She paws at my hand so I will keep petting her, and whines and kisses my fingers. “Why are you being so quiet, huh?”

She blinks her big soft eyes at me, but doesn’t respond.

“Dewey?” I say, louder.

But the only thoughts in my head are my own.

“Serendipity?” I call her instead.

With that, she stands up and turns around in circles, barking once as she play-bows at me. “Serendipity,” I repeat, and she barks again. “That’s your new name, isn’t it?”

She kisses my hand and looks up at me in that loving way she always has, except something has changed. Somehow, I know she won’t be talking to me anymore—at least not the way she did.

Chapter 33

FRENCH TOAST WITH A SIDE OF SERENDIPITY

It’s been one month since Gramps moved to Oakwood Village. I carry a shopping bag on each arm, along with Serendipity’s leash wrapped around my wrist, and hold the elevator while I wait for Mom and Mama and Noah to catch up to us.

When they do, the door closes with a sharp ping.

I press the 3 button, and up we go. The elevator lets out on Gramps’s floor, and we step out into the hallway. Mrs. Santiago is there, waiting to get on.

“Hello, Serendipity,” she says. She balances herself with her cane as she bends over to pet Serendipity’s head. “I don’t have any cookies for you today.”

We pass the doors of Gramps’s new neighbors on the left and right, and at the end of the hall is Gramps’s apartment, with his name on a plaque next to his door that reads EDWIN MITCHELL.

We knock, but the door is already cracked open.

“Hello?” Mom calls as we walk in.

“Come on in!” Gramps shouts.

He’s gotten a lot of unpacking done since we were here last weekend. Now there’s even a small Chrismukkah tree sitting on the coffee table.

“Wow, Ed,” Mama says. “Where’d the tree come from?”

He comes out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a dish towel. He pulls me into a hug as he takes the grocery bags from my hands. “Toshi brought it for me.”

“Macy’s grandma came to visit you?” I ask, surprised.

“Yes, I happen to be a very popular person,” Gramps jokes.

This apartment is different from his last one: It’s smaller but newer. It’s closer to our house. He has a balcony that overlooks a garden. And here, he has a list on his wall with important phone numbers, like ours, like the front desk’s, even his own. Next to the door is a checklist he made himself, so he doesn’t forget to do anything important before he leaves his apartment:

1. lock door

2. check stove

3. keys

4. wallet

5. phone