Absolutely Lucy (4 page)

“The summer is a perfect time for a dog to go to school,” Mrs. Quinn said. “Obedience classes are starting in the park. I think we should sign up Lucy.”

That night they talked about obedience school with Bobby’s father. He thought sending Lucy to school was a very good idea.

“Maybe Lucy will learn to like her leash,” Mr. Quinn said.

Lucy didn’t like being on her leash at all. Lucy liked to run free. Bobby didn’t think there was a school in the world that could make Lucy like her leash.

“Who will take Lucy to this school?” Bobby asked.

His parents looked at each other.

“Why don’t you and I take her, Bobby?” his father asked.

Bobby didn’t like this idea at all. It was bad enough Lucy had to go to school. He didn’t want to go to school, too. School meant new people to meet. New people he would have to talk to.

“Can I think about it?” Bobby asked.

“Yes, think about it, Bobby,” said his mother. “But don’t take too long. Lots of people want to sign their dogs up for obedience school.”

The next day, Bobby and Lucy went to visit Mr. Davis. Bobby told Mr. Davis about obedience school.

“But why don’t you want to go?” Mr. Davis asked.

Bobby could feel his face get red. “Too many new people,” he mumbled.

“Are you shy, Bobby?” Mr. Davis asked with surprise.

“I guess,” Bobby said in a quiet voice.

“Really? You don’t seem like a shy boy to me.”

Now it was Bobby’s turn to be surprised. “I don’t?”

“Not at all,” Mr. Davis said.

Bobby was glad he didn’t seem like a shy boy to Mr. Davis.

Mr. Davis poured some lemonade into Bobby’s glass.

“Bobby, what about Lucy?” he asked.

“What about her?”

“Do you think she needs to go to obedience school?” Mr. Davis asked.

Bobby had to be honest. “Yes.”

“You are her owner,” Mr. Davis reminded him. “Don’t you think you should be with her at school?”

“My dad could take her.”

“Would that be the same?” Mr. Davis asked. “I think Lucy would like to have you there with her.”

Lucy was sitting next to Bobby. She gave a long, low howl.

Bobby had to laugh. “Yes. I guess she would.”

“You never can tell, Bobby,” Mr. Davis said. “Maybe obedience school will be fun.”

Fun? Bobby didn’t think so. But if Lucy had to go to obedience school, Bobby was going with her. Lucy needed him.

B
ig dogs. Little dogs. Furry dogs. Sleek dogs. Mighty dogs and mutts. Dogs were walking, running, barking, and yapping all over the park.

It was the first day of obedience school.

Lucy trotted to the edge of the grass. Then she stopped and looked up at Bobby.

“She’s never seen so many dogs,” Bobby said to his father.

“I think there are only about ten dogs,” Mr. Quinn said. “It just seems like more because they are so noisy.”

“How is Lucy going to learn to be obedient when all these dogs are so wild?” Bobby asked.

“The dogs will learn to be obedient together,” Mr. Quinn said. But he didn’t look all that sure.

A chunky woman with curly hair and a big smile said hello. She wore a big, shiny silver whistle around her neck.

“I’m Marsha. I’m the trainer,” she said.

Mr. Quinn introduced himself. He introduced Bobby and Lucy.

Marsha leaned over and patted Lucy’s head. “Hello, Lucy. You’re going to be a good student, aren’t you?”

Lucy tried to jump on Marsha and lick her face.

Marsha just laughed. “We’ll start in a few minutes. When I blow my whistle, meet me by the big oak tree.”

Marsha pointed out the tree. Then she walked away.

“She seems nice,” Mr. Quinn said.

“Lucy liked her,” Bobby said.

“Hi,” said a girl about Bobby’s age.

Bobby looked at the ground. “Hi,” he mumbled.

“My name is Candy,” the girl said. “This is Butch.” She pointed to her dog, a boxer.

Mr. Quinn patted Butch on the head. “Hello, Butch. Hello, Candy. I’m Mr. Quinn, and this is Bobby.”

Butch sniffed at Lucy. Lucy sniffed right back.

“How long have you had Lucy?” Candy asked.

Before Bobby could answer, Candy said, “We’ve had Butch about two months. We got him from a neighbor who was moving away. His name was already Butch. He looks like a Butch, don’t you think? Is Lucy a good dog?”

Bobby looked at his father. Bobby hoped he would answer all the girl’s questions.

“What about it, Bobby?” Mr. Quinn asked. “Is Lucy a good dog?”

“Yes,” Bobby said quietly.

“Butch isn’t,” Candy told Bobby.

Butch gave a long growl.

“Butch is wild,” Candy looked rather happy about that fact. “My mother says Butch is driving her crazy.”

Candy’s mother joined the group. “That’s why Butch is going to obedience school,” she said.

Marsha blew her whistle. Dogs and their owners gathered by the big oak tree.

“Go ahead, Bobby,” his father said.

“What about you?” Bobby asked.

“I’ll wait on the sidelines and watch,” his father answered.

“I thought we were going to do this together. You, me, and Lucy.”

“No,” Mr. Quinn said. “A dog needs one person to train with.”

Candy tugged at Bobby’s arm. “C’mon, let’s go.”

Bobby looked back at his father as Candy dragged him away. His father just gave him a wave.

Everyone was lining up with their dogs.

“I think our dogs are the best, don’t you?” Candy asked.

