A New Home for Truman (2 page)

Janey woke up early the next morning. For a second she couldn't remember why she was excited. Then she smiled.

“Happy birthday to me!” she said, jumping out of bed.

She pulled on her bathrobe and raced downstairs. The smell of banana pancakes and bacon greeted her.

“Happy birthday, sweetheart!” Janey's father sang out. He was at the stove with a spatula. “I'm making your favorite breakfast.”

“Thanks, Daddy.” Janey looked around the kitchen. There was a pile of wrapped gifts on the counter. None of the packages had air holes that she could see.

But she couldn't see her mother, either. Maybe Mom was out in the garage with the dog, waiting to surprise her.

Then her mother hurried in from the living room. “Happy birthday, Janey, love!” she said. “How does it feel to be a year older?”

“Fab,” Janey said. Her father set a platter of pancakes and bacon in front of her, and Janey helped herself. “I can't wait to see what you got me this year!”

Her parents traded a smile. “We can't wait, either,” Janey's father said. “Eat your birthday breakfast, and then you can open your gifts.”

Janey loved banana pancakes and bacon. But that morning, she hardly tasted them. She ate as fast as she could.

“Finished!” she said, gulping down some juice. “Time for presents.”

Her parents both laughed. “All right,” her mother said. “Go ahead, love.”

Janey grabbed one of the gifts and shook it. Even if there wasn't a dog in the pile of gifts, maybe the packages contained dog stuff, like a collar and leash or food dishes or dog toys. Now that she thought about it, that made more sense anyway. Then Janey would be all ready to go and pick out her own dog at the shelter. She couldn't wait!

She ripped the paper off the first gift. “Oh,” she said in surprise.

There was no collar or leash. No dishes or dog toys, either. Just a shirt with a sparkly collar.

“It's the one you liked at the mall last weekend, remember?” her mother said with a smile.

Janey nodded. She did like the shirt, even if she wasn't that excited about it right now. But maybe she could wear it to the shelter when she chose her dog.

“Thanks,” she said. “Next!”

For a second she thought the next gift was a collar, but then she realized it was a bracelet. Janey opened several more packages after that, but all of them contained non-dog gifts.

Finally there was only one gift left. That had to be the dog gift!

Janey picked it up. “Don't shake that one, sweetheart,” her father said.

Janey nodded. She had a bad feeling about this. The shape and weight of the gift didn't seem right for any kind of dog stuff. It was light and rectangular.

She opened it quickly. “Oh,” she said. “A tablet computer.”

“This model just came out last week.” Her father sounded excited. “We knew you'd love it!”

Her mother nodded. “Your laptop is getting old,” she explained. “This will be so much better.”

“It's already fully loaded, too,” her father said. “It's got a great browser, a kid-safe blogging platform, and of course all your
favorite games—like Puppy Playtime.”

Janey perked up. “Puppy Playtime?” she echoed with a smile. “Yes, I do love that game.”

She paused, waiting for her parents to say something else about puppies—like that they were taking Janey to get one! But her father just went on talking about the other software on the tablet.

“What's wrong, love?” Janey's mother interrupted her husband. “You don't look as excited as we expected.”

Janey bit her lip. Were her parents teasing her? That didn't seem like them.

“What about my dog?” she blurted out.

“Dog?” Janey's mother traded a look with Janey's father.

“Oh, Janey.” Her father shook his head. “Is this about those printouts I found on my desk a couple of weeks ago?”

Janey nodded. “Did you read them? All you need to do is get a few shots and you won't be allergic to animals anymore!”

“I'm afraid it's not that simple,” Janey's mother said. “We looked into the shots once, but the doctor advised against it because your father has mild asthma.”

Janey couldn't believe that this was happening. She felt her face turning red. If she didn't get away, she'd start crying or yelling—probably both.

“I…I need to call Lolli,” she choked out. “I think she wants me to come to her house.”

Her mother looked worried. “Are you sure? We were going to watch a movie, or—”

Mr. Whitfield put a hand on his wife's arm. “It's okay, Janey,” he said softly. “Go ahead and call Lolli. We can watch that movie later.”

