Page 25

“Do you know Eloise?” I ask, desperate.

She perks up. “Yes. Who are you?”

“I’m Agustín, I’m her friend,” I say.

“Ha. No dice. Eloise has only one friend besides me.”

“Rachel?”

Miriam raises an eyebrow. “Okay, maybe you are her friend.” Then she snaps her fingers. “The mascara! It was for you!”

I have no idea what she’s talking about. “Please,” I say. “Eloise is very sick. She only has medicine for dogs. I got …” I hold up the jar of tea and the supplements by way of explanation. “But I think she needs real medicine, and I don’t know if she has any allergies or—”

“Let me grab my bag,” Miriam says, cutting me off. She vanishes and reappears with a small backpack. I follow her to Eloise’s apartment, where the dogs seem happy to see her. “Where’s the other one?” she asks me.

“What other one?”

“The new member of the Pack. I think it’s a chihuahua. Haven’t seen him yet.”

I count a German shepherd, a dachshund, and a pug.

“Oh dear, Charleston doesn’t have his diaper on,” she tuts, as the pug plows into her. She glances at the scattering of pee pads on the floor. “This was his work, I assume?”

I didn’t stop to ponder whose poop it was before I flushed it. Miriam disappears into Eloise’s bedroom. I hear her talking to Eloise softly. I decide to take action and begin Operation Pee and Poop Cleanup. The shepherd and the dachshund have followed Mirian into the bedroom, while the pug licks the living room wall. I grab supplies from under the bathroom sink—Eloise has just about every type of cleaner, brush, and sponge anyone could need. There’s one for rugs, with an attachment for cleaning. There’s a spray for the hardwood floors, and some disinfectant. I grab a roll of paper towels from the kitchen and get to work on the rug first. The pug seems to realize his buddies have left him, and he trundles into Eloise’s bedroom to join them, bumping into the doorframe on his way.

As I move on to the pee puddles, I hear the tippy tap of little feet and turn to see a black and tan chihuahua, shivering in the doorway of another room.

“Hola. You must be the new arrival,” I say to him gently in Spanish.

He sniffs in my direction, and I hold out my hand.

“Está bien,” I say. “I’m a friend.”

He inches forward, still sniffing. I stay completely still, until his little black nose touches my knuckles. Then he skitters back a few steps. “Don’t be scared,” I tell him. I think he likes the sound of my voice, or maybe it’s just the Spanish, but he walks forward when I talk. So I keep talking. “What a handsome little guy you are. Want a treat? I bet your mom has treats somewhere around here. Come on.”

I get up and head to the kitchen. There’s a white ceramic jar that says Paws Off in black lettering. I open it and hit the jackpot. There are treats in various shapes and sizes, and they all look fresh, like they’re homemade, not stale ones from a store.

“Here you go,” I say, breaking a biscuit that smells like maple syrup and bacon in half and leaning down to offer it to the dog. He creeps toward me, then grabs the treat and runs back down the hall and into the second room.

It’s about half an hour later when Miriam comes out of Eloise’s bedroom.

“Fever of one-oh-two, and poor thing can’t keep anything down,” Miriam says. “I gave her an IV to replenish her fluids, but Tylenol would help break the fever. Can’t take that on an empty stomach though. You can stay and watch her, right? Make sure she eats something, get her to take the pills? I would stay but I’ve got to get to work.”

“Oh, uh—” I hadn’t thought much past the arriving here stage.

“Great,” she says. “The Pack is easy to handle for the most part. Charleston is mostly blind and a bit deaf, so don’t worry if he walks into the walls from time to time. He needs a diaper when he’s inside though. She told me the Colonel already got his shot today, so you don’t need to worry about that. Hazelnut is …” Miriam sighs and shakes her head. “That girl will do whatever she damn well pleases, and it’s best you just go along with it. The leashes and harnesses are by the door, food’s in the kitchen. If you see the chihuahua, don’t worry about him, Eloise says he’s a tough nut to crack.” She suddenly scoops me up in an embrace. “I’m so glad she found someone. She’s really special. Biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met. Always takes the hard cases, dogs nobody else wants. No human has ever gotten past those walls she keeps up, though.”

I find myself a little speechless. I am definitely never telling Miriam that Eloise and I met via a plus-one list.

“I’ll be back this evening, if you need anything,” she says. “I’ve left Tylenol and Pepto, but see if she has any broth or saltines. She’s going to be hungry when she wakes up. Once she eats, she can take the meds. And keep changing that compress.” She winks. “You’re a smart cookie, aren’t you?”

“I’ve got four nieces,” I explain.

She laughs. It’s a nice, big loud laugh that fills the space. “I like you,” she says.

She bustles past me and out the door. I check my phone—still no word from Rachel. I text her to explain that the situation is under control, and Miriam the neighbor helped and that I’m staying longer to watch Eloise so don’t be alarmed if my location still shows me at her apartment. I’m not about to leave Eloise on her own. I creep toward the open bedroom door. Eloise is sleeping peacefully on her side, her mouth slightly open, one curl sticking to her temple. Her fingers are clutched around a sheet that’s tangled between her legs. I’m struck again by the delicateness of her—the slender curve of her wrist, the tiny arches of her feet.

I hear a whine, and the German shepherd pads over to me. He looks out the door and back up at me with wise, soulful eyes.