Free One More Bite by Jennifer Rardin Page B

when he finds out we got him something nutritious?” I asked Jack as we stopped. I paused with my hand on the knob when I heard a voice from inside that didn’t

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    belong to Albert. Though I couldn’t make out the words, they sounded threatening.

    “Go to hell!” he yelled.

    I threw the door open as a second voice murmured, “I’m already there.”

    Albert stood between twin beds covered with blue flowered spreads, holding a long black remote control in his shaking hand. As Jack stuck his nose in the back of my leg and I reached for Grief, I looked sharply to my left and right. “Who were you talking to?” I asked, striding toward the wardrobe. I threw open the door. Nothing there but some shirts and a stack of underwear. Geez, how long was he planning on staying?

    “It was the TV,” he said, clenching his teeth so hard I could hear his molars rub. I turned to look at where it sat on a corner entertainment center stacked with videos and games. BBC was showing one of my favorite cop movies.

    “You’re yelling at Simon Pegg?”

    “He’s . . . such an ass.”

    “What?”

    “Just—he just pisses me off is all!”

    “How is that possible? He’s playing this unbelievable policeman—”

    “Did you bring me anything to eat?”

    I looked at the food in my left hand, feeling off balance and slightly bewildered. As if I’d come in to find my father dancing around in ballet slippers and a tutu. He grabbed the fruit and, without a single complaint as to its lack of chocolate content or sugar glazing, bit into the apple.

    “What’s wrong with you?” I asked. “Are you dizzy? Do you need to do a test? Did you shrink your sweatshirt again?”

    “I’m fine,” Albert growled. “Quit hovering. You remind me of one of those goddamn blimps.” That sounded more like him. “Don’t you have somewhere you need to be?” he asked.

    “Yeah.” I turned to leave.

    “Hey.”

    “What?”

    “You taking the mutt with you tonight?”

    I looked down at Jack, who blinked at me soulfully. “I figured I would.”

    “Why don’t you leave him with me?”

    “Huh?” The offer caught me so far off guard I was sure I looked like a total cave brain, with my mouth hanging open to give all my loose gray matter a straight shot to the floor.

    “He could keep me company while I watch TV.”

    “Are you going to yell at him?”

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    “Why would I do that?”

    “You mean like you’re yelling at me right now?”

    “I’m not yelling!”

    “Promise to talk nice or he leaves with me.”

    Albert shook his head and stared at Jack. “Do you want to stay with me for a while, Jackster? I may have a few treats for you in my suitcase to help pass the time.” Albert hobbled to the dresser and threw open the lid to his luggage. Right on top lay a box of doggy snacks.

    “You didn’t.”

    For answer, Albert dug one out and offered it to Jack, who immediately deserted me to make friends with the man who had informed me, at the age of eight, that if I couldn’t figure out how to manage all by myself I might as well skip my independence and check right into Greenfields Assisted Living.

    I left my dad and my dog bonding over Milk-Bones and Hot Fuzz, thinking, The way this day is going, things are only gonna get weirder.

    Chapter Ten

    As I walked through my room, repeating the clearing ceremony I’d performed for the girls as well as for Vayl, Cole, and Albert, I tried to talk myself into liking the place. The wallpaper, which only ran up to the white chair rail, was covered in a ripe plum design. I should be tempted to pluck them right off the wall. Except I kept thinking they looked like frozen testicles, and I was feeling sorry for the model. The part above the rail, painted lavender, just depressed me.

    I did appreciate