Lucy on the Loose

Lucy was Bobby Quinn’s dog. She was a great dog!

She was a beagle. She was white and brown with black spots. Her eyes were soft and dark, like chocolate candy.

Lucy liked to jump. She liked to run. She loved to run! Lucy loved running up to people. She thought everyone was her friend.

Bobby was shy. Meeting new people made his heart pound fast. His face got red. Even his ears got red.

But Bobby wasn’t so shy when he was with Lucy. She helped Bobby make
friends. Shawn was a friend Bobby had made, thanks to Lucy.

Shawn was a new boy in the neighborhood. He had just moved in that summer. At first, Bobby was afraid to go across the street and say hello. But Lucy wasn’t. And she pulled Bobby right along with her.

Shawn was shy, too, just like Bobby. But Bobby and Shawn weren’t shy with each other. They played ball. They drew cartoons. And they spent lots of time chasing Lucy.

Lucy loved to run in circles around Bobby’s big yard. The boys tried to catch her. Lucy tried to get away.

Fast Lucy slipped between their legs.

Slippery Lucy wiggled out of their grasp.

Then she’d run around some more.

Bobby and Shawn just laughed. It was hard to keep up with Lucy.

One day, Shawn came over to Bobby’s house. Bobby was swinging in the hammock. Lucy was curled up at his feet. Summer was almost over, but it was still hot.

“Hey, Bobby. Hey, Lucy,” Shawn said.

“Hi, Shawn,” Bobby greeted his friend. Lucy gave a happy bark.

“Want to go get some comic books?” Shawn asked.

Bobby sat up. Lucy sat up, too.

“Absolutely,” he said. Absolutely was Bobby’s favorite word.

Bobby liked to draw. He used comic books to practice drawing his own super-heroes.

Bobby ran inside. He asked his mother
if he could go with Shawn to the Buy Lo store on Main Street.

“I really, really need some new comics,” Bobby told his mother.

Ms. Quinn laughed. “Oh, really? Then I guess you can go.

“And can I take Lucy?” he asked.

“All right,” Mrs. Quinn said. “But hold onto her. You know how Lucy likes to tug on her leash.”

“Okay,” Bobby said. He thought his mother worried too much. He knew how to take care of Lucy.

Mrs. Quinn gave Bobby some money for comics. Bobby raced back outside.

Lucy was standing with her paws on the fence. She was barking short, hard barks.

“What’s wrong?” Bobby asked Shawn.

“A cat,” Shawn said.

“What cat?”

Shawn pointed. On the sidewalk was a big orange cat. A huge orange cat. The cat was licking his paws and swinging his long tail. The cat ignored Lucy. Lucy barked harder.

“Calm down, Lucy,” Bobby said. “That cat’s not bothering you.” Bobby led Lucy away from the fence. He patted Lucy’s head as he snapped on her leash.

Lucy’s warm tongue gave Bobby’s hand a lick.

But her eyes were on that big orange cat.

Bobby, Shawn, and Lucy walked past the big yellow house on the corner. It was where Mr. Davis lived.

Mr. Davis was another friend Bobby had made with Lucy’s help.

Bobby used to be scared of Mr. Davis. He thought that maybe Mr. Davis was a grumpy old man. But Mr. Davis was nice. He liked puttering around his garden.

“Hi, boys,” he said. He clipped a rose from the rosebush. Lucy barked hello.

“There’s my gal,” Mr. Davis said.

“We’re going to get comic books,” Bobby told him.

“Mind if I come?” Mr. Davis asked. “I could use the exercise.”

Mr. Davis walked slowly, but Shawn and Bobby didn’t mind. Mr. Davis always had interesting stories to tell.

Today he told the boys about growing up listening to radio shows. There was no television when he was a boy. Bobby and Shawn couldn’t imagine a time without television. Even Lucy liked to watch TV if there were dogs on.

“Oh, there were great shows,” Mr. Davis said. “The Lone Ranger was my favorite. He was a cowboy. Wore a black mask over his eyes. And he rode a horse named Silver.”

“The Lone Ranger,” Bobby said softly. He liked the sound of that. The Lone Ranger and Silver might be fun to draw.

