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I park in my usual spot and head up the path. A bark snaps me out of my reverie and I glance up to spot Mouse sitting outside Madeleine’s apartment. His fur is soaked and covered in mud; it looks like he’s been rolling in puddles for the last hour.
“What are you doing out here, boy?”
He hops up as I approach and wags his tail. Most dogs hate thunderstorms, but he doesn’t even seem to notice the rain pouring down beyond the covered walkway.
I turn and pound on Madeleine’s door.
No one answers. I notice muddy paw streaks on the door.
“Madeleine, come on. Mouse is out here. What were you thinking letting him out in a storm like this?”
I knock again and wait a few minutes. There’s nothing but silence on the other side of the door, and a sense of dread starts to fill my gut. Why would Mouse be outside alone? And where’s Madeleine?
“Madeleine?” I call, pounding on the door harder than before. The flimsy thing rattles on its hinges, and I know if I hit it just little harder, the whole damn door would come loose.
“Young man, she’s not home.”
I spin around and spot an old man across the pathway, peering out at me from the sliver of space between his door and its frame.
“What do you mean she’s not home?”
“She left a little while ago to find her dog.”
I frown, confused. “Her dog’s right here.”
“Yeah, well, that’s why it’s strange that she’s looking for him.”
“Did you see where she went?”
He shrugs and steps back, closing his door just a bit. “The dog’s here so she’ll be back soon.”
“There’s a flash flood warning in effect until the morning.”
He shrugs. “Well you found the dog. I guess now you need to go find the girl.”
With that, he shuts his door and leaves me out on the walkway to fend for myself. Mouse lies down at my feet, wholly unaffected by the fact that his owner is searching for him in the middle of a thunderstorm. I try to think fast. Madeleine isn’t in danger. She’s out in her car, looking for Mouse. She’ll likely be back any minute, so I lean back against her door and wait. Mouse falls asleep. I check my watch. Another fifteen minutes roll by. I try calling her again, and her cell phone chimes in her apartment. Well that explains why she hasn’t answered any of my calls.
Minutes slip past. Something doesn’t feel right.
I run to my car and find a stray receipt in my cup holder.
Mouse is safe. I have him. Call me. - Adam
I pound on the neighbor’s door until he answers and then I ask for some tape so I can put the note on her door.
“She’s going to be back any time now,” he says, shaking his head at me as he wanders off into his apartment. A second later, he comes back with a couple of pieces of tape that he ripped off the roll. Stingy.
I use every piece of tape to secure the paper to her door right at eye level so there’s no chance she’ll miss it, and then I load Mouse up in my car. With a pang, I remember the day of the barbecue when Madeleine insisted we take her car to avoid the scene before me now: a big dog making a mess of my interior. Right now, I could not care less.
A bolt of lightning shatters the sky a few yards ahead, followed by a booming clap of thunder. I pat Mouse—less to calm him, and more to soothe myself.
“We’re going to find her,” I assure him as we pull out onto the road.CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVEMADELEINEMy three seconds of despair turn into minutes. I don’t know how long I sit there, frozen in panic. Thunder rumbles a few miles away, and I’m reminded that I have to act. I can’t sit here while Mouse is out there alone, and I’m not naive enough to try to walk home alone, at night, with no phone, no shoes, and no purse.
My only option is to get my car out of the mud. I’ve seen my dad do it a couple times over the years. I need to find some wood and wedge it beneath my tire so there’s enough traction for them to move. To do that, I have to get out of my car. I look out and wonder how long it’s going to rain like this. Surely it can’t keep up forever, but I don’t have time to wait it out. I fling my door open and rush out, heading for the dense woods a few yards away. My hair is still wet from my shower, and the rain soaks everything else within a few seconds. I wipe the water from my eyes and search the ground. There are some sticks lying around in the mud, but nothing that will really give me traction.
