“You’re such a help to everyone and I didn’t know who else to turn to. There was George, my neighbor, but their house is gone now and he and his family are living with his sister.”
They went inside a warm living room with lights turned on.
“You get comfortable and let us look for Dobbin. Just stay in where it’s warm. May I take the bag of treats with me?”
“Of course. Here it is.” Mildred wiped her eyes. “It’s cold for him to be out.” Gray hair framed her long face. She hung her coat in the hall closet and stepped back into the living room.
“I’m going to walk around the block and see if I can find him. Aaron is looking now. We’ll be back in a little while.”
Mildred nodded and followed Stella to the door.
“This is nice of you, Stella. Dobbin is such company for me. I don’t want to lose him.”
“Don’t worry.” She left, closing the door and hurrying down the porch steps. “Dobbin. Here, Dobbin,” she called, rattling the treat sack and feeling silly, thinking Dobbin could be out of Royal by now. She prayed he was close and would come home. No one in Royal needed another loss at a time like this.
“Dobbin?” she called, and whistled, walking past Mildred’s and the lot next door where a damaged house stood dark and empty. The roof was half-gone and a large elm had fallen on the front porch. Away from the lights the area was grim and cold. She made a mental note to check tomorrow about Mildred’s block because she thought this section of town had already had the fallen trees cleared away.
“Dobbin,” she called again, her voice sounding eerie in the silent darkness.
A car came around the corner, headlights bright as it drove toward her. The car slowed when it pulled alongside her and she recognized Aaron’s rental car. He held up a terrier. Thrilled, she ran toward the car. “You have Dobbin?”
“Dobbin is my buddy now. He’s waiting for another treat.”
“Hi, Dobbin,” she said, petting the dog. “Aaron, you’re a miracle man. I’ll meet you on Mildred’s porch.”
“Get in and ride up the drive with me. I’ll hold Dobbin so he doesn’t escape.”
She laughed, thinking it was becoming more and more difficult to try to keep a wall up between them. All afternoon and this evening he had done things to make her appreciate and like him more.
She climbed into the warm car. “I’ll hold Dobbin,” she said. When Aaron released the terrier, he jumped into her lap. Aaron drove up the drive and parked.
“Come in and meet Mildred because she’ll want to thank you.”
“Here, you might as well give Mildred the bag of treats. I’ll carry Dobbin until we get to the door,” Aaron said, taking the dog from her.
On the porch Aaron rang the bell. In seconds the door opened and Mildred smiled. “You found him. Thank you, thank you.” She took the dog from Aaron and the bags of treats from Stella. “Please come in. I’m going to put him in my room and I’ll be right back. Please have a seat.”
When she came back, Stella introduced everyone. “Mildred, this is Aaron Nichols. Aaron, meet Mildred Payne.”
“Nice to meet you, ma’am. Dobbin was in the next block, sitting on a porch of a darkened, vacant home as if waiting for a ride home. I had a bag of treats, so he came right to me.”