Dog Beach Unleashed (8 page)

“All right, what do we have here?” Josh says in a jokey tone as he runs down the beach a minute later. Maybe I shouldn't have called him. Maybe he really doesn't know anything.

We explain the situation.

“Two things are happening here,” Josh informs us. “He has an upset stomach, and he's dehydrated.”

Duh. We know that.

“I'll be right back!” He starts running across the sand.

“Wait! Don't leave! What if something happens?” I yell, not meaning to. My heart is racing, and everything feels out of control right now.

“Two minutes,” Josh calls over his shoulder. “I'll be back in two minutes.”

We stand around Rascal and keep putting his water bowl in front of him. Micayla rubs his belly, and Calvin tells him that everything is going to be okay. Claire and Bennett take care of the other dogs.

“Oh, this is so terrible,” I say over and over again. “How did this happen?”

“It's going to be okay,” Calvin says. To me this time, and not to Rascal. “Really, it'll be okay. Humans get upset stomachs. Dogs do, too. That's all.”

At this moment, I want to give Calvin some kind of medal. He knows exactly what to say. He doesn't even seem frazzled or stressed.

He stays focused and strong. His face is serious but reassuring.

“Are you sure?” I ask him.

“Yes. Don't worry. And Josh wouldn't have left if he thought Rascal was really in danger. He'll be back, and everything will be fine.”

I look at Calvin. His shorts are frayed on the bottoms, and his polo shirt has a bleach stain under the collar. But all I see
is how cute he looks. I don't know why I never realized how amazing he is.

Josh hustles back to us. “Okay, I have some ice. This will help. And I also got a scoop of lemon sorbet from Josie Pulerwitz, the owner of Sundae Best. I don't know why, but it's been known to soothe even the most troubled of tummies.”

“Really?” I ask.

“It's true,” he says. “Josie gave it to me for the first time when I was six years old. She promises that it's the best stomach remedy out there. And I believe it. It's helped me more times than I can count.” He pauses. “Sorry, that may have been too much information.” He laughs.

Josh gives Rascal the ice slowly, one cube at a time. The Newfoundland is reluctant at first to take any. But then, little by little, he licks and consumes the cubes. I'm not sure if that's considered eating or drinking, but whatever it is, he is rehydrating, and I'm grateful for that!

“See? I told you everything would be okay,” Calvin says, putting his arm around me for a second and then pulling it away.

“You were right.”

He smiles.

“Thanks so much, Josh.”

“No problem.” Josh gives Rascal a tiny taste of lemon sorbet to see if he wants some. The big dog turns away, but then he slowly takes a few licks.

We all decide that we'll tell Andi and Paul about Rascal's
stomach problem when they come to pick up their dogs. For now, though, Rascal is happy and playing again.

And I feel closer to Calvin than ever before. I guess that's what happens when you go through a crisis together.

After the Rascal incident, things seem to calm
down a little bit. At least in the doggie day care department. We even have a new sign! Mr. Brookfield is friends with Carl McMann from the Seagate Signs Company. He's the one who makes all the beachy-looking signs that people put up in front of their houses. They have Adirondack chairs on them, or reclining lounges. The signs practically breathe sun, sand, and sea. They say things like
GONE SWIMMING
, or
LIFE IS BETTER AT THE BEACH
.

So, as a surprise, Mr. Brookfield asked Carl to make us a sign to hang at the entrance of Dog Beach. I'm not sure it's really allowed, but I don't think anyone is going to force us to take it down.

It says
SEAGATE ISLAND DOGGIE DAY CAMP
, so I guess that's our name now. I like it. And I love that we have a sign. We're official, and people take us seriously.

But things also change after the Rascal incident because Josh and I bonded over the crisis that day. His acting troupe stops by in the afternoons to hang with the dogs and practice some improv exercises. For example, one of the troupe members will start doing a random thing, like jumping, and then the others will join in and jump around, too, which leads them to doing other silly movements. They try to include the dogs whenever possible, which causes the actors to have to react or adapt their actions in some funny way. Sometimes the dogs are into it. Sometimes they're not. I guess that's what improv is all about. You never really know how it's going to turn out, but you have to roll with the punches.

But even though things seem calmer in the Doggie Day Camp department, so much still feels crazy.

Every morning, I wake up and run outside immediately to check the ocean and see how the weather is. I don't know why I do it, since it's impossible to predict the path of a hurricane very far in advance. But the sea makes me feel calmer. I know it's crazy, but when I'm out there, I talk to the ocean in my head.

I tell the ocean to stay calm; I tell any possible storms to stay away.

There was one time, years and years ago, when Grandma had to evacuate the island and come stay with us in Manhattan. She had no idea what was going on in Seagate because the whole island lost power, and everyone was gone. She stayed with us for two weeks and didn't even know if her
house would be there when she got back. It ultimately needed a new roof, and the whole first floor was destroyed. But it could have been worse. She said so herself.

Marilyn Monroe and I hustle toward Dog Beach, even though we have at least an hour before the other dogs arrive. Claire, Calvin, Micayla, Bennett, and even Mason are doing all the pickups today. They offered, and I didn't argue with them. And since Mason has been so busy with his Italian lessons, it will be nice to see him for a change.

