“He has some scars on his back, miss. My thinking would be, somebody mistreated him along the way. Good food, some vitamins, and a lot of love will make him right as rain.”

“Okay.” Physical abuse, mental abuse, what was the difference? she thought. Abuse was abuse.

“I’m sorry he doesn’t have any gear. I can’t even give you any food. We’re short on rations here. I guess you know we depend on donations.” His voice sounded as hopeful as he looked.

“I see. I guess I’m not thinking clearly. I’d like to make a donation. How does two hundred dollars sound?”

“Two hundred dollars sounds great. We can buy a lot of dog food and a lot of Clorox with that much money.”

Cady wrote out the check and handed it over. She felt better than she’d felt in a long time. “Okay, Atlas, it’s time to start your new life. Maybe we can do it together. We’re going to Indigo Valley by way of Burger King, the vet, and a pet store.”

Atlas settled his bony frame in the passenger side of Cady’s Mercury Mountaineer. He looked tired and wary as he dropped his head onto his paws. He didn’t perk up until she swerved the four-by-four into the drive-through lane at Burger King. The smell of grilling hamburgers permeated the air. She ordered five double cheeseburgers, a large Coke, a bottle of water, and an empty cup.

“Okay, I’m going to pull into one of these parking spaces, and we’ll eat here.” For some reason she expected the dog to wolf down the food, but he didn’t. He ate slowly and methodically. He drank almost the entire bottle of water, then he whimpered. “I get it. I get it. You gotta go. Listen, Atlas, I’ve never had a dog before, so you’re going to have to help me here. You know, bark, whine, whatever. I know you’re going to have accidents, but we’ll work on that. Careful, careful, it’s a drop to the ground. Do your thing,” she said, letting go of the retractable leash to give him room to roam, which he did. When he was finished he walked to the door of the truck and waited until Cady opened it. He hopped in, settled down, and went to sleep.

Two hours later a disgruntled Atlas climbed back into the truck. This time he was exhausted from being bathed and groomed and his trip to the pet store, where Cady bought everything the salesgirl said she would need. She even bought a seat belt harness that Atlas did not like at all. He settled down when she scratched his belly and spoke soothingly to him. At one point, he licked her hand in appreciation. Tears blurred her vision as she slipped the Mountaineer into gear.

Getting Atlas was the first unorthodox, serendipitous thing she’d done since she was a little kid back in Indigo Valley. She decided she liked what she was feeling. Maybe it was time for her to do more unorthodox, serendipitous things.