The Rengling

02

"How was work, pumpkin?"

Colette drops into the passenger seat of her dad's Volkswagen, wincing when the door slams behind her. She glances at the shelter before looking at her dad, who is waiting for her reply with a patient smile. The smile is enough to make her feel safe, and she's almost tempted to tell him everything about Gigi and her deal with a creature that may or may not actually exist. But all she does is force her lips upward and says, "It was good."

He nods, puts the car into gear, and pulls out onto the street. She watches from the corner of her eye as he taps his hands against the steering wheel to the beat of an old rock song playing on the radio. She's heard the song a bunch of times, as this is the only radio station her dad plays, and they seem to be obsessed with this and three other songs, but she can never place the title.

"So how's Bodhi?" her dad asks. "Still there?"

Her smile is more genuine now. He's always loved Bodhi, despite his aversion to having pets in the house. "Good," she replies. "Yeah, he's still there. He wouldn't have to be if you guys just let me take him home, you know."

He chuckles. "As true as that is, the answer is still no."

Colette sighs. "Why? You guys know I'll take care of him."

"Yes, but we don't have the money to feed and take care of him," he replies. "Sorry, kiddo, but Bodhi will have to be adopted by someone else."

His answer is not at all surprising, given that it is basically the same one he's been giving her since she started asking to adopt Bodhi two years ago. However, she can't help but wish that her parents would look past the money and let her keep the dog. She doesn't want Bodhi to go to another family. She wants him to be a part of hers.

She doesn't say any of this, though, just smiles, nods, and says, "Yeah, yeah, I get it."

For the rest of the ride home, she and her dad chit chat, not talking about anything too personal. It's enough to distract her from what happened in the shelter, and by the time they get home, her stomach has almost completely unclenched. She forces herself to concentrate on the more mundane things, like homework and what's for dinner. There's no need to worry about the pink-haired girl and her stories of fictional creatures. She'll never see her again.

"Okay, so I'll get started on dinner," her dad says as he shuts the front door behind him. They walk to the kitchen, and he drops his briefcase haphazardly onto the table before spinning around to face her with wriggling eyebrows. "Care to make it interesting?"

Colette crosses her arms over her chest, her own eyebrows raising. "How?" she asks.

"If I finish dinner before you finish your math homework, you have to do the dishes," he says. "And if you finish first, I have to do the dishes."

She grins. "All right," she says. "It's on."

"Ah, ah, ah!" he calls when she starts to head for the stairs. "I want your butt at the kitchen chair, young lady. I want to be able to see that you're actually trying to figure out the problems instead of just jotting the first number that comes to mind so that you'll be done before me."

Colette gasps and snaps her fingers. "You foiled my entire plan."

"You are your mother's daughter," he replies.

"That I am," she says, despite the fact that she doesn't consider herself to be anything like her mom. Her mom is outgoing, gregarious, and sure of herself and her actions. Colette is none of those things.