The Christmas Dog (7 page)

Betty nodded. “Yes, I suppose balloons might be nice after all.”

“Where are you having this little shindig anyway?” Avery let go of the balloon and it went flying through the store, making a long series of sputtering sounds.

Betty looked over her shoulder nervously. “The church.”

“Down in the basement?”

“Yes, of course. That’s where we have social functions.”

“Then you’ll need lots of balloons and all kinds of things to brighten it up.”

“I’ve only budgeted fifty dollars for this,” Betty said.

“Fifty bucks?” Avery frowned. “For how many people?”

“We’ve estimated around eighty to a hundred. Fortunately, I’ve already paid for the napkins.”

They headed to the paper plate section.

“So what all do you need to get with your fifty bucks?”

Betty pulled out her list. “Paper plates, coffee cups, plastic punch glasses, and forks. Oh yes, and a few decorations.”

Avery picked up a package of gold paper plates and shook her head. “I’m not a math whiz, Grandma, but these plates alone are going to eat up a big chunk of your budget.”

Betty felt a headache coming on. Avery was probably right. Oh, why hadn’t she considered this earlier? “I suppose I’ll just have to increase my budget.”

“Or . . .”

“Or what?”

“Let me help you, Grandma.”

Betty blinked. “That’s very sweet, Avery. But how do you intend to help me?”

Avery got a sly look. “Back in high school, I loved doing set design in drama. I was always able to take a tiny budget and make it go a long way. Everyone was impressed. One year we did a pirate musical, and you should’ve seen how realistic it was.”

Betty didn’t know what drama or pirates had to do with golden anniversaries, but her head was beginning to throb more now. “I think I need an aspirin,” she muttered as she opened her purse to peer inside.

“Are you sick?”

“Just a headache.”

“I know,” Avery said suddenly. “I saw a coffee shop next door. Why don’t you go and sit down, take your aspirin, have a cup of coffee, and just relax. I’ll do your shopping for you.”

Betty knew this was a bad idea, but she didn’t want to offend Avery. “Oh, I don’t think that’s necessary. I just—”

“No, Grandma.” Avery snatched the list from Betty. “Let me do this for you. Just trust me, okay?”

Betty reached up and rubbed her temples.

“I promise you won’t be disappointed.”

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea, dear.”

“You liked the balloon idea, didn’t you?”

“Well, yes, but—”

“No buts.”

Betty felt too flustered to think clearly. On one hand, it would be an enormous relief to hand this off to Avery, go and sit down, have a cup of tea, and take it easy. On the other hand, what if the whole thing turned into a complete mess?

“Really, Grandma, I
know
I can do this.” Avery’s eyes were so bright and hopeful that Betty decided she wanted to give the girl this chance. Really, what could it hurt? So she opened her purse, extracted the money she had put into an envelope marked “Deerwoods’ Fiftieth,” and handed the bills to Avery.

“And I can go to Goodwill too,” Avery said. “You know, to pick up some clothes.”

“Oh, yes.” Betty had nearly forgotten that part of the plan. She reached into her purse again and took out her old, worn billfold. She pulled out two twenty-dollar bills. She knew that wasn’t much for clothes shopping, but it was the remainder of her December grocery money. Still, she thought that perhaps this month’s budget would need to be increased a bit. After all, she hadn’t planned on having a houseguest. She could make adjustments for it later. It was always such a challenge living on a fixed and very limited income. But she had made it this far in life, and always the good Lord provided.

“Here you go, dear. I hope you can stretch this.”

“Now you just go next door and relax, Grandma. Let me take care of everything.”

Betty closed her purse and nodded. But the movement only made her head throb more. All she wanted was to sit down, take an aspirin, and sip a nice, hot cup of tea.

Before long, that was exactly what she was doing. And after about thirty minutes, she began to feel more like herself again.

“More hot water for your tea?” the middle-aged waitress asked.

Betty glanced at her watch. “Yes, I suppose that would be nice.”

“Doing some Christmas shopping today?” The waitress refilled the metal teapot, snapping the lid shut.

“Not exactly.” Betty smiled at her. She explained about her friends’ fiftieth wedding anniversary and how her granddaughter had offered to help with the shopping.