Bobby looked at the other dogs. It was hard to judge. All the dogs were so different. He thought Lucy was the best. He wasn’t too sure about Butch.

“Lucy and Butch are the best, right?” Candy asked again.

Butch looked like he might be the best at growling. He was growling loudly at the other dogs. Candy was still waiting for an answer.

“I guess our dogs are the best,” Bobby finally said.

Candy said, “I like having a big dog. The other day Butch …”

Candy sure liked to talk
, Bobby thought to himself.

Marsha blew her whistle again. “We will begin by teaching our dogs how to come when we call their names. Dogs want to learn to obey their masters. It makes them happy. It makes us happy.”

For the next half hour, the owners called their dogs. When they came, the owners patted their pets and said, “Good dog.”

By the end of the class, Lucy was coming when Bobby called her.

Butch was another story. Sometimes Butch ran away when Candy called him. Sometimes he sat down and scratched himself. Every once in a while, when he felt like it, Butch came.

“He’s getting the hang of it. Don’t you think so?” Candy asked Bobby when the class was over.

Bobby didn’t want to hurt Candy’s feelings. “Well, he’s trying,” Bobby said.

Bobby picked up Lucy. He looked around for his father.

“Let’s go get ice cream,” Candy said.

“What?” Bobby asked with surprise. No one his age had ever asked him to go for ice cream.

“We worked hard. Let’s get some ice cream,” Candy repeated.

“I—I don’t think I can,” Bobby said.

“Why not?” Candy wanted to know.

Bobby’s father and Candy’s mother found them.

“Good job, Lucy.” Mr. Quinn gave Lucy a pat. “Ready to go, Bobby?”

“I asked Bobby to go get ice cream with us. Is that okay, Mom?”

“I don’t see why not,” Candy’s mother said. “Bobby doesn’t live too far from us. We can take him home.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Mr. Quinn said. “I’ll take Lucy with me.”

No one had asked Bobby if he wanted to go. He didn’t want to go. He felt shy just thinking about it.

“I’m going to have Rocky Road ice cream,” Candy said. “What kind do you like, Bobby?”

Before Bobby could answer, Candy said, “I bet you like chocolate. Maybe we can get banana splits. What about it, Mom?”

Mr. Quinn and Lucy left. Bobby found himself walking out of the park with Candy, her mother, and Butch.

They went to the ice cream shop. Candy had a banana split. Bobby had a double dip cone. Chocolate.

Bobby and Candy sat outside the shop eating their ice cream.

Candy said, “I’m going to work with Butch all week until he comes when I call him. He’s very smart. He’s just not trying.” Candy giggled. “That’s what my teacher says about me sometimes. Maybe you should come over to my house with Lucy. We can practice together. Saturday would be a good day. You can come over in the afternoon.”

The worst thing about being shy was never knowing what to say next. Bobby could see this wasn’t going to be a problem with Candy. She talked enough for both of them.

“Will you come?” Candy asked.

Bobby licked his ice cream cone. It tasted great.

“Yes, I’ll come. Absolutely.”

N
ow Bobby had two friends. And what a surprise! His friends were an elderly man and a girl. Even so, Mr. Davis and Candy made very good friends. It was easy to be around them. He had fun with them. They made him laugh. Sometimes, he even made them laugh.

Lucy and Butch had been going to obedience school for three weeks. Lucy came when she was called. She would sit. She would fetch a ball. Butch would not fetch a ball. He would not sit. He still answered to his name only when he felt like it.

One day in August, Bobby and Candy were sitting on Bobby’s porch. Butch and Lucy were sleeping at their feet.

“My mom’s getting kind of mad at Butch,” Candy said. “She doesn’t think he’s trying very hard.”

Bobby thought maybe Candy’s mother was right.

“I told her Butch is trying. Maybe he’s just dumb.”

Butch must have heard this. He opened his eyes and growled.

“Sorry, Butch,” Candy said. Butch closed his eyes and fell back asleep. “We’re going to miss two classes while we are away. Mom says I can use the time to practice stuff Butch hasn’t learned yet.”

“You’re going away?” Bobby asked. This was the first he had heard about Candy going somewhere.

“Oh, yes. We’re going to the lake for two weeks,” Candy told Bobby. “We’re going to stay in a cottage.”

Bobby had a funny feeling in his stomach. He wasn’t sure what the feeling was. Then it hit him. He was feeling funny because he was going to miss Candy. He had never missed a friend before.

The day Candy left, Bobby was lonely. He decided to take Lucy for a walk and visit Mr. Davis. But when they got to the yellow house, Mr. Davis was locking his door. He was carrying a small suitcase.

“Are you going somewhere?” Bobby asked.

“Yes, Bobby,” Mr. Davis said. “I’m going to stay with my daughter for a while.”

“Are you feeling all right?”

“Don’t worry. I’m fine,” Mr. Davis answered. “But my house is so hot. I have just the one small air conditioner in the bedroom. My daughter’s whole house is air conditioned. I’m going to stay there until it gets cooler.”

“Oh.” Bobby had that funny feeling in his stomach again.

Mr. Davis looked at Bobby. “I won’t be gone very long. As soon as we get a good, cool breeze, you look for me.”

“Have a good time,” Bobby said in a small voice.

Lucy yipped. It seemed like Lucy knew that Mr. Davis was leaving, too.

A car honked.

“There’s my daughter,” Mr. Davis said. He hurried down the stairs. “See you, Bobby. Bye, Lucy.”