Welcome to Dog Beach (17 page)

We all congratulate him and his teammate Mr. Mayer, from around the corner.

“And I heard from the boys,” Mr. Brookfield tells us. “They're having a blast.”

I'm glad that Bennett's having fun, but I also hate it. I hate that he's having a blast without me, without Seagate. What if he comes home and he's better friends with Calvin than he'll ever be with me again?

I never used to think about these things. Like popularity, they never used to matter. But they matter now, and as much as I tell myself that they don't and that things are exactly the same, I know it's not true.

It seems like a million dogs have descended on
Seagate—right when Bennett is away and Micayla and I are fighting. Micayla and I still see each other, but she hasn't asked me to go swimming or go to Sundae Best since our fight. When we're with the dogs, she hangs out more with them than with me, and we haven't said more than five words to each other in the last few days.

One morning I get a call from a woman named Betty. She's an artist and she was just commissioned to paint a mural in one of the biggest houses on Seagate. She'll be gone for most of the day, and she's heartbroken about leaving her beagle, Tabby, home by herself. Of course I agreed to take on another dog, and I'm happy to do it.

But that isn't the only call I get. We also need to look after a collie named Potato Salad (and I thought Marilyn Monroe
was a weird name for a dog!) for a few hours this week while his owner goes for physical therapy off-island. And then there's a new family with a cocker spaniel, Lester. The only thing is, the house they're renting doesn't really allow dogs, so they're trying to keep him outside as much as possible.

That brings the dog tally to seven: Oscar, Rascal, Atticus, Marilyn Monroe, Tabby, Potato Salad, and Lester. And only Micayla and me around to work.

I sit at the kitchen table and make a list of all the dogs and their needs, carefully writing down who needs to be picked up and returned and who will be dropped off. Thankfully, Bennett will be coming back in two days. I hope he'll be excited to hear about the new dogs, and happy to see me too.

I'm all ready to go get Oscar and Atticus for the morning shift when my phone rings. It's Micayla. Strange that she's calling instead of just coming over.

“Hi, Mic,” I say, as cheerful as can be, hoping if I'm friendly, we can just pretend we never had a fight at all.

“Don't kill me, Remy. Okay?”

When people say
Don't kill me
, they're pretty much warning you that they're about to say or do something really annoying and you should be ready. Also, they're saying that they know they're doing something wrong, but they're going to do it anyway, and you just have to accept it.

“What?”

I can hear her taking a deep breath through the phone. “I need a day off.”

I know she's talking about the doggie day care business, but it occurs to me that maybe she means a day off from our friendship. I'm mad and worried at the same time.

“Why?”

“You're going to think this is lame, but Avery Sanders just found out that there's another new girl on Seagate. She just moved here, and she's going to be a year-rounder too. And I feel like I should meet her so I know another new person.”

I want to be understanding. I want to say that it's totally fine and that I would want to do the same thing if I were her. I know Micayla has to do this. But it still hurts. It still feels like I am being left behind.

Maybe it wasn't just that she waited so long to tell me. Maybe I also feel like I'm being replaced by Avery Sanders.

“Fine. Whatever. I have to get the dogs.” I wait for her to say something else, but she doesn't. I don't know if I should tell her about our three new clients. I doubt she'd even care.

“I'll call you later,” Micayla says.

“Don't bother. You're obviously not carrying your weight in this business. You have other things to focus on right now. Go hang out with Avery Sanders and the new girl.” I end the call and feel even worse than I did yesterday.

Bennett's away, and he has a new BFF anyway. Micayla's moving on and staying in the same place at the same time. And I'm just here, same as I ever was. Things are changing all around me, and I can't do anything about it.

But I don't have time to think about any of it now. I'm late
to get Oscar and Atticus, and I have to be at Dog Beach in twenty minutes to meet the others. I hate being late!

When I get to my first stop, Dawn is already waiting outside with Oscar. He's running in circles on the lawn as Dawn holds one baby over her shoulder and the other two whimper in their stroller. I quickly attach Oscar's leash and run to get Atticus. Paul is waiting outside too, and Atticus is sitting next to him. I get the sense that Paul wants to chat, but there's no time for that now. I can't be late for the others.

I run and try to get to the beach before any of the other dogs. But Lester is already there waiting with his family.

“We needed him out of the house bright and early,” the dad says. “The owners of the house apparently live on Seagate too! We're totally going to get busted.”

He doesn't seem nervous, so I laugh, thinking that he's making some kind of joke. Lester joins Oscar and Atticus and they all start playing, and soon after, Marilyn Monroe arrives unexpectedly.

Amber goes on and on about how Hudson used to sleep through the night and now he's not, and she really needs a babysitter so she can find time to work out. She's always stressed about something, and I just don't have the time or energy to deal with it today.

“I guess you don't have time for more babysitting with all your dog-sitting, Remy,” she says. “Any other suggestions?”

“I don't know. I'll think about it,” I tell her. I hate to be short with her, but this woman basically needs me to be her
full-time child and dog nanny, and I can't. I have enough problems of my own.

When it's just Oscar, Atticus, Lester, and Marilyn Monroe, everything feels easy and smooth. But then Rascal arrives, and he's all out of sorts today—rambunctious, barking, tormenting the other dogs. It's so unlike him. I wonder if he woke up on the wrong side of the crate. Even his velvety fur doesn't look as smooth today.

In a way, he's acting how I feel—totally out of control. And the more I try to control him, the crazier he gets. Maybe dogs are kind of like people and they don't like to be told what to do or bossed around.

I try to introduce all the regular dogs to the newcomers, but almost all of them seem a little shy and not so eager to make new friends. Except for Lester. He runs around, paying attention to all the other dogs. In a way, he feels like my assistant today in trying to keep everyone happy. Maybe I should just keep him with me for the rest of the time his family is here.

