Lucy on the Ball (4 page)

“What’s going on?” Bobby asked.

“A woman from the adoption agency is coming over in a few minutes. She wants to see our home.”

“Did you know she was coming?” Bobby asked.

Mrs. Quinn shook her head. “The agency called about an hour ago. The visit is supposed to be a surprise. That way they can see how we really live.”

“This looks better than how we really live,” Bobby noted.

His mother finally smiled. “Well, just a little better, maybe. Now I’m going upstairs to comb my hair and put on some lipstick. If the agency worker arrives, let her in and talk to her until I come down.”

Bobby sat on the couch. He waited nervously for the doorbell to ring. What was he supposed to say to this woman?

Just then, something caught his eye. Lucy was creeping out of the front closet. She must have been hiding in there from the vacuum cleaner. She hated that noise.

“Lucy, come here, girl,” Bobby called.

Lucy slunk over to Bobby. She looked around. He could almost hear her thinking,
Is that awful noise gone for good?

“It’s okay,” Bobby said, patting her. Then the doorbell rang. Not once. Several times.

The chimes of the bell set Lucy off. She began to bark.
BARK!

“Lucy, quiet!” Bobby yelled.

That stopped Lucy for about two seconds. Then the bell rang again. The barking started again.

Bobby ran to the door. Lucy ran behind him, still barking.

He flung the door open. A lady with dark hair, wearing a blue raincoat and blue gloves, stood in the doorway.

Lucy jumped on her.

“Down, Lucy!” Bobby pulled her away from the visitor. “Hello,” he said.

“Hello.” The lady said her name, but Bobby didn’t catch it. Lucy’s barking was too loud.

“May I come in?” the woman said. “I think your mother is expecting me.”

“Lucy, settle down!” Now Lucy added her prancy dance to her barking. “Yes, she is,” Bobby said, opening the door wider.

Mrs. Quinn was hurrying down the stairs. “Oh, hello,” she greeted the woman. “I see you met my son, Bobby. And our dog, Lucy.”

Lucy was finally quiet. She looked over the visitor with a curious expression.

“Uh, yes.” The woman frowned. “We’ve met.”

Mrs. Quinn said, “Let me take your coat. Then I’ll show you around. Bobby, why don’t
you stay down here.” His mother gave him a look. “With Lucy.”

Bobby knew what that look meant. He was supposed to keep Lucy quiet.

“Come on, Lucy.” Bobby led her into the den. His mother kept paper and colored pencils for him there. Maybe he could do a few sketches of Planet Man.

For a while Lucy sat near Bobby as he drew. Finally Lucy got bored and wandered off. Bobby didn’t notice.

He was still hard at work when his mother and the adoption agency woman came downstairs. Since he hadn’t heard her name, Bobby thought of her as the Baby Lady.

The Baby Lady and Mrs. Quinn walked into the den.

“What are you drawing?” the Baby Lady asked.

Bobby didn’t really like people looking at his artwork until he was finished. He pulled the paper closer to him. “A picture to help save the environment.”

“My, that’s an ambitious project,” the Baby Lady said.

“Yes, it is,” Bobby answered politely.

“I take it you like to draw?” the Baby Lady asked.

“Yes,” Bobby agreed.

“He’s a very good artist,” Mrs. Quinn said.

“What else do you like to do in your free time, Bobby?” the Baby Lady asked.

Before Bobby could answer, Lucy trotted into the room. She had something in her mouth.

“What have you got there, Lucy?” Mrs. Quinn asked.

Mrs. Quinn tried to pull the thing from her mouth.

Lucy pulled it right back. She thought it was a game!

“Come on, Lucy,” Mrs. Quinn demanded.

Lucy dropped a chewed-up ball of blue leather on the floor. Mrs. Quinn picked it up and examined it. “I think it’s a glove.”

The Baby Lady took it from her. “I think it’s my glove.”

All eyes turned to Lucy.

“Lucy!” Mrs. Quinn said sharply.

Lucy wasn’t just cute. She was smart. She knew she had done something wrong.

“Oh, I’m so, so sorry,” Mrs. Quinn said to the Baby Lady.

“I’m sorry, too,” Bobby whispered.

Lucy hung her head. She seemed sorry as well.

“We will replace your gloves, of course,” Mrs. Quinn added.

The Baby Lady shook her head. “It’s all right. They didn’t cost much. Dogs will be dogs, I guess.”

The Baby Lady didn’t seem to be mad. But she didn’t seem pleased, either.

Mrs. Quinn walked the Baby Lady to the front door and said goodbye. Then she came back to the den. She sat down in a chair. She put her hand to her head.

“Do you have a headache, Mom?” Bobby asked.

“I’ve got one now.” Mrs. Quinn turned to Lucy. “How could you, Lucy?”

Lucy tried to look busy rolling around on the floor.

“Does this mean we won’t get a baby?” Bobby asked anxiously.