Main Street was only two short blocks from Mr. Davis’s house. “Where do you buy your comics?” Mr. Davis asked when they got to the corner of Main and First.

“Right here at Buy Lo,” Bobby said.

“Why don’t I wait outside with Lucy?” Mr. Davis suggested. Lucy yipped. She seemed to like the idea.

Mr. Davis sat down on a bench in front of the store. Lucy got busy sniffing the feet of the people who walked by.

The boys went in the Buy Lo. It sold all sorts of things from lipsticks to notebook paper. It was a big store, but it wasn’t very busy today. Bobby and Shawn hurried to the aisle where the comics were kept.

“Hey!” Shawn exclaimed. “They’re not here.”

A rack of ladies’ stockings stood where
the comics used to be. Bobby looked around. “It looks like they moved a bunch of stuff.”

“Why did they have to do that?” Shawn muttered.

“Let’s check out the other aisles,” Bobby said. “Maybe we’ll find them.”

The boys walked up one aisle. They walked down another.

No comic books.

The boys looked at each other. “Now what?” Shawn said.

“I suppose we could ask someone,” Bobby answered slowly.

Maybe Bobby was not as shy as he used to be, but talking to a salesperson still seemed hard.

“Naw,” Shawn said, “we can find them on our own. Let’s look around more.”

Toothpaste. Brushes. Bags of candy.

No comics.

Magazines. Paper towels. Tummy medicine.

No comics.

“Stupid store,” Shawn muttered.

A man wearing a name tag pinned to his bright blue jacket walked by. He worked in the store.

Should I stop him?
Bobby wondered. Bobby felt his stomach go up and down. The rest of him didn’t make a move.

“He looked busy,” Bobby murmured.

“Yeah,” Shawn agreed.

Both boys were glum.

“I guess they don’t sell comic books anymore,” Bobby said.

“Stupid store,” Shawn repeated.

The boys trudged toward the door.

They were just about to leave when Bobby cried, “Hey, look!”

There was a big wire rack filled with comics next to the checkout counter.

Bobby and Shawn ran over to the rack. Bobby picked out a Spiderman comic. Shawn took a Superman comic. “Brand-new ones,” Shawn said happily. “This store is okay!”

The boys went outside. Mr. Davis and Lucy were waiting.

“That took a while,” Mr. Davis said. “Did you find the comics you were looking for?”

“Yes,” Bobby said. He and Shawn looked at each other. They were thinking the same thing.

They almost didn’t find the comics at all because they were too shy to ask.

“Mom, can Lucy and I go over to Shawn’s?” Bobby asked the next day.

Mrs. Quinn was settled down in the living room. She was enjoying her morning cup of coffee and her newspaper.

“All right,” she said. “But be sure to keep Lucy on her leash. Shawn’s house doesn’t have a fence, you know.”

Bobby knew. His mother reminded him about that every time he took Lucy to Shawn’s. She really did worry too much.

Bobby pulled Lucy’s leash out of his pocket and clipped it to her collar.

They had just crossed the street when
Lucy jerked to a stop. She stood still. Her nose quivered.

“What is it, girl?” Bobby asked.

Lucy started to bark. She jumped up on her hind legs. Bobby looked to where Lucy was pointing with her nose.

“I knew it!” he muttered. The cat was behind a big fir tree.

Lucy tugged and pulled. Bobby held her leash tight.

“C’mon, Lucy,” Bobby told her. “Just ignore that old cat. We’re going to Shawn’s.”

Lucy followed Bobby as he pulled her along. But she kept looking back.

Bobby glanced back, too. He knew cats couldn’t smile. But this cat looked like he was grinning right at them.

“I’m still here,” the cat seemed to say. “What are you going to do about it?”

Bobby forgot about the cat as soon as he got to Shawn’s house. Shawn was sitting on the front steps. He was reading his new Superman comic.

Bobby plunked down on the step next to Shawn. “Is it good?” he asked.

“It’s great!” Shawn said.

Shawn’s little brother came up to the boys. “I want to look, too!” said Ben.

Ben always wanted to do everything Bobby and Shawn were doing.

“Ben, go away,” Shawn said.