It’s too late now. But I won’t let Miguel dump me out here. I’ll follow him back to the bodega whether he wants me to or not. After sleeping in that comfy bed, I’m never living outside again!
My ears hurt from the loud music pulsing out of the cars and making my body vibrate.
A lady holds out hats and scarves and yells, “Good prices! ¡Muy barato!”
The fragrance of spicy meat and gooey cheese floats out of a window with a line of people outside. “Two pepperoni slices!” someone calls from inside.
Miguel doesn’t stop. He weaves around the hat lady and the line of people. He runs and runs. Is somebody chasing us?
Finally, he slows down, laughing with the other boy. They don’t seem scared at all. Were they running just because they wanted to?
“See you later,” says the other boy. He pats my head and bumps fists with Miguel, then trots off.
Miguel opens a door, and now we’re in a warm place again.
My thumping heart calms down as I look around.
There’s a lady slobbering on a droopy-faced dog. A tasty-looking bird is talking to itself in a mirror. And a man with a caged cat is giving a little stiff card to a smiley girl behind a table.
The table is scattered with toys—crinkly papers, rolling pens, and machines with buttons to step on.
I try to climb out of the bag, but Miguel holds me back.
“It’s okay, Lolo,” he says. “The doctor will make sure you’re nice and healthy. We’ll go home soon.”
Home. I like the sound of that.
But when Miguel stands up, we don’t go home. He takes me to a smelly room that makes me sneeze, and hands me to a woman who plops me onto a hard table and squeezes me all over.
I am not putting up with this. “Let me go!” I shriek.
“Whoa, you’re a spunky one,” she says with a smile.
“Come on, Lolo,” Miguel says. “This is Dr. Gómez, and she’s going to help you.” He scratches me behind the ear.
Dr. Gómez opens a jar and a tasty smell fills the air. She pulls out a round treat.
“Let’s start over.” She puts the treat in front of me.
I swoop onto the goody and gobble it up.
“Someone’s hungry, huh?” Dr. Gómez pats my head while I chew.
I look at the treat jar, and she gets me another one.
But then she squeezes me again. And she opens my mouth and rubs my teeth. I’ll show her how sharp they are!
Dr. Gómez is fast. She pulls out her fingers just in time.
Then Miguel holds me down while she pokes little sticks into me. Why is Miguel helping her hurt me? I thought he was my friend!
“He’s a bit underweight, but otherwise healthy,” Dr. Gómez says to Miguel. “Keep him indoors for at least three weeks while he gets used to living with you.”
She looks me in the eye and smiles. “I hope we can be friends, Lolo.”
Humph. I turn my back on her.
CHAPTER 6 Miguel
“Woot woot!” I shout when Mami says we can keep Lolo forever now that the vet gave the okay.
That night I cut out each letter of Rosado from different colors of construction paper. My parents shake their heads as I glue the letters onto Lolo’s bed the next day, but they help me put the box on top of the refrigerator so Lolo can be extra warm.
Lolo darts out from the back room and leaps up to the top of the fridge.
“Lolo, you can fly!” I say.
“Like Superman!” Tío Diego claps and slaps his knee.
For the rest of winter break, Lolo comes out of his bed to eat, use the litter box, and smack around some mice. He follows me around the store and lets me—and only me—pet him. We’re best friends now, so I can’t figure out why he won’t come up to our apartment when we close at the end of the day.
I wonder what he does in the bodega all night. Doesn’t he get lonely? Isn’t it scary down there in the dark? I sure would be scared. But Lolo isn’t afraid of anything.
He probably fights off burglars, like a real superhero.
I can only imagine all the things Lolo saw and did while he was living outside. He’s surely bored stuck in here all day. I wish I could experience some of his adventures.
