Page 42 of Road Refugees

Wolf finally chuckled. It was amazing how lightly he was taking the sight of this giant goon brimming with fury. “In a way, we did. You said here Heaven has sexy knees, and Echo woke up because it sounded like ‘Alexa please.’”

Town guffawed, slapping Slappy on the chest with the back of his hand. “Knees, seriously? I mean, I agree with you, but—”

Slappy protested. “You hardly ever see her knees! She’s got on jeans, or some long-ass skirt from a Quaker reservation—”

Wolf butted in. “So after it heard ‘Alexa please’ she must’ve said out loud ‘to whom?’ We didn’t hear it because your volume was down. We must’ve said something that sounded like your dad’s name or whatever. She said ‘Dad, right?’ And something else we said was interpreted as ‘right.’”

Tanner suggested, “Like something Heaven has is tight.”

“Oh, get out of town!” yelled Slappy. “What’re the odds of something like this happening?”

Wolf shrugged. “It happened.”

Crybaby suggested, “So now your dad knows she has sexy knees and a tight something.”

Wolf was reading the mass text. “Tight tush.”

It was my turn to yell. “My backside? Slappy, this went to your dad, your mom, your sister or whatever—”

“Pretty much everyone.” Slappy looked sullen, like a Charlie Brown character moping.

Wolf added, “He also talked about how his egg allergy made his elbows swell.”

Slappy moaned, “For once, the stupid thing spells something right.”

Unity came out from the mudroom. She was a stunning gal with a full suit of ink up to her neck, piercings decorating her lobes and nose. I dashed to her side to hear what she thought of Mickey Finn. She led me back as she spoke.

“I think she’ll be fine. Her limbs never fully developed due to living in a fucking cage, but I’ve seen such animals walk on their own. Like Tanner said, I didn’t feel any broken bones.”

“How is she right now? Is she dying to get outdoors and into freedom?”

“You’d think so, but it’s usually the opposite with mill dogs. Come see. She’s awake but you can tell the fear in her eyes. I helped her to the litter box, and she did pee, but look.”

Mickey was back on her bed of blankets, and when she saw us in the doorway, I swore if she had more energy she would’ve shot up to the ceiling. She trembled visibly, and we sat a few feet away on the wooden floor. I wished I could’ve petted her, but I didn’t dare.

Unity said, “These mill dogs will take time. You wonder if she had enough room to lie down over there. Was the bottom of her cage made of wire? Her teeth are broken like she tried to chew her way out of a cage or a chain. These skin infections might mean another dog was stacked on top of her, shitting on her. Hydrotherapy might help, you know, getting her weightless in a bathtub. It’ll be a big day when you can bring her up onto your bed. If you and Town sleep on the second floor, you should move your bedroom down here.”

It took me a few seconds to realize she was talking about Town and me as a couple. Again I blushed. “Oh, we don’t sleep together. We’ve barely kissed.”

It was Unity’s turn to look abashed. “Oh. Sorry to have presumed. I figured since he saved you . . . “

“He’s definitely a hero. He may have all those medals, but to me his most courageous act was barging into that empty storefront in Flag and getting me the hell out of there.”

“Definitely.” Unity nodded with vigor.

“He has a huge capacity to understand human suffering. He doesn’t just dismiss my sorrow with platitudes. It’s so easy to fall prey to the burden of evil—”

“Oh, don’t I know it.”

“—and tumble into hopelessness and despair. He’s come so far in this world. I only hope I can be as strong as him.”

“Ladies?”

We both gasped with shock, giving Mickey a fright. My hand automatically went to her head to comfort her, but she scooted back from me.

Town lowered his voice. “Oh God, sorry. I just wanted to let you know we’re heading out to bury those other dogs. Crybaby’s going out to rustle up some shroom business, so the four of us will be out there for awhile, maybe ‘til sunset. We’ll leave the dogs out back in the yard, so they don’t bug Mickey here. We don’t want them seeing the mill dogs.”

We both nodded. What else could we do?