Anything Goes

loomed just ahead. It was surprisingly close to Grace and Favor.
    “Is it the Winslows’ house?“ Lily asked.
    “It must be. Isn’t that Sissy in the lawn chair by the big windows?”
    It was Sissy, sitting on a wooden chaise lounge, half-turned away from them and doing something . in her lap. From her arm motions, it looked like she might be sewing something. “Duck back a bit, Robert. We don’t want her to see us.”
    There was a sudden rustling noise from behind them. Lily whirled and caught sight of the dog. It was a big dog, mainly collie in heritage, she guessed. But it was very thin and very shy and its thick coat was matted and dirty. She crouched down, and tossed a little piece of bacon the dog’s direction.
    The dog approached gingerly and snapped up the food, then moved closer. She gave it another piece. “Who do you belong to?“ Lily asked the dog, who didn’t answer, but got close enough to be petted.
    She gave the dog the last piece of bacon, showing it the butcher paper to prove there was no more. The dog tried to eat the paper as well. Lily stroked it and exclaimed, “Robert, this dog is starving. It’s all bones.”
    Lily—“ he warned. “Don’t get any ideas about adopting a stray dog.“
    “Why not? It’s a nice dog and needs a home.”
    “Dogs have to be walked and boarded and all sorts of nuisance things.”
    Lily sat down in the path as the dog nudged against her for more petting. She laughed. “Robert, we’re country folk now. Dogs walk themselves. And where do you think we’d be going to need to board the dog?“
    “Oh. Right. I keep forgetting we’re trapped here. Ha! Would that I could!“
    “You’re not really hating this, are you?“ Lily said. The dog had rolled onto its back and Lily was rubbing its neck, which was full of burrs.
    “I’ll never admit that,“ Robert said. “Let’s see where the path goes from Grace and Favor in the other direction.”
    Lily got up to follow and the dog obediently fell into place on her left. “What shall I call him?”
    “Who?“
    “The dog, of course.“
    “Him? Oh, Lily! You’ll never be a real country girl. It’s not a him.“
    “Oh... Well, her then. Rover? Fido?“
    “Too cliché,“ Robert said. “Too manly. Wait until she earns a name. I wish I’d left a trail of crumbs like Hansel would have. This path is harder to follow going this way.“
    “I wonder if Doggie saw who came to the house last night?“
    “If you name this creature Doggie, I’ll go back to waiting tables in New York. Just see if I don’t.”
    They were suddenly back to Grace and Favor, which appeared as unexpectedly as the Winslows’ house had. They took the other fork and soon found themselves looking at yet another house. One they didn’t recognize. A path had branched off this one, but Robert was getting tired of traipsing around in the woods and Lily was anxious to take the dog home and feed it some more and brush the burrs out of its fur.
    “We’ll do that path another day,“ she said. “And Mimi says there’s yet another that goes pretty much straight to town.“
    “So does the Duesie—well, not straight to town, but you get to sit down while you get there. I’m going down to the garage to give her another coat of polish.”
    Mr. Prinney had gone to town to post his letters, so Lily couldn’t question him more. Instead, she gave the dog a half dozen leftover biscuits, ate one herself and went upstairs, the dog following her and sniffing all the furniture along the way. She climbed to the third floor and tapped on Mimi’s door. “Mimi? Are you awake? I need help.”
    Mimi opened the door, looked at the dog and said, “Oh, poor old boy. You’re a mess!“
    “Do you know this dog?“
    “No, but I’ve seen it in the woods a couple times when I was beating on them rugs. Wouldn’t come to me.“
    “You didn’t give her bacon. Could you help me give her a bath? Do we have a big tub somewhere?“
    “Only that one in Mr. Robert’s room. And a washtub in the basement, but it’s dark and nasty down there.“
    “Robert won’t mind if we use his tub.”
    Lily knew this was a terrible lie.
    The two women got wetter than the dog. Lily eventually discarded her shoes and got in the tub with it, whereupon the dog wagged its tail, slapping her in the face with soapsuds.
    Mimi laughed and the dog wagged harder while Lily tried to dodge the tail. Bathing the dog had done both Mimi and the dog a lot of good. “What a mess