in the crook of his arm and offered her the bottle. As she began to pull on the nipple, Alan sent a wary glance in Lucy’s direction.
“What the hell kind of plug-ugly-looking dog is that anyway?” he asked.
Since it seemed like a change of subject was in order, I told him the Rambo/Lucy story, about how the dog had been brought into the picture and trained precisely to help protect a woman and her two small children from a guy who loved to rule the roost with iron fists. On the day when push really had come to shove, and for his own protection, the jerk had made sure that the dog was locked in the bathroom before he’d launched what turned out to be his last-ever attack on his wife.
“My understanding is that Lucy almost tore the bathroom to pieces trying to get out so she could take him on.”
“But she didn’t hurt the kids?”
“Far from it. She protected them.”
“So if she started out being named Rambo,” Alan asked, “how did she turn into Lucy?”
“The asshole wife-beater was the one who gave her the Rambo handle. Later, when I met her trainer, I discovered that the dog’s original name was Lucy, and that’s what Mel and I call her—Lucy. The DV incident happened here in Bellingham, where my wife, Mel, happens to be chief of police. After the attack, she was able to place the woman and her kids in a shelter, but they couldn’t take the dog along with them. That’s how she ended up here with us. Originally we were supposed to foster the dog until her family got into some kind of permanent housing. About that time, though, the bad guy was cut loose from the slammer and came gunning for Mel. When he showed up, Lucy got in the middle of the fight and ended up being stabbed, thus saving Mel’s life. It cost a bundle in vet bills to patch her up, but it was worth every penny. And when her family ultimately decided against taking her back, there was no way I was willing to part with her.”
Athena had evidently drunk her fill. After putting the bottle away, Alan threw a cloth pad over his shoulder. He placed the baby on that and then patted her on the back until she burped.
“She’s probably ready for a diaper change,” he said. “Where should I do that?”
I directed him to the guest bedroom. While he took care of business, I made both of us another cup of coffee. I was back in my chair in the living room by the time they returned.
“I wrapped up the diaper in a plastic bag and left it in the bathroom trash,” he said. “I hope that’s okay.”
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I’ll take care of it.” Cleaning up after Lucy has made me a whole lot tougher in those messy regards than I ever used to be.
After being fed and changed, Athena seemed perfectly content to go back into her carrier. While Alan was carefully tending to that, I studied his appearance. I couldn’t imagine being his age and staying up night after night with the daunting task of tending to a newborn baby 24/7, especially a drug-addicted