Absolutely Lucy (2 page)

Bobby got lots of nice presents. There was the dinosaur book from Brian and Ryan. His grandparents in Florida sent a check. Jenny’s family gave him a paint set.

Bobby’s mother smiled. “Now it’s time for your special present,” she said.

His father said, “Close your eyes.”

Bobby was glad to close his eyes. It would be easier to look surprised when he opened them.

“Okay, Bobby,” his father called, “you can look!”

Bobby opened his eyes. He didn’t have to pretend to be surprised. Or happy. In his father’s arms was a puppy. The cutest, squirmiest little dog Bobby had ever seen.

Bobby reached out for the puppy. “It’s … It’s …”

“It’s a beagle,” his father finished for him. “A five-month-old beagle puppy.”

Bobby took the puppy. He whispered in the dog’s ear. “You’re not an eagle. You’re a beagle.”

He turned the puppy around and looked her in the eyes. “Absolutely the prettiest beagle in the whole world!”

“W
hen are you going to name your dog?” Bobby’s mother asked.

Bobby was sitting at the kitchen table. The puppy bit at his shoe. “I have to find just the right name,” he told her.

“But it’s been three days,” his mother said. “We can’t start training the puppy until we name her. What about Snoopy? The beagle in the Peanuts cartoon is named Snoopy.”

Bobby shook his head. There was already one dog named Snoopy. Why have another one?

Bobby wanted a name that was special.

“How about Rover?” his mother asked as she started lunch. “Or King?”

“She’s a girl, Mom,” Bobby said.

“Right. Then what about Queenie? Or Princess?” Mrs. Quinn suggested.

Bobby shook his head.

Bobby’s father came into the kitchen. “I have a name,” he said.

Bobby looked up.

“Trey. It’s another word for three,” Mr. Quinn told Bobby. “The puppy has three colors. She’s mostly white, but she has streaks of brown and bits of black.”

“Trey,” Bobby said. He looked into the puppy’s eyes. They were the color of dark chocolate. “Hi, Trey,” he called.

The little beagle gave Bobby a funny look. “Nope,” Bobby said. “That’s not it.”

His father sighed. “Well, try to come up with something pretty soon.”

Bobby picked up his puppy and a library book about beagles. He went outside. The backyard had a fence around it, so the dog could not run away. He put his puppy down and looked through the book.

Bobby had read this book three times since he checked it out of the library. He had learned a lot about beagles. He learned they were dogs that liked to run and chase. They could be wild. They were also dogs that liked to chew. This puppy had already chewed up the wrappings from Bobby’s presents.

Bobby closed the book. He watched the dog as she ran around the yard. She was not a shy dog. She loved running up to people. She thought everyone was her friend.

This puppy reminded him of his favorite babysitter, Lucy. Bobby was very sad when she moved away.

Lucy was always happy to see him. She had lots of friends. Sometimes, she took Bobby to the park. They would see other children there. He would try to hide behind her. But Lucy would just whisper in his ear, “You are a great kid.” Then she would take him by the hand to meet the other children.

Bobby didn’t feel so shy when he was with Lucy.

Lucy. That would be a perfect name for the puppy. The dog was pretty like Lucy, and brave, and fun. Yes, he would name his beagle Lucy.

Bobby tried it out. “Come here, Lucy.”

Lucy stopped running.

“Lucy, girl. Come here.”

The puppy bounded over to Bobby. Bobby picked her up, and she started licking his face.

“Okay. Okay.” Bobby laughed. “I get it. You like the name Lucy.”

Lucy stopped licking. She looked right at Bobby and nodded her head. That’s what it looked like, anyway.

“Wow, Lucy!” Bobby said. “You already know your name.”

Was he lucky or what? Lucy was smart. Lucy was beautiful. Lucy could understand human talk. And most of all, Lucy liked him. Lucy wasn’t just the best dog in the world. She was his friend.

L
ucy may have been the best dog in the world, but she wasn’t the easiest dog to live with.