“Your granddaughter must be delightful,” the woman said.

“What a relief when so many young people are so messed up. Did you hear the news today?”

“What’s that?”

“Big drug bust over on 17th Street. Cocaine, meth, marijuana . . . there were even a bunch of firearms.”

“In our town?” Betty clutched her coffee mug.

“Oh yeah.” The waitress lowered her voice. “I actually recognized one of the young men. He’d been in here a number of times. I never would’ve guessed he was involved in something like that.” She shook her head. “You just never know.”

“No, I suppose not.” Of course, this only made Betty think about Jack Jones again. Suspicions such as these had gone through her head more than once in regard to him. For all she knew, he could’ve ripped the house apart in order to grow marijuana inside. She’d heard of things like that before. And what if he had guns? Oh, it was too horrible to think about.

But what about that poor dog? Perhaps she’d been cruel to leave him there with Jack. She hoped that Jack wasn’t cruel to the poor animal. And then she thought about her granddaughter and how upset she would be if any harm came to that dog. What had Betty been thinking?

Betty looked at her watch again. She was surprised to see that an hour had passed with no sign of Avery. She finished the last sip of tea and wondered what she should do. The strip mall wasn’t so large that Betty couldn’t go look for Avery. But it was cold outside. And what if Betty went to the wrong place and Avery showed up at the coffee shop?

“Everything okay?” the waitress asked with a concerned expression.

“Yes. I just thought my granddaughter would be finished by now.”

“Have you tried to call her?”

Betty frowned. “No . . . but I’m sure she’ll be along any minute now.”

“Yes, I’m sure she will.”

But as soon as the waitress returned to the kitchen, Betty began to get worried. Really, what did she know about Avery? She hadn’t spent time with her in years. Betty knew that she’d run away from home. And she hadn’t even called her parents to say she was alive. Then she’d hitchhiked with a friend, gotten her things stolen, and eventually wound up on Betty’s doorstep. Not exactly the profile of a responsible young woman. And not exactly like the picture Betty had concocted for the waitress.

For all Betty knew, Avery could be involved in something horrible. Something frightening like drugs. And hadn’t Betty just given Avery a handful of cash? What if Avery was long gone by now? What if she’d simply pocketed Betty’s money and run?

Betty sighed. It wouldn’t be the money so much. But to think that Avery had tricked her, deceived her into believing that she wanted to help, when she was really taking advantage of her . . . Well, it wasn’t only disheartening; it made Betty feel sick. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, willing herself to relax, to let these worries go, and to put her trust in God. It was an old habit she’d adopted long ago—a way of dealing with life’s stresses.

As she sat there with her eyes closed, she heard the familiar strain of Bing Crosby crooning, “I’ll be home for Christmas, you can count on me . . .” Funny how the old tunes from her era were becoming popular among young people again.

She relaxed as she listened to the words, remembering how she and Chuck had been separated for one Christmas while he was serving in Korea. How many times had she listened to the song and cried? But then he’d come home, they’d gotten married, and she had never again expected to be separated from him during the holidays. Little had she known that they would have only a dozen Christmases to share. And then he’d be gone.

The song ended, and Betty opened her eyes to discover that her cheeks were damp with tears. Embarrassed by this display of emotion, she quickly reached for the paper napkin and dabbed at her face. So silly, after all these years, to still be missing him like that.

She sighed and looked outside. It was starting to get dusky, and she had told Avery she wanted to be home while it was still light since she didn’t see well after dark. She put out the money to pay for her tea and slowly stood.

“No sign of your granddaughter yet?” The waitress frowned.

Betty just shook her head and slowly walked toward the door. It felt as if someone had tied large rocks around her ankles. And she knew she was a very foolish old woman to have trusted Avery like that. At least she hadn’t given her the car keys. That was something to be thankful for.

7

“Grandma!” Avery called. She rushed toward the coffee shop with what looked like dozens of shopping bags hanging from her shoulders, arms, and hands.

“Avery!” Betty couldn’t believe her eyes. “Where have you been?”

“Shopping, of course.”

“But you took so long.” Betty peered at her. “How did you manage to buy so much . . . stuff?”

“Goodwill, the Dollar Store, and a craft shop around the corner.”

