There he is. Unmistakable. Maksim. My Mack. My dog. He is stretching himself fore and aft, just like he always does after a short nap. Mitch doesn’t see what I’m seeing, and I grab his hand, pulling it off the key. “Wait. There he is!” I’m out of the car and running toward Mack.

*   *   *

Buddy stretches out his left hind leg, a little canine balletic flourish at the end of his stretching routine. Ed and Alice are quiet but not sad, and he knows that they’ll be getting back into the car in a moment to head home, where he can have a drink of water and another snooze. A car pulls in, but he doesn’t know it, and this isn’t his property, so Buddy keeps quiet. It is so quiet that the shout startles everyone.

“Mack!”

A voice that he knows. A word that he knows: Mack! He always knew Justine would find him here in this down-stay spot. Mack is a blur of silver and black and he rockets toward the sound of his name, launching himself into Justine’s arms like a furry ballistic missile.

Chapter 56

56

Justine is not what Ed has expected since hearing her voice on the answering machine. She doesn’t have fangs or two heads. She is a reasonably attractive woman who is bawling her eyes out while smothering Buddy in her arms. It is obvious that she loves the dog. Obvious that this reunion is perfectly sweet to her, and doubly bitter for him. Even though Alice has said he must be returned, Ed knows that losing Buddy is excruciating for her. How will she survive another loss? “Don’t take him. Please.” He is mortified at his need.

“Ed, that’s enough. The dog belongs to her. We love him, but we don’t own him.”

She has the dog in her arms like a baby. He is covering her face with kisses. Behind her, a large man in aviator sunglasses stands at a distance. “I know this is hard, believe me. But Mack belongs with me.”

“You have no idea.” Ed shoves his hands into his pockets. “You have no idea how hard it is.”

“Ed. Stop. This isn’t the same.” Alice wraps her arms around her middle.

“As what?”

“As losing Stacy. He’s a dog. We love him, yes. But we knew this might happen, and we also know that he’s going where he belongs. That he will be safe.”

Ed yanks his fists out of his pocket and presses them into his eyes. “I don’t want to lose you again.”