“We could still walk today,” Roxie suggested. “I desperately need a latte fix.”

“I was going to tie up the daffodil greens today.”

“You need a latte fix too—you know you do. Five minutes.”

“Ten.”

Looper’s long red ears perked up, and the white tip of his tail thumped on the hardwood floor.

MJ had just finished adjusting Looper’s harness when she heard Roxie’s call from the sidewalk. “Come on, boy, just remember, no jerking me to a stop today so you can read the mail. I need to walk fast to get the old heart rate up. Remember, Anne has treats.” At that magic word, Looper picked up his feet and, tail wagging, greeted his walking buddy, Sir Charles, on the sidewalk. Sir Charles, also a rescue but multimix, greeted Looper in the usual doggy way before the four could start down the sidewalk in their usual route, which included Annie’s Fountain City Cafe for drinks, lattes for the ladies, and a big bowl holding fresh water for the four-footed customers plus homemade doggy treats.

As she joined Roxie, MJ pointed at the woman’s feet. “You’re wearing your opera pink shoes. Celebrating?” Roxie changed shoe color according to her moods.

“Just needed a pick-me-up.” She rocked one foot back on the heel to study the walking shoe. “Someday I am going to wear one pink and one chartreuse, just to confuse people.”

MJ snickered. “It would. You with your shoes and Amalia with her hats. People are going to start calling us the bat-crazy old ladies. And that your hair matches Sir Charles might cause comments.”

Roxie leaned over and fluffed the sort-of-maybe-a-spaniel’s ears. “They can call us both redheads.” She huffed out a breath when she stood up. “At least I don’t have to pay to have his colored.”

“True.” MJ lifted a strand of silvering blond. “I refuse to color mine and Daryl agrees. The kids keep saying, ‘Mom, color your hair so you don’t look so old. You’re retired now, but you don’t have to look like it.’”

Roxie snickered. “My Loren knows better than to make comments like that. She might end up out on her ear.” Roxie’s daughter, Loren, still lived at home with her mother, but always dreamed of meeting her mate and living happily ever after. Somehow working at the library did not offer many dating opportunities. “So how is retirement going anyway?”

“I don’t know. At first it was wonderful. Pure freedom. Now, not so much. Roxie, I supervised fifty-seven people. Now I supervise a basset that is a master at selective listening.”

“I can think of a dozen volunteer organizations that need strong leadership. Take your pick.”

“I could, but Daryl says, and I kind of agree, that I’m pretty forceful to be doing a volunteer gig. I tend to order people around, not cooperate with them. You had to do that to get stuff moving in the warehouse. Looper, for the love of Pete’s sake, find another bush to stick your nose into. That one is sufficiently sniffed.” She gave a tug to coax the lackadaisical basset into moving.