“And then we were in the Ramble . . .” I chimed in.

Dad put the platter of steaks on the dinner table. “Okay, this is what we’ll do. We’ll eat and then we’ll print out some signs. Then we’ll take a walk and hang them up all over the neighborhood. Someone’s sure to have seen him.” He turned to Mom. “Is everything else ready?”

“You bet. Mashed potatoes, salad, and a special tonight . . . shrimp cocktail!”

“Wow, fancy!” Dad said.

And perfect timing! We’re running out of food for Flames.

*  *  *

Zoe and I did our best to sneak as many shrimps as we could into our napkins. Thankfully, Dad and Mom were distracted by our Loopy news, so they spent a lot of time discussing possible solutions with each other.

“We can put Loopy’s picture on social media too,” Mom said. “There’s the neighborhood page and, even better, I’ll put it on my Picture Post account!”

“All that is good,” Dad said. Then he looked at me. “How’re you doing, bud? Don’t give up hope. We’ll find him.”

I nodded and tried to swallow my bite of steak through the lump in my throat. “I know. I’m just worried.”

“Of course, you are. He’s your dog. And he’s lost. That’s normal.”

“I’m worried about Doug too.”

“Oh? And how is Doug doing at his aunt’s house? We sure miss him around here.”

“Yeah, me too. He’s doing okay. But he could be better. I have an idea how we could help him.”

Dad put down his fork. Mom did too.

“Go on . . .” Dad said.

“Well, if he lives in Florida, he can’t see his grandma. She raised him, you know.”

“Yes,” Mom said. “He must miss her terribly.” Both my parents stared at me. I watched out of the corner of my eye as Zoe took the opportunity to shovel the rest of the shrimp into her napkin.

“And I think it would be better for Doug’s grandma if she could see him more often.”

“Those are some good thoughts, Arcade.”

“Yeah. Compassionate,” Zoe added.

I sat up straighter and wiped my mouth with my napkin. “Yes, so I was wondering if we could look into adopting Doug.”

Silence.

Dad put his elbows on the table and clasped his hands together. He rested his chin on his hands. “Wow. That’s a serious request.”

“Yes, it is.” Mom stared at Dad.

“That would change the dynamics of this family forever.”

“It would definitely add to the food bill,” Zoe said. “And it would give me another pesky little brother.”

“We’d have to take some time to pray about it, and we don’t even know if it’s possible to adopt Doug if his aunt wants to keep him.” Mom pulled her napkin off her lap and began to fold it on the table.