He nodded. “This is Chris,” the man said. “Chris, this is Emma and Kayla. Neighbors of mine. See, we kind of get to know each other here. It’s better for making sure our pups get along too, you know,” he said. “Oh, and I’m Andrew.”

“Nice to meet you all.”

Emma was sitting with perfect posture, her upper body pulled just slightly away from the back of the bench. She smiled and shook my hand. It wasn’t the same smile she’d given me when I walked past her earlier; this one was more aware, more interested, even curious.

“Nice to meet you,” she said.

Andrew gestured for me to sit down, but I shook my head.

“Thanks,” I said. “I was just stopping in. I’ve walked by this place a few times and wanted to see inside.”

Andrew hadn’t had a problem with the idea of me “shopping” for dog parks; I hoped his friends wouldn’t either. They both nodded quickly. Emma’s puppy squirmed in her lap and then jumped down to play. She stared after him fondly, and I thought about what Shelby would do if I ever tried to put her in my lap.

“Do you live in the area?”

I should’ve expected the question, but it caught me off guard, and I froze as they all watched me, waiting for an answer.

I couldn’t tell the truth. What reason would I have to drive thirty minutes to a dog park in the Gold Coast of all places? I nodded without really giving it much thought.

“Yes,” I said, racking my brain to think of some of the nearby cross streets. Driving DAC had given me an intimate familiarity with the city, yet I was pulling a blank. “I live a few blocks away, over on Elm Street.”

It was the first street I could think of, and I knew that it was a popular street among the Northwestern medical students, which made me hope it had apartments that I could reasonably afford.

“Well, we did the same thing you’re doing,” Andrew said. “My wife and I. We moved here from Boston about ten years ago, and we used to look for nice dog parks out there too. Now we live just a couple buildings down from here.” He pointed in the direction of the apartment where I’d dropped off Hooks, and I had to stop myself from gasping.

Were they neighbors neighbors? As in same building neighbors?

“I heard about one dog that got bitten at the new dog park on Elm Street,” the woman named Kayla said. “Have you been there?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Well, the culture here is great,” Andrew said. “Really a lot of people who care about animals coming together to let their pups play in a safe environment. What more could you ask for?”