"Shit, take the dog too. You said he's a pricey one, right?"
I rolled my eyes. "I'm not gonna steal their dog. Besides, if Chucky were mine, I wouldn’t sell him." I leaned back and crossed my arms. "I'd keep him."
That mutt was growing on me. Except technically, he wasn't a mutt. He was a purebred Yorkie, descended from national show dogs on both sides. But heactedlike a mutt. That had to count for something, right?
"Alright," Grandma said, "Just threaten 'em."
I stared at her. "What?"
"Yeah. Tell 'em if they don't pay up, their dog's gonna be dog food."
"See?" I said. "This is why I never discuss money with you."
Grandma was a smart lady, but she had her own ideas of justice. Of course, she hadn't been quite so bloodthirsty when someone had cleaned outherlife-savings a few years earlier.
Then again, that thief had been her daughter. My mom. Of the absentee variety.
"I'm not gonnakilltheir dog either," I said.
"Did Isayyou should kill him? No. I said you shouldthreatento kill him. Big difference."
"I'll think about it," I said.
"Your ass. You're not gonna think about nothin'."
"Besides," I said, "what if the Parkers are hurt or something?"
"They're gonna be hurt if they don't pay up."
A few feet away, the cottage door opened. I glanced over to see Josh, my younger brother, come through the door with a book bag slung over his shoulder.
I glanced at Grandma's kitchen clock. "Three o'clock already?" I said.
"What do you mean 'already'?" Josh said, "I've been busting my hump since nine o'clock."
"Oh. My. God," I said. "Youdidn'tjust say you've been busting your hump."
"Hey, I have," Josh insisted. "It's not like I'm in grade school anymore."
"Alright, fine," I said with a laugh. "You're officially a hump-buster."
"Damn straight," he said.
"Oh God," I said. "Notyoutoo. I thought we all agreed not to swear anymore."
"Youagreed," Grandma said. "Weagreed it was fuckin' stupid."
"Yeah," Josh said, "and besides, you talk that way all the time."
"Notallthe time." I gave him a serious look. "Pleasetell me you don't talk this way in public."
"Hell no," he said. "I'm notthatstupid."
I smiled in spite of myself. "You're not stupid at all, and you know it."
Josh was in the gifted program, and he needed to stay there. This meant he needed to stay at his current school, which also meant he needed to stay exactly where he was – living with my Dad and Loretta.
And Grandma? Well, she needed to stay in the cottage. As long as she lived there, Josh had at least one place close by where he felt welcome.
