No one had said a thing about a child. It was then he saw the dog.
Behind the two of them stood an oversized mongrel of a dog.“Oh, and that’s Buster.” Buster gazed up at him, a viscous trail of drool dangling from his cavernous mouth. “He’s our therapeutic rescue dog.”
Perry blinked. “I’m sorry?”
“Well, he’s a trained therapy dog. But first he was a rescue dog. From Texas.” As if that explained what the giant canine was doing in his parents’ Connecticut living room, at his grandmother’s ninety-seventh birthday party. Olivia bent to rub its floppy ears fondly. “Though I’m not sure who rescued who.”
Ah, she was one ofthose.
“So, you rescue dogs?”
“Just this one. But I’d rescue them all if I could. I could own a hundred! They’re just so grateful.”
Perry cleared his throat. The new girl was an anthropomorphic soon-to-be canine hoarder. Flustered, he glanced about for his family. Had no one noticed the four-legged intruder in the living room? But true to form, Phoebe and Jake were huddled together by the door, chatting away as if nobody else in the world existed. His parents, having already welcomed this circus, had twirled off into the gray-haired crowd, probably to pour more champagne. Just what the seniors needed.
Thankfully, Amelia rescued him. “Olivia! We’ve heard so much about you.”
They had? Perry focused on keeping a smart distance between himself and the encroaching dog. He was allergic to dogs. Already he could feel the ominous tickle at the back of his throat.
But Emma was besotted. She kneeled beside Luci. “Your dog is so big. And so cute!”
Luci ducked behind her mother’s knees.
“Thank you!” Olivia said proudly. She apparently thought nothing of the fact that she was standing in the Goodwins’ formalliving room surrounded by a sea of guests, any of whom could be allergic to or afraid of dogs. Like himself, for instance. “He’s Luci’s therapy dog. We take him pretty much everywhere we go.”
So the dog attended more than just birthday parties.
“And what kind of dog is… Buster?” Perry inquired.
Olivia turned to Luci, but the child said nothing. “Pure mutt,” Olivia answered.
“Huh.” Perry was no expert, but he would’ve guessed wolfhound mixed with mastiff. Or some kind of Rottweiler jumble. Impossible to insure. High incidence of bites.
Emma—unaffected by the fact that whatever the beast was, it had pressed itself against her—stroked its head absently. “We were just about to sing happy birthday. Do you like cake?” she asked Luci.
The child glanced uncertainly at her mother.
“Who doesn’t?” Olivia answered, again for both of them. She turned to Luci. “Go ahead with Emma. Mommy will be right there.”
Perry watched in horror as his wife and daughter whisked the child to the dessert table, as if there was absolutely nothing amiss leaving him standing alone with the new girlfriend and her uninsurable dog. “Would you like some cake?” he asked Olivia, unsure of what else to say. “Or would he?” Perry gestured to the dog.
Olivia seemed to find this wildly funny and tossed her head back. The trill that followed was crisp and girlish. Again, Perry was momentarily entranced.
“I’m sorry Luci didn’t answer you or Emma. She has a condition that makes it hard for her to talk in public places.” She glanced down at her shoes, which Perry saw were poppy red.
“Oh. What kind of condition?”
She glanced back up at Perry. “Selective mutism. It startedwhen she was two. We have a counselor who specializes in speech pathology, but it really comes down to time and practice. And me.” Her voice drifted, and Perry found himself leaning in.
But suddenly there was Jake, blue eyes gleaming. He took the leash from Olivia’s hand and slid his arm around her waist. “Perry! How’s it going?” There was a lightness about his face. He turned to Olivia. “My big brother is boring you to death, isn’t he? Should I get you coffee to keep you awake?”
Again, there was that trill of laughter from her throat. “Perry and I are doing just fine, aren’t we?” She grinned at him.
“Just fine,” Perry echoed, though he wasn’t so sure. He glanced around. Amelia was so much better at these things. “You know, Nana was trying to get to the door to greet you. She almost fell.” He paused, aware that he was saying this in front of Olivia and perhaps best not. “Have you said hello to her yet?”
Jake’s tone flattened. “She was the first one we said hello to.” Already Perry could feel his little brother pulling away. He hadn’t wanted to start things off like this, but it had always been the way of their relationship. Jake did what Jake did, and Perry was left to sweep up behind him.
Olivia put her hands together. “I’d better go check on Luci. Perry, it was nice to meet you, finally.”