She liked to howl. She liked to run. She liked to chew. She LOVED to chew.

One morning, Bobby’s mother asked, “Has anybody seen my slipper?”

Bobby had seen it. It was at the foot of his bed. A brown, fleecy slipper all curled up in a ball, looking like a mouse. It made Bobby jump when he saw it.

“I think Lucy got hold of your slipper,” Bobby told her.

His mom sighed. “Puppies like to chew. I should have been more careful. From now on, let’s put the things she might like to chew out of sight.”

The family tried. Mrs. Quinn gave Lucy her other slipper. “Chew away, Lucy,” she said. Then she moved the rest of her shoes to a shelf in the closet. She put her magazines on a table.

Bobby tried to make sure his clothes were picked up. He didn’t always remember. He remembered better after Lucy chewed a hole through his favorite Chicago Cubs T-shirt.

Mr. Quinn hung up all his clothes. He put his dirty socks in the hamper. He put his slippers on his night table.

“See?” he bragged. “It’s not hard to keep Lucy away from things. You just have to be careful. Like me.”

One hot evening, Mr. Quinn came home after work. He was tired and sweaty. He tossed a folder onto the sofa.

“What’s that?” Bobby’s mother asked.

“Some papers I have to read. I have a big meeting in the morning.”

“Do it after dinner,” Mrs. Quinn told him. “It’s almost time to eat.”

Bobby was slurping spaghetti when he heard another sound. It came from the living room. It was a tearing, ripping sound. Bobby looked up. His mother and father heard it, too. There was one more noise. Growling.

“I moved all the magazines,” Mrs. Quinn said.

“It must be …” Mr. Quinn jumped up. Mrs. Quinn and Bobby hurried to follow him.

The living room was covered with pieces of paper. They were the important papers that Mr. Quinn had brought home with him. Some of them were torn. Some were chewed. Lucy was pawing and biting a piece of yellow paper.

“Oh, no!” Mr. Quinn moaned.

Mrs. Quinn rushed to pick up the papers. Bobby grabbed Lucy up in his arms. She wriggled to get free.

“No, Lucy. Chewing those papers was a bad thing to do.”

Lucy looked around. She watched Mr. Quinn rubbing his hand through his hair and Mrs. Quinn gathering papers. Lucy seemed to know she had made a big mess of things. She hung her head.

“You can still read them,” Mrs. Quinn said. She picked up a piece of paper with a big hole in the middle. “Well, maybe not this one.”

“It was my fault,” Mr. Quinn said. “I shouldn’t have left the folder on the sofa.” He still looked mad.

Lucy wriggled out of Bobby’s arms. She trotted over to Mr. Quinn. He was now down on his knees, helping his wife pick up the papers. Lucy licked his hand.

“Lucy, are you trying to make up with me?” Mr. Quinn tried to keep a stern look on his face. Lucy licked his hand again.

Mr. Quinn had to smile. “It’s very hard to stay mad at you. Almost as hard as keeping things out of your way.” He rubbed the dog’s head.

Lucy jumped up and down, happy again.

“What are you going to do?” Mrs. Quinn asked her husband.

“I guess I’ll read what I can,” Mr. Quinn replied as he stood up. He started laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Bobby asked.

“When I was about your age, I once forgot to do my homework. So I told the teacher my dog ate it.”

“You did?” Bobby’s eyes were wide.

“My teacher didn’t believe me.” Mr. Quinn laughed harder. “I wonder if my boss will believe me when I tell him that your dog ate my homework!”

T
he month of July was hot. Bobby’s mother said it was hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk. But when Bobby asked her for an egg, she just glared at him. The hot weather was putting everyone in a bad mood.

Bobby looked out his living room window. He could see the children who had moved in across the street. There was a boy who was younger than Bobby, a girl who was older than Bobby, and another boy just about Bobby’s age. The children were playing volleyball. The girl and the little boy were one team. The other boy was a team all by himself. He was good at hitting the ball over the net.