Dylan grins, showing the gap left by the tooth he lost just the other day. “I put him in Baby’s duffel bag. It’s a surprise.”

I laugh. The sadness in my heart untwists and lifts. I tweak his ear. “You’re something else, Toto, you know that?”

As we walk back to our car, I remember that word: serendipity. It means when things that don’t seem to have anything to do with each other come together in a good way. Kind of like puzzle pieces that don’t look like anything until you put them together and all of a sudden you have a tree or the sky. It was serendipity, that day I saw Jewel and Baby on the street corner, and it was serendipity meeting Ree in the park, moving to Hope House and finding the best friends I’ve ever had and the best Firefly Girls troop ever. All the pieces coming together to help Jewel and Baby. And me.

If you ask me, I think there’s a little bit of magic in serendipity too.

I look at the snow-covered mountains rising up so high, so sharp in the distance. Daddy says come spring, we’ll go up there and see all there is to see: the forests and streams and lakes. I reckon that means we’re here to stay.

Until then, me and the girls of Troop 423 will shine our little lights together to make the world a better place, even if it’s just for an old woman and her little dog. Because to Jewel and Baby—and to us—it means everything in the world.

58

Baby and Jewel

Baby knows the smell of the bus.

The sharp, slick smell of gas,

the sweet scent of the fake leather seats,

the salty musk of people

riding the bus together.

Baby hears the engine roar to life.

“Let’s go!” he yips

but it is a quiet yip because Baby knows

he is not only a good, good dog,

but an important dog too.

He feels the rhythm of the rocking bus,

and the hum of the wheels.

But this time,

this time,

Baby rides in Jewel’s lap

instead of inside a dark duffel bag.

This time

Baby looks out the window at the world

passing by.

This time he does not hear fear

in Jewel’s voice as she talks

to someone not there.

This time she talks to him,

whispers in his ear about

the piano she will play,

the sister who will love him

almost as much as she does.

She smiles as she describes sun

coming in windows,

a soft bed,

and warm blankets.

Jewel runs her hand over the red and black vest

Baby wears like a superhero cloak

across his shoulders and chest.

She laughs just a little as she fingers the badges

the girls from Firefly Troop 423

sewed on Baby’s vest.

One for Animals.

One for Adventure.

And one for Helping.