He still wasn’t sure how he felt about a new baby coming, but he didn’t want his parents to miss out on one just because of Lucy.

“I don’t think a chewed glove ruins our
chances,” Mrs. Quinn said. “But it sure was embarrassing.”

Bobby nodded. Even he had been embarrassed.

“Lucy can’t be acting up like this when the new baby comes,” Mrs. Quinn said. “She has to settle down. She needs to go back to obedience school.”

Bobby thought about all the things that came with babies. Diapers, booties, blankets, stuffed animals. Lots of things for Lucy to chew. Plus, babies liked to sleep. Lucy liked to bark.

His parents were ready for a new baby. Maybe he was, too. But Lucy wasn’t.

Practice

M
rs. Quinn called the park district about obedience class just a few minutes after the Baby Lady left.

Lucy had taken a group class at the park district over the summer. The teacher’s name was Wendy.

When Mrs. Quinn got off the phone, she said, “Lucy is registered for a private obedience class. It will be right after your soccer
practice. But Wendy isn’t working at the park district anymore. Lucy will have a new teacher. Mr. Morris.”

That got Bobby’s attention. “You mean Coach Morris?”

Mrs. Quinn said, “Yes, I suppose so.”

“But how can Coach Morris also be Mr. Morris the dog trainer?” Bobby asked.

“Well,” Mrs. Quinn replied, “he works for the park district. Maybe he does several different jobs for them.”

Bobby looked at Lucy. He felt sorry for her. Coach Morris was very strict on the soccer field. He would probably be just as strict when it came to teaching a dog how to behave.

Sure enough, the next practice was no picnic. There was the usual drill. Kicking practice. Passing practice. Trying-to-steal-the-ball practice.

When it was over, the coach blew his whistle. “Gather round, everybody. I want to talk to you.”

Talking! That sounded great to Bobby. Much better than running.

The team sat in a circle on the grass in front of Coach Morris.

“Tomorrow is our first game,” Coach Morris began. He looked down at a card he held in his hand. “It’s against the Plainfield Rockets.”

“I have a cousin on that team,” Candy said brightly. “He said they’re really good.”

The coach frowned at her for interrupting. “Now, we’ve done a lot of practicing on the basics, but that’s different from playing a real game. A real game is tough.”

Bobby felt a knot in the pit of his stomach. He was sure that was true.

The coach continued. “Tomorrow, I am going to pick seven of you to start the game. One of you will be the goalkeeper.”

Bobby hoped it wouldn’t be him. The goalie tried to prevent the other team from scoring points. He could try to keep the ball out of the goal with his feet. He could use his hands as well. Bobby didn’t like the idea of the ball coming right at him. And if the ball got past him, well, that was bad. One point for the other team. If the Plainfield Rockets got more points, they would win.

No, Bobby didn’t want to be the goalkeeper. Absolutely not.

Coach Morris talked more about the next day’s game. Bobby’s attention wandered. He was thinking about Planet Man. His art teacher said the best pictures would be hung on the school wall. He hoped his was good enough.

“So, does everyone understand?” the coach asked.

Bobby looked around. His teammates were nodding. Bobby wondered what he had missed.

“So I will see you here for our game at twelve sharp,” Coach Morris said.

The Beagles got up to leave. Bobby saw his mother coming toward him. Lucy was on her leash, pulling her forward. It was time for obedience class. Poor Lucy. She didn’t know what she was in for.

Bobby leaned down to give frisky Lucy a pat. “Hi,” he said.

Coach Morris walked over to them. He greeted Mrs. Quinn. “So, I understand I’m going to be working with your dog.”

“This is Lucy,” Mrs. Quinn said.

Coach Morris replied, “Yes, I remember Lucy.”

Bobby couldn’t tell how he felt about
that. “Can I go sit on the bench?” he asked his mother. All that running around had tired him out.

But before she could answer, Coach Morris said, “Oh, no, Bobby. You are going to be a part of this training. A big part.”

Bobby had worked with Lucy during her last obedience classes, but he’d thought maybe he would get a pass today.

“Lucy is your dog, isn’t she?” the coach asked Bobby.

Bobby nodded.

“Then you have to know how to control her,” Coach Morris said.

Bobby thought,
I don’t want to control Lucy. I just want to have fun with her
.

Coach Morris must have read his mind because he said, “Dogs like to have fun, but they like to know someone is in charge, too.”
He turned to Mrs. Quinn. “What are Lucy’s biggest problems?”

“She barks,” Mrs. Quinn said with a sigh. “She chews things. She jumps on visitors.”

Lucy looked as if she would like to jump on the coach right now.

Coach Morris said, “Let me explain something to you. Dogs are pack animals. That means they like to have a leader. Out in the wild, a pack of dogs always had a leader. Our dogs want the humans in their lives to be their pack leaders. Otherwise, they will make up their own rules.”