I try to study everyone I see on the way to the beach. Are they worried about a storm, too? Do they seem stressed? But to me, everyone looks like their normal, happy Seagate Island selves.

“See, Mari? Everything's going to be fine,” I tell her as we're walking onto Dog Beach. “I don't understand why we worry about things we can't control. Things will be the same whether we worry or not.”

I know all this, and yet I still worry. It doesn't make sense.

Mari barks her happy
I agree
bark and plops down next to me on the sand. She stretches her paws out in front of her and closes her eyes. She's tired from listening to all of my rambles, I guess. Either that or she's been up at night worrying, like I have.

Soon everyone else arrives. Claire's eyes are red, as they usually are these days. I try to study Calvin, to see what he does when he sees me. Does he get nervous? Does he straighten out his shirt or anything?

But nope. Nothing. He just nudges his head in my direction, the way he says hi most of the time. Then he goes to play Frisbee with Ritzy, Oreo, Atticus, and Rascal. They're a crew this summer, and they can't be separated.

Ritzy looks so small compared to the others. Sometimes I can't even see her little brown and white Jack Russell body. It gets hidden by the bigger dogs.

“So, what's up, Rem?” Bennett asks. “Gonna bail on your swimming lesson again?”

I glare at him. “I only bailed once.”

“Whatever.” He puts his hands on his hips and does a fake-angry pose.

I know he's joking with me, but I can barely look at him. Why does he care about missing our swimming lessons when he didn't care that Calvin liked me?

The boys all go to handle the dogs for a moment, while the girls take a break and do some serious lounging. It's a new thing we started, giving one another a few minutes off.

“I don't know what to do about Mason,” Micayla says. “He's just kind of needy lately. Like, he asked me if I'd quiz him on Italian.”

“What?” Claire scoffs. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah.” She makes a face. “I mean, come on. No one wants to quiz anyone on anything in the summer.”

“Are you two even together?” Claire asks.

Claire always has a way of saying exactly what she's thinking. Sometimes it hurts people's feelings, but she does
it anyway. It seems to have gotten worse this summer, but I think it's because of everything she's dealing with at home.

“Never mind. Forget I even brought this up.” Micayla gets up from the sand. She walks away, to the dogs and the boys.

Claire raises her eyebrows at me. “What was that all about?”

“They
are
together,” I remind her. “You knew that.”

“I did not. They barely even hang out. And Mason rarely helps at Dog Beach anymore.” She huffs. “Can I have the day off? I'm really tired.”

“Whatever you need to do,” I say.

She looks at me, waiting for me to say more. Maybe I should be more supportive. But right now Lester is twisted up in some seaweed because he was trying to run away from Ritzy, and the rest of the dogs are barking because they're starving and waiting for their lunch.

I have no idea how to balance the dog responsibilities with my friend responsibilities. But I'll have to find a way.

It's gray out, but Josh and the Improvimaniacs
practice with the dogs on the beach. It's so funny that it takes my mind off the gloomy weather and my gloomy mood.

Right now they're pretending Oreo is a professor and the four actors are in a class with the rest of the dogs. It's cracking us up, because Oreo keeps falling asleep on the sand and Josh's friend Liat has to wake him up over and over again.

And then it starts pouring. Not raining. Pouring. Thick, clumpy raindrops that pelt the dogs' fur and make it hard for us to see.

“Guys, come on!” Josh yells to us.

“What?” I yell. It's hard to hear through the rain.

He yells back, “Follow me. Grab the dogs! Quick!”

So we gather up the dogs and all their stuff as fast as we can. Ritzy's such a slow walker that Calvin picks her up and
runs with her. We follow Josh and the Improvimaniacs until we're standing in front of the old Seagate Hotel.

“Come on in.”

Josh really wants us to bring the dogs in there? Dripping, wet-dog-smelling dogs? I can't believe it. But I'm too drenched to argue.

Once the dogs are inside, they run around the lobby and check out the place. They sniff every corner. They're as confused as we are.

“What's going on?” I ask. “We're allowed to be in here?”

“Yeah, my family owns this place,” Josh tells us. “It's empty this summer while my mom and her crazy sisters figure out what they want to do with it. It was my grandfather's place, and since he passed away, they haven't decided if they should sell it or not. Anyway, we're staying here this summer, running the improv and theater activities for the kids and looking after the place.”

“Really?” I ask. “Just you and your friends?”

He nods. “Yup. You seem shocked.”

I look around to
my
friends, but they're with the dogs. I
am
shocked. I can't imagine having an entire hotel to ourselves.

“So, you've spent a lot of summers on Seagate?” I ask him.

“I visited a bunch, but I never spent the whole summer. My mom and her sisters are so distraught about my grandfather dying that they didn't have the strength to come here or figure out what to do with the hotel. So I said I'd come and
sort things out, if I was allowed to bring the Improvimaniacs with me.”

“I see.”

“And it's been so rainy, we've been indoors way more than I like to be,” he tells me. “So it's good to have the extra space.”

“Right.”

“It was the first place I could think to take you guys when it started raining.” He cracks his neck. “Must be tough for you guys, too. What do you do with the dogs when it rains?”