prime anyway.
Dee’s was barely wide enough to hold a lunch counter along one wall and a handful of tiny two-seat booths along the other. The kitchen was a gas grill, a couple deep fryers, and a decidedly low-tech coffeemaker. She refused to consider an espresso machine, and her one concession to the twenty-first century was a minuscule microwave oven, which was only used to heat pie.
Dee herself seemed as ancient as the coffeemaker. She had served breakfast and lunch as far back as I could remember, and she locked the front door promptly at 2:00 P.M. every day. If you showed up hungry at 2:01, you were out of luck.
Fortunately for us, it was only one thirty, and Dee was behind the counter, topping up the coffee cups of a couple bank tellers on a late lunch hour.
Sue and I walked past the three empty booths and slid into the last one in the back. I took the side facing the door, where I could see if anyone else came in.
Dee looked up and smiled a welcome. She didn’t bother with menus, since the selection never changed. Instead, she set two glasses of iced tea on the counter, waved at Sue, and busied herself at the grill.
Sue retrieved the iced tea and set the
Buddha bumped up against my leg. He stuck his head under my hand, begging to be petted. He didn’t do that often, and only when I was upset. Clearly, he sensed my agitation.
I sighed and rubbed his ears. There was no way I could keep what happened in San Francisco a secret for much longer. I had to trust someone.
I walked to the front door and pulled the leashes from the hook. “Come on guys,” I called. “Let’s go to the spa.”
Sue just nodded when I came through the front door of Doggy Day Spa with Daisy and Buddha on their leashes. It was like she’d been expecting me.
She had a beagle on the grooming table, clipping his nails.
“About time you showed up, Neverall.”
“I’m hungry,” I said lamely. “You want to get some lunch?”
Sue glanced at Daisy and Buddha. “You know someplace that will serve Airedales?”
I chuckled. “Figured they’d stay here and guard the place, and maybe I could get you to give them a bath after we eat.”
Sue finished with the beagle, and lifted him off the table. She put him in one of the kennels in the back of the shop and slipped him a green treat, all the while crooning to him in baby talk.
After the beagle was tucked away with a scratch behind the ears, she walked back up front and skimmed the appointment book. “Colleen will be here to pick up Peanut in a few minutes and we can go. The afternoon’s pretty quiet, so I should have time for the guys.”
Sue snapped her fingers. “In fact, I could use your help.” She dug around on the desk for a minute and came up with one of the thumb drives I’d insisted she get. We traded grooming for computer services, and it looked like it was time for me to pay up.
“I can’t get the computer to read this thing. I plug it in and nothing happens.”
She handed me the drive. “Where do you want to have lunch?” It was another one of Sue’s conversational U-turns.
I checked my watch. “Dee’s?” Dee’s Lunch was close and cheap, and it would be near closing time. With luck, the place would be empty.
“Works for me. You want to take a look at the computer?”
The bell over the front door rang, interrupting our conversation. Colleen came in and claimed Peanut. She stuffed some bills in Sue’s hand, and hurried out without asking me about the accident. I took that as a good sign.
We put the dogs in the big pen at the back of the shop, locked up, and walked down Main Street toward Dee’s Lunch. It was just down the block, past the Radio Shack franchise and across the street from Katie’s Bakery.
The aroma of fresh bread wafted across from Katie’s and I knew I’d have to take a loaf home with me. The stuff in the refrigerator was past its prime anyway.
Dee’s was barely wide enough to hold a lunch counter along one wall and a handful of tiny two-seat booths along the other. The kitchen was a gas grill, a couple deep fryers, and a decidedly low-tech coffeemaker. She refused to consider an espresso machine, and her one concession to the twenty-first century was a minuscule microwave oven, which was only used to heat pie.
Dee herself seemed as ancient as the coffeemaker. She had served breakfast and lunch as far back as I could remember, and she locked the front door promptly at 2:00 P.M. every day. If you showed up hungry at 2:01, you were out of luck.
Fortunately for us, it was only one thirty, and Dee was behind the counter, topping up the coffee cups of a couple bank tellers on a late lunch hour.
Sue and I walked past the three empty booths and slid into the last one in the back. I took the side facing the door, where I could see if anyone else came in.
Dee looked up and smiled a welcome. She didn’t bother with menus, since the selection never changed. Instead, she set two glasses of iced tea on the counter, waved at Sue, and busied herself at the grill.
Sue retrieved the iced tea and set the
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