Free Welcome to Dog Beach by Lisa Greenwald Page B

Bennett at the same time, and he says, “Ouch. I’m getting beaten up by girls!”
    We all agree that we’d love to watch Oscar, so we decide to head over to Dawn’s right away so that we can get to the Sandcastle Contest prep on time.
    Dawn answers the door with one baby in one of those carrier things, one baby over her shoulder, and the third one crying in a swing behind her. Oscar is running around in circles barking and pushing his metal bowl with his nose.
    â€œOh, I am so glad to see you guys!” I’m not even sure if she notices that Micayla, who she’s never met, is with us. “Oscar is hungry and needs to go out. The food is in the cabinet next to the stove. Thanks, guys!”
    She leaves us standing in the foyer, puts one baby down on a pillow on the couch, and picks up the crying one in the swing. It feels like she’s immediately forgotten we’re there. Iguess that means we’re just supposed to get started.
    Bennett grabs the food. I pour some water into Oscar’s other bowl. Micayla talks to him and pets him, and he calms down within seconds.
    We really are a good team.
    I go back to the living room to tell Dawn that we’re leaving, but we find her on the couch, asleep, with three sleeping babies around her. Waking any of them up would probably be the worst thing we could do, so we tiptoe out with Oscar on his leash.
    We walk him over to Dog Beach, which is luckily right near where the Sandcastle Contest prep is going on.
    As soon as we get there, he runs onto the beach as if he’s been waiting his whole life to get there. He starts playing with a French bulldog that we always see around. I think her name is Latte. Micayla walks off to start up a Mary Poppins–like conversation with that pair of Malteses we met the other day, and I keep an eye on Oscar, just to make sure he’s playing nicely with others.
    Bennett tells us he’s going to check in with the Sandcastle Contest people.
    I watch as he walks away, thinking back to that whole exchange with Dawn last night, the brother and sister thing, and the “We’re just friends” thing. I don’t know why I’m still thinking about it. It just seems to be stuck in my head, the way a burrito sits in your stomach hours after you eat it.
    Bennett is Bennett. No one really spends much timethinking about him. That sounds kind of mean, but it’s just that I know him too well to have to wonder what’s going on with him all the time.
    Oscar goes over to get a drink of water out of this special doggie water fountain that Daisy Dog Lover Extraordinaire (that’s what Daisy McDougal calls herself) had installed a few summers ago. I follow behind him and rub his belly for a minute. And then when I look up, I see Bennett walking toward me, but he’s not alone.
    He’s with two other people.
    The C Twins are back.

Bennett and Calvin take off to meet the Sandcastle Contest organizers, leaving me alone with Claire.
    â€œI got kicked out of tennis camp,” Claire tells me, digging her toes into the sand.
    â€œWhy? How?”
    â€œIf you let me talk, I’ll tell you,” she snaps.
    I stay quiet.
    â€œI got kicked out because I didn’t want to play,” she says, groaning. “I mean, seriously. My parents were paying for me to be there, so why did the counselors care if I played or not?”
    I try not to look too confused. “Um? I guess because if you’re not playing tennis, what are you really doing there?”
    â€œYeah, Remy. Thanks.” Claire huffs and walks away, leaving me standing alone with Oscar. He seems tired and readyto go home, but I want to wait for Micayla and Bennett to get back before I head out.
    Oscar goes back to playing and I sit down on a bench for a few minutes, feeling unsettled. I realize how good it felt when Calvin and Claire weren’t here, but now they’re back and Claire is being rude and surly and