I keep encouraging all the dogs to play together, but they just turn away and go back to the dogs that they know. They seem as resistant to change as I am, and from the outside, it's frustrating.

“You're here alone today?” Mason Redmond asks. I didn't even see him walking over. I notice he's wearing a whistle, and I wonder if it's at all effective when the dogs swim out too far.

“Yeah. Unfortunately.” Rascal comes over for a treat, and then Potato Salad wants one, and soon all the dogs are at my feet waiting for their morning snack.

“You're handling it pretty well.” He gives me two thumbs up, and I notice his nails are dirty. It's pretty gross. A “forward thinker” should have clean nails.

“Thanks.” Tabby's the last to get a treat, and she licks my arm after she gets it. I think that's her way of saying thank you. Her ears flop back and forth as she runs toward the ocean. Beagles are such happy-go-lucky dogs—I wish I could borrow her attitude. “We'll see.”

“Well, if you need any help, I'll be over there on the old lifeguard's chair.” He points to the tall wooden chair a few feet away from the water. Usually it cracks me up that he sits there for most of the day, just watching, not really interacting with the dogs. He's more of a dog lifeguard than a volunteer at Dog Beach. But today it only makes me sad. Everything is bothering me, and this is just one more thing to add to the list.

“Thanks, Mason.”

“And you'll probably be really hungry when this day's over, after working so hard and everything.” He pauses and starts twirling the string of his whistle around his fingers, the way real lifeguards always do. “So if you want to go to Sundae Best, I'll totally go with you. I think today's the day they're unveiling their latest signature flavor.”

“Oh, I think it's mango something,” I start to say, and then
I get a funny feeling. Mason Redmond is asking me to go to Sundae Best with him. Just the two of us?

“Yeah, I heard mango too, but that could be a rumor.” He turns around when he notices one of the dogs is too far out. He blows his whistle and motions for the dog to come back, but I'm not even sure the dog can see or hear him, and I'm certain the dog's owner is here somewhere watching anyway.

“I'd better run,” he says. “But let me know if you, um, want to go. We can discuss the dogs, and ideas for the business and stuff.”

Mason sprints across the sand, tripping a few times and losing a flip-flop along the way. I wonder what Micayla sees in him. Still, it was nice of him to ask me and offer ideas for the business. On a day when I was feeling like the biggest loser in the world, it was nice for someone, even Mason Redmond, to ask me to go to Sundae Best with him.

The day goes downhill after that. Potato Salad gets completely tangled in seaweed, and it takes three people (me, Mason, and a stranger) to untangle her. Then Atticus seems to have a stomachache, because he poops about five times and it's very difficult to clean up. And Marilyn Monroe just wants to sit by my side and be petted. She keeps putting her paw on my leg and then barking when I don't go back to petting her.

Luckily, Rascal's mood has improved and he seems to be bonding with Lester. Oscar is happy because he found a kid to play Frisbee with.

But when it's time to take everyone home, all the leashes get tangled up with one another, and it takes me fifteen minutes to untangle them.

Everything is totally out of control. Micayla bailed on me, Bennett is away, and now even the dogs are going nuts. Dog-sitting was supposed to be fun and low-key, not super stressful. And I was supposed to be doing it with my friends, not all alone.

And just as I'm walking out of Dog Beach, I see Micayla walking with Avery Sanders and the mysterious new year-rounder girl. The new girl has those fancy jean shorts on. I only recognize them because Claire has a pair.

“So no Sundae Best with me?” Mason yells as I'm halfway out the gate. I totally forgot about his offer, but it would have been too weird to go anyway, especially dragging along seven dogs.

“Sorry.” I shrug. “Next time. Okay?”

He nods reluctantly and blows his whistle for the millionth time.

I'm finally out the gate and onto the pavement with all seven dogs following behind me, and there's Micayla, standing right in front of me.

“You and Mason? Sundae Best?”

“Don't even ask,” I mumble.

“I won't. You know I like him, Remy.” She turns away, walking again with Avery and fancy-shorts year-rounder girl.

It takes me the whole walk to Oscar's house to understand
what just happened. Micayla thinks I like Mason now. She thinks I tried to get him to ask me to go to Sundae Best. No way. No way at all.

I'll have to explain. I have to make her listen.

I may have said some mean things the past few days, but I'd never steal her crush. That's against all the best-friend codes of conduct in the world. I may only be eleven, but even I know that.

When all the dogs are returned to their homes, I decide to go for a walk. Alone. It's rare that I want to be alone on Seagate, but I'm exhausted from such a busy day taking care of the dogs, and I need to figure out what to say to Micayla. I want to make it right and explain what happened with Mason, but I'm also still upset that she kept a secret from me. I'm not the only one who needs to apologize.

I text my mom to tell her I'm going for a walk, so she won't worry. I walk to the beach and then across the boardwalk, down the path to the main part of Seagate, past Sundae Best—there's a line all the way down the street waiting for the unveiling of its new flavor—and I keep walking, past Picnic and Mornings and the Dollhouse Café, past Novel Ideas Book Shop and Frederick's Fish and the art gallery. I walk the whole perimeter of the island. I see Bennett's mom picking Asher up from day camp, but I look away before she sees me. I don't want to say hi to anyone, because I'd have to pretend I was fine and I'm not. I keep walking, not even stopping to see who's playing Ping-Pong.

Finally I decide to sit down on one of the benches at the far end of the island, near the lighthouse. I look under the bench to see if any of our chalk drawings from last summer are still there. I know they're gone, but I look anyway, just to see if maybe the tiniest bit of chalk didn't get washed away by rain.