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“Miss Cane?” a voice asked and I turned to face a young girl.
“Hi, Holly,” I said, happy to see her. “Are you having fun?”
“Yes, thank you for asking, but Uncle Gabe asked me to find you. He thinks Mr. Wallace has a problem.”
Before she finished speaking, I motioned for her to lead the way. “What’s wrong?”
“Uncle Gabe doesn’t know but he said Star is acting weird and even though Mr. Wallace keeps saying he’s okay, he doesn’t think he is.”
“It is unusual for Star to act weird if Irving is commanding him, but there are a lot of people here tonight.”
“That’s what I said, but Uncle Gabe said that shouldn’t matter since he’s a trained service dog.”
“Hmm, he makes a point. Thanks for coming to find me. I’ll talk to Irving and see if I can get him to rest.”
“It’s no problem, Miss Cane. I’ll stay with Uncle Gabe and help him as much as possible.”
“Just call me Hazel, please,” I implored the girl. She was so well-mannered and well-spoken it was delightful, but I preferred to be called by my real name. “I can ask Mayor Tottle to help if you both get overwhelmed.” I doubted that would be the case. If there was ever a person you wanted helping when things were busy, it was Holly Hadley. She may only be twelve, but she has the multitasking skills of someone twice her age and the ability to bark commands like a drill sergeant. She was training at the bakery under her mother’s guidance to work on the new dog biscuit side of the company. Something told me she’d be managing it in a few years.
When we arrived to the area where we’d set up our tables, I noticed Star pacing back and forth in front of Irving while he spoke to a man. Gabe noticed me and nodded at Irving, then took over the discussion. When I caught Irving’s eye, I motioned him out from behind the table. When he did, he seemed fine, but Star definitely wasn’t. I made a snap decision to get them both back to his apartment.
“Hey, let’s go back to your apartment and grab your warmer coat. Some of the people outside were asking to speak with you.”
“I need to stay and help Gabe.” Star whined until Irving flicked his gaze to him.
“I’ll stay with Uncle Gabe,” Holly piped up. “I can always come and get you if he needs more help.”
“Okay, thanks, Holly,” Irving said. “Star, home,” he said and the dog followed us back to the apartment and opened the door for his master. I could see the relief in Star’s eyes when I shut the door and Irving commanded him to rest for a minute.
“Star is acting odd,” I said to ease Irving into the conversation. “Is he hungry?”
“No. He’s been fed and went out. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. Maybe I’ll leave him in here while we go outside. He could be tired.”
I leaned down and rested my hands on his chair. “First, I want you to stop. Close your eyes and go through your checks and balances for all your systems. Star is acting weird because he knows something is off with you. That’s his job. Listen to him.”
Irving’s gaze snapped up to meet mine and he blinked. “Okay. You’re right.” He closed his eyes and I stood up, giving him the space to go through his checks the way he does whenever he starts to feel off. “I think it’s my bladder,” he said when he opened his eyes. “It’s been hours since I emptied and I’m not wearing a bag.”
“Let’s empty it then and see if Star settles down,” I suggested. The dog still hadn’t rested as per his owner’s order.
“What? No lecture?” he asked as he rolled into the bathroom.
“I have no right to lecture you, Irving. I haven’t eaten since breakfast because we’ve been so busy. Should I? Yes. Will I? Probably not unless someone forces food into my mouth.”
I kept talking while he unrolled his tube and held it over the toilet. The stream that came out was slow and sputtery.
“It’s never done that before,” I said, surprised as he patiently moved the tube back and forth until the stream normalized a bit.
“Not while you’ve been around,” he agreed, letting it hang over the toilet seat to let gravity finish emptying it. “It has sediment in it and needs to be flushed. Then I’ll have to wear a bag and let it free flow the rest of the night or I’ll be in the hospital in the morning.”
I clapped my hands together once. “We can’t have that. I need my partner here to help me with all of this. What can I do?”
“I don’t want to move the tube now that I have it running again, so if you’d grab the supplies from the third drawer under the sink, I’ll walk you through it. I’ll need a leg bag too, which is in the second drawer.”
Following his directions, I loaded the syringe for him to flush the tube properly. While he irrigated it, I saw Star sleeping in the doorway. “We must have problem solved correctly,” I told him, taking the syringe. “Star is taking a siesta.”
Irving’s sigh was loud in the room. “Gabe told me he was acting weird, but I didn’t listen to him.”
“Gabe sent Holly to get me. He thought maybe I could convince you to take a break.”
