“All right. Call me if you need me.” He paused by a box marked pencils and peered inside. “We can always use office supplies at the clinic.”

“Then today is your lucky day. Take them all.”

He hefted the box. “I’ve never been paid in pencils and pens before.”

“If you’ll bill me, I’ll cover the visit with real money.”

“Wouldn’t hear of it. My pleasure.”

She walked him to the door. “Tell your friends I have hotel equipment and puppies. All free to a good home.”

“Will do.” He reached in his coat pocket and pulled out two cans of dog food. “Mama Dog might be hungry. Give her a little now and let her drink water. More in a couple of hours.”

“Will do. Thanks, Doc.”

“Pleasure.”

“Doc, do you know of an Irish wolfhound living around here? I saw one today.”

He shook his head. “I’ve not seen one in years.”

“I was just wondering if you knew who the owner might be.”

“I’ll keep an eye out.”

“Thanks.”

She closed the door, and back in the kitchen, she pulled a white plate from the cabinet, opened the can, and carefully spooned a small portion of dog food on the plate. After reaching for a paper towel, she wiped the edges clean, as she’d done with every dish at Vincenzo’s. Behind the boxes, she knelt, dipped her fingers in the food, and held them out to Mama Dog. The dog licked her fingers clean several times and then accepted more water from the bowl.

Ivy washed her hands and then laid a clean bedspread on the floor and carefully moved each puppy to the fresh bedding, sensing the mother dog would follow. She did. Once the four were settled, Ivy gathered up the old blanket and carried it outside to the dumpster.

Returning to the cottage, she refueled on fresh coffee and then looked around the great room. She started with the stacked chairs, which she carried quietly down the front stairs two at a time. Though it would have been easy to toss them in the dumpster, they were still in decent shape. Instead she stacked them at the end of her driveway and put a sign on them that read FREE.

With the maze of chairs gone, the room already looked lighter. Next, the folded round banquet tables ended up at the end of her driveway with another scribbled FREE sign taped to them.

The day became a series of monotonous trips up and down the stairs (fifty-six total). Every hour she checked on Mama Dog, and she was glad to see the dog sleeping. Finally, around one, she picked up Mama Dog. “Time to go pee-pee. The kids will be fine. I promise.”

She carried Mama Dog outside, but her body tensed, and she kept looking over her shoulder and whimpering. “They aren’t going anywhere, I promise.”

Ivy set the dog in a soft patch of grass and waited but was careful not to stare. Again, it was one of those moments when a girl did not need an audience. Finally, the dog peed, and Ivy scooped her up and carried her back to her puppies. The dog meticulously checked each one. Satisfied all were present and accounted for, Mama Dog drank more water and went to sleep.