There was no answer on the phone at Lolli's farmhouse, so Janey called Lolli's mom's cell phone. It turned out that the whole family was in the car on their way to the shelter.

“We're just five minutes from your house,” Mrs. Simpson told Janey. “We'll swing by and pick you up. I know you love visiting the animals at the shelter.”

“Thanks,” Janey said.

While her father cleared the breakfast dishes and her mother picked up the wrapping paper from her gifts, Janey ran upstairs to change out of her pajamas. Then
she stood in the front hall until she saw the Simpsons' battered old station wagon pull to the curb in front of her house.

“Lolli's parents are here to pick me up,” she called. “I'll be back in a while.”

Ten minutes later, she was walking into the Third Street Animal Shelter with Lolli and her parents. Mr. Simpson was carrying a hemp bag filled with homemade dog and cat toys. Mrs. Simpson had a bag of organic kale from her garden. She'd explained that it was for some pet rabbits that had come into the shelter that week.

The shelter was a one-story brick building tucked between the post office and a florist shop. Inside, the lobby was painted with cheerful murals of cats, dogs, and other animals. The muffled sound of barking came from beyond a door marked Dog Room.

“I expected to come here today,” Janey said sadly, staring at that door. “But I thought it would be to pick out my own dog.”

Mrs. Simpson put her arm around Janey's shoulder. During the ride over, Janey had told Lolli and her parents what had happened.

A young woman came out from behind the front desk and hurried over. She was in her twenties, with a blond ponytail and a bright smile. “Oh, you brought the toys!” she exclaimed. “Thanks so much—I know the critters will love them.”

“You're welcome, Kitty,” Mrs. Simpson said.

That made Janey smile. “You work in an animal shelter, and your name is Kitty?” she asked the young woman.

Kitty laughed. “Actually, it's Kathleen,” she said. “But after I smuggled a whole litter of kittens into my room as a kid, my family started calling me Kitty. And I guess it stuck!”

“It's Janey's birthday today,” Mr. Simpson told Kitty. “Can she play with some animals to help her celebrate?”

“Of course!” Kitty said. “Go on into the Meet and Greet Room, and I'll bring somebody in for you to play with. Would you prefer cats or dogs?”

“I love both,” Janey said. “But I especially like dogs, I guess.”

She followed Lolli through a doorway across from the front desk. Inside was a small room with a tile floor. There were benches and beanbag chairs, as well as several scratching posts and a bucket filled with toys and treats.

Soon Kitty returned. She was leading two half-grown puppies. One was a small terrier mix, and the other was a tall, gangly brown dog whose fringed tail never stopped wagging.

“This is Buster, and this is Lyle,” Kitty said. “They're both super friendly and playful. Go ahead and wear them out if you can—you'll be doing me a favor!” She laughed and left, pulling the door shut behind her.

“Oh, you're adorable!” Janey exclaimed, falling to her knees and cuddling the
puppies. For a second she felt happy, like she always did when animals were around. But she felt sad at the same time. She would love to take home either Buster or Lyle—or better yet, both of them! But that wasn't going to happen.

“They're so cute!” Lolli exclaimed, giggling as Lyle licked her chin. “I bet Roscoe would love a couple of puppies to play with!”

“Don't even think about it,” her mother said with a laugh. “One dog is more than enough for this family.”

“Oh, well.” Lolli smiled. “At least I can play with them here.” She turned to Janey. “That gives me a great idea. Why don't we volunteer here at the shelter together? They let kids help out if their parents sign a form. We could come once or twice a week after school.”

“That sounds fun,” Janey agreed. “Not as much fun as having my own pet, but better than nothing.” She hugged Buster as he wiggled onto her lap. “A puppy would be a lot cuddlier than some stupid old tablet.”

“I know,” Lolli agreed. “Your tablet sounds cool, though. Does it take pictures? Too bad you didn't bring it with you, or I
could take some photos of you with Buster and Lyle.”

“Yeah.” Janey tickled Buster under his furry chin. “But wait—that gives me a totally fab idea…”