“Oh?” Betty opened the trunk of her car, watching as Avery piled in her purchases.

“Yeah. I found all sorts of cool things, Grandma. It’s going to be so awesome.”

Betty blinked to see some magenta and lime-colored artificial flowers tumbling out of a large plastic bag. She couldn’t imagine what those bright blooms might be for—perhaps a Mexican fiesta. But they certainly weren’t appropriate for a dignified fiftieth anniversary party. Even so, she was so relieved to see Avery again, to know that she hadn’t run off and that she actually had been shopping—well, Betty didn’t even care what kind of frivolities Avery had wasted her money on. At least she was safe.

Avery was very secretive about her purchases when they got home. She asked if she could keep the decorations in her room while she worked on them. Betty had no idea what that meant, but she was too tired to protest, so she agreed.

“But don’t forget your promise,” Betty said. “To call your parents.”

“Yeah.” Avery nodded as she went into her room. “I’ll do it.”

“I’m going to begin fixing dinner. I have decided that I’ll do the cooking and you’ll be on cleanup. Does that sound fair?”

Avery grinned. “Sure. I love your cooking, Grandma.”

Betty smiled. Maybe Avery hadn’t changed that much after all. Still, it was a bit stressful having a young person suddenly thrust into your life. One didn’t know what to expect, how to react.

Tonight Betty was making macaroni and cheese, but not the boxed kind that turned out orange and salty. Avery had talked her into getting some of the boxed kind at the store when she’d been visiting Betty one summer. One bite and Betty had decided that Avery needed to learn a better way. Avery had been cautious at first, complaining that Betty’s macaroni “looked funny,” but after she tasted it, she declared it to be the “bestest macaroni and cheese ever.” Betty made it with real cheese and butter and cream, and she always baked it in the oven, removing the foil for the last few minutes so the bread crumbs turned crispy and golden brown. Betty hadn’t made macaroni and cheese in ages, but her mouth was watering when she finally slid the heavy casserole dish into the oven.

She looked at her messy kitchen, then smiled to herself. This was one of the benefits of having Avery here. Betty could cook what she liked, and her granddaughter would clean up the mess. Not a bad little setup.

“Grandma,” Avery said from the living room. “Someone’s at the door. Want me to get it?”

“I’m coming.” Betty untied her apron and went out to see who was there. It was nearly six now, and most respectable people would be having dinner.

“Oh!” Avery said. She opened the front door wide enough for Betty to see Jack standing there, a somber expression on his face and a familiar-looking garbage bag in his hand. The dog stood at his feet, wagging his tail and looking into the house like he expected to be invited in for dinner.

“What do you want?” Avery put her hands on her hips and scowled at Jack.

Jack studied her for a moment, then turned toward Betty. “I don’t know what your game is, but I do not want a dog.”

Avery stepped forward and stared up into Jack’s face. “Seems like you should’ve thought of that sooner.”

“Huh?” He frowned. “Who are you anyway?”

“This is my granddaughter, Avery,” Betty said. “Avery, I’d like you to meet my neighbor Jack.”

“I know all about you, Jack,” Avery said. “I wanted to report you to the Humane Society, but Grandma wouldn’t let me.”

“What?”

Avery pointed down at the dog. “You’re a grown man.

You should know better than to treat an animal the way you’ve treated him. He’s a sweet dog, and you have totally neglected and—”

“You’re crazy,” he said. “This isn’t my dog.”

“He was filthy and cold and half-starved and—”

“And he’s not my dog,” Jack said. He looked over at Betty again. “I thought he was your dog. I saw him in your yard.”

“And I saw him in your yard,” Betty said. “I assumed he belonged to you.”

“Looks like we both assumed wrong.” Jack dropped the plastic bag in her house. “Here you go.”

“What do you mean, ‘here you go’?” Betty said.

“You got him this stuff.” Jack glared at her. “I guess that means he belongs to you.”

“He does
not
belong to me.” Betty stepped closer, glaring back at him now.

“Looks to me like he does. You got him the collar and leash and—”

“But he is
not
my dog. I only got those things because I thought you were—”

“So you admit that you purchased the dog paraphernalia?”

“I felt sorry for the dog.”