Just Grace and the Double Surprise (9 page)

WHAT DAD SAID WHEN WE GOT BACK UPSTAIRS

Dad was waiting for us when we came back from our visit. "How did it go?" he asked. "Did Mr. Scruffers make a good impression?" I thought about it for a second and then said, "I guess okay. Augustine Dupre said she thought Mr. Scruffers was cute." "Well, good," said Dad. "I'm sure she just has to get used to us having a dog. I think she might be more of a cat person anyway. How about we get Mr. Scruffers set up for the night?" I didn't say anything, but I was pretty surprised about Dad knowing that Augustine Dupre liked cats. I wonder if he knew Crinkles visited her in her apartment.

WHAT IS NOT GOING TO WORK

Dad had done a lot of research about getting a new dog. He had a lot of dog facts. Mr. Scruffers had different feelings about Dad's facts.

DAD'S FACTS VS. MR. SCRUFFERS'S FEELINGS

• Dogs like to feel safe.

• A dog crate is like a cozy, safe cave.

• It's a good idea to keep a new dog in a crate at night.

WHAT IS ONLY GOING TO WORK WHILE DAD IS IN THE ROOM

Dad pulled Mr. Scruffers's new pillow out of the crate and put it on the floor. "Dogs stay on the floor," he said, and he picked her up off my bed and put her on the pillow. "Good dog," said Dad. He put his hands on his waist, looked around, and then walked out of the room. If he were a superhero he would have said, "My job here is done!"

WHAT HAPPENED AS SOON AS DAD WALKED AWAY

Just like I was hoping, as soon as Dad left the room, Mr. Scruffers jumped right back on the bed. "Good dog," I said. It was exactly what I wanted—my new best friend to sleep right next to me.

WHAT I WAS SORRY ABOUT

It was too bad that Mimi wasn't home to do the bedtime light flashing. It would have been nice for us to share my first night with Mr. Scruffers together. It was dumb to flash my lights if she wasn't even at her window to see them. I hoped she was having fun with her new sister, and just when I thought that, I suddenly thought of something else: Sister has the same number of letters in it as new dog. Our flashes would spell out the new special things in our lives! It was another thing that was perfect.

WHAT WAS NICE

Right before I went to sleep I looked up on my shelf and saw Chip-Up. It looked like he was looking down on us. "Thank you, Chip-Up." I whispered the words out loud, not because he could hear them, but more because I really, really meant them—it was kind of like a thank-you to the world.

WHAT I DID NOT EXPECT

Usually on Saturdays I get to sleep in. I don't get up until eight-thirty or sometimes even nine o'clock. I'm not a morning person. What I did not know about Mr. Scruffers is that she is a morning dog.

At six a.m. she started jumping on and off the bed.

I pulled the covers over my head.

At ten minutes after six she started whimpering.

I stuck my head under the pillow.

At six-fifteen she started barking.

I had to get up.

WHAT I WAS NOT

Happy.

WHAT I AM GLAD ABOUT

It's a good thing that we have a fenced yard, because it would not be exciting to stand around outside in your pajamas waiting for Mr. Scruffers to go to the bathroom. It takes her a long time to find the exact right spot. It was much better to be watching her through the window from inside the house.

WHAT IS TRUE

A cute dog wagging her tail at you can start to make you more of a morning person. When Mr. Scruffers came back inside we looked around for something to eat. I looked in the cupboards and she looked on the floor. I wasn't sure what she was supposed to have for breakfast. Dad hadn't told me that part yet. I got myself some cereal and milk. Sometimes on the weekends Mom makes pancakes or French toast, but I knew for sure that she was not going to be making either of these at six-thirty in the morning.

WHAT IS REALLY FUN

I was kind of glad that Mom and Dad were still sleeping or I would have never invented the cereal game. Turns out that Mr. Scruffers loves cereal. But, even more than just eating it she loves chasing it. At first I tried throwing pieces to her so she could catch them in her mouth, but she was terrible at catching. She didn't even know what to do.

I'm not the best thrower, so the times I missed her head she got all excited about chasing the cereal on the floor. That's how the game started. Mom and Dad would have definitely not been excited about me throwing cereal all over the house. But they were asleep and Mr. Scruffers was excellent at it, so they would never know.

WHAT IS AMAZING

You can get a ton of stuff done if you get up at six in the morning. By the time Mom and Dad came into the kitchen at eight-thirty, I had done a whole list of things already.

1. Played the secret cereal game with Mr. Scruffers.
   
2. Made a list of new dog names for Mr. Scruffers.
   
3. Played pull-the-sock with Mr. Scruffers until the sock was too slimy to touch anymore.
   
4. Made a nice Welcome sign for Mimi's front door.
   
5. Practiced walking Mr. Scruffers on the leash in the backyard.