The Perfect Gift

Chapter 10

Mary and Samuel entered the storage room silently, before Mary decided to speak up.

"Thanks for saying what you did out there. It really meant a lot. My Pa sometimes doesn't see my talents. He's not always around. I know he cares, he's just busy with work a lot."

"Yeah. I get that."

Mary had a sudden thought, realizing that she forgot to ask about Rex when she was talking to Samuel earlier in the kitchen.

"Rex. Where is he now?" Mary asked.

The boy froze and Mary watched his eyes grow large, in a panicked kind of way.

"Oh no. REX! I forgot. I hope he's okay."

"Where is he?"

"Last thing I remember, I told him to stay where he was when I went to steal your apple," Samuel informed her.

"Where did you leave him?"

"Just down the street. Near the bakery I think."

"Well, we better go get him. He's probably starving by now."

"Yes. But how are we going to get there? Won't your Pa be upset with me even more if you run off to save my dog?" Samuel said, with a sincere look on his face.

"Maybe, but he doesn't have to know, does he?"

"I mean, are you sure?"

"Positive. You helped me, so it's only fair if I help you. Don't you think so?" Mary asked him.

"Okay. So what's the plan?" he asked.

"Well the bakery is just down the street and we can slip out this back door and quickly get Rex and bring him back here."

"But what if we can't find him? What happens when your Pa finds out there's a dog in the mercantile?"

"I'm not sure," she told him. Mary was sure though. She knew her father was bound to be angry. "We'll figure it out when the time comes," she said instead.

"Okay. Let's go."

So Mary and Samuel secretly left the storage room and started down the street to the bakery. As they grew closer, they started to hear sounds of a dog barking.

"That's Rex, alright," Samuel told Mary.

"Good. Let's ask Ned the baker if he knows where Rex is. He must, with all this barking going on."

"Okay. You lead the way," said the boy.

Mary went up the steps of the bakery with Samuel following closely behind her. She knocked on the door because it was too late for the bakery to be open. After all it was nearly supper time and she couldn't just walk in. She waited for a minute or two and was about to turn away, when she heard footsteps from the inside of the door. She turned around to face the door, just as it was opening and Ned stood in the frame. Ned wasn't the only one that came, but also a dog came right out of the door and jumped up on Samuel.

"Boy, he sure does like you!" Ned exclaimed."Sorry about that."

"REX!"

"Why what a lovely name. I think I just might name him that. Thanks kid."

"YOU name HIM?" Samuel said, starting to get angry.

"Woah. Slow down there. There's no reason to be upset. After all, I saved this dog - Rex's - life."

"No you didn't. He was perfectly taken care of."

Rex seemed to be in the middle of the two of them, looking both ways, as if deciding which side to fight with.

"Well I found him, covered with dirt, abandoned on the side of the street. That sure doesn't sound like a dog who was being taken care of! No one was there, but him," Ned went on.

"He's MINE! I left him there!"

"Prove it," Ned said.

Mary would have never guessed that Ned would be so protective over a dog. Then Samuel called out to Rex.

"Come on over here Rex. Come on boy." Samuel said in a quiet, but demanding voice.

Rex stood there, still looking at Ned, then Samuel, and then back at Ned. Finally after many calls of his name from Samuel, Rex trotted over to him. Samuel knelt down and scratched behind his ear.

"Well then. I guess Rex here made his choice," Ned began. "Maybe he is yours after all. I guess you can take him now."

"Have you fed him and given him something to drink yet?" Samuel asked.

"Of course. I gave him some of the little bacon I have left, what with this great depression and all. I also gave him some water this afternoon. I also gave him a bath."

"Thanks. Rex is really important to me."

"I see that now. Is that all that you needed from me, Mary?" asked Ned.

"Yes." Mary replied. "Samuel said that he left Rex somewhere around here, so we just came to see if you knew where Rex was, and sure enough, Rex was here! Thanks a lot Ned, but we better get going. Pa will be mad if we're not back in time for supper. You know how he is. See you soon, Ned."

Both Mary and Samuel turned around and started walking back to the Mercantile with Rex following Samuel.

"Man, that guy is mean!" Samuel exclaimed, once they were far from the bakery.

Mary, with a puzzled look on her face questioned, "Ned? No, he's not once you get to know him. I mean, I never thought he would care so much for animals, but that's a good thing, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," Samuel agreed.

Mary hadn't really taken the time to meet Rex yet, so she decided to now. She stopped walking just a minute away from the mercantile, and knelt down to get to Rex's eye level. Then she called his name, just as Samuel had done earlier.

"Here Rex!"

The dog froze for a moment, but then trotted over to Mary and sat down beside her. Mary smiled and snuggled up with him.

"Good thing the baker gave him a bath, or else you sure wouldn't want to get close to him," Samuel said chuckling. "I guess he likes you! Now we just got to get your Pa to like Rex too. I have a feeling that's going to be a hard task."

"Maybe," was all that Mary could say. She was very nervous of how her father would react. "Let's go and find out. We can't avoid him forever."