Remarkable (27 page)

“He could break into people’s homes and destroy their rugs, pee on their slippers, and steal their newspapers. Or we could teach him to chase cats up trees so that firemen would have get their ladders out to rescue them,” Melissa suggested. “Let’s go to our house and
start making plans. You can come over, Jane. We’ll have snacks, and we’ll even let you see our secret lair if you want to.”

“No, thanks,” Jane said, looking up from her puppy for the first time since she’d gotten him. Her face was a happy mix of amazement and joy.

“What do you mean?” Melissa demanded. She had never in a million years guessed that Jane wouldn’t accept an invitation to enter their creepy black house. “We’re giving Dirt a chance to be something special, you know.”

“He doesn’t need to be special,” Jane said firmly. “All he needs to be is my dog.” And with that, she walked home with Dirt cuddled in her arms.

And so Dirt Doe became the newest member of the Doe household. “Perhaps Jane will become a great dog trainer!” her father said as he watched his middle daughter walk Dirt in the backyard on a leash. Her mother nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. I think she’s found her special skill at last!”

This proved not to be the case, although it was not necessarily Jane’s fault. Dirt wasn’t the kind of dog who paid much attention to dog training. He only
did what he was told occasionally, and that was only if Jane was offering him a dog treat at the time. He liked to bark loudly early in the morning, had a minimal interest in going outside to use the bathroom, and a maximal enthusiasm for chewing up shoes, paintbrushes, and scientific calculators. He also liked to dig up the flower garden and steal food from the table.

Grandmama Julietta Augustina quickly developed a soft spot for Dirt. When Mad Captain Penzing the Horrific left town, Salzburg decided to go with her. Grandmama wasn’t willing to admit how much she missed the parrot, but she did find that Jane’s dog helped fill the parrot-sized hole that Salzburg had left in her life. She often took Dirt for walks when Jane was busy at school and had been known, from time to time, to take him to the mayor’s office with her.

“Not much of a dog if you ask me,” Grandmama said fondly as she watched him knock over one of Anderson Brigby Bright’s paint cans and track photorealistic green footprints all over the living room rug.

Jane didn’t mind Grandmama’s words, because Dirt was the most amazing thing that had ever happened to her—and unremarkably, Jane and Dirt became the best of friends.

L
ike many writers, I am deeply insecure and I would undoubtedly still be writing and rewriting the first chapter of this book if not for the encouragement of many fine people.

One of the finest is my agent, Faye Bender, who is not just a fantastic human being but is also so incredibly good at what she does. For her patience with my endless questions, her cheerful support, and her ability to arrange surprise cupcake deliveries, she has earned my undying devotion.

Then there is my equally wonderful editor, Nancy Conescu, who has been an enthusiastic advocate of this story, and whose keen eye and fabulous revision notes have made
Remarkable
so much more than it was
when she first saw it. Additionally, I’d like to send a big thank you to the people at Dial/Penguin for making me feel so welcome as one of their new authors. In particular, I’d like to thank Andrew Harwell, Lauri Hornik, Rosanne Lauer, and Don Weisberg.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank Meg Mitchell Moore, who did a lot of hand-holding during the querying and submission process, and her agent, Elisabeth Weed, who very kindly introduced me to Faye.

I also owe a huge debt of gratitude to my beloved writing groups. From the Cambridge Center of Adult Education’s Zen Writing Group, I want to think Brina Cohen, Celia Judge, Dorothy Irving, Rick Stafford, Margaret Gooch, and Mordena Babich—who were there when
Remarkable
was started. And from my Santa Fe writing group, many thanks to Debra Auten, Hope Cahill, Janie Chodosh, Catherine Coulter, Jenny Owings Dewey, Nadine Donovan, Ana June, Karen Kraemer, Barbara Mayfield, and Lyn Searfoss, who gave me the encouragement, support, and suggestions I needed to finish it. Additionally, I’d like to thank my fellow Apocalypsies (an online group of debut novelists), for helping me find my way through revisions, copyedits, cover art, and release dates.

Margaret Foley and Jon Wilkins deserve special thanks for proofreading and commenting on several drafts of
Remarkable
(sometimes on very short notice over holiday weekends) before it went out into the world. And I’d like to thank Jon again, for years of support and faith in my writing. I also owe a thank you to Dash Foley-Wilkins, for his patience and for his many, many story suggestions (particularly those pertaining to pirates).

And finally, I’d like to thank my dogs, who made sure my writing days were never lonely (or particularly quiet or chaos-free). Robbie, Sandy, Matthew, and Luke—you are very good dogs. Oh-yes-you-are-good-dogs-oh-yes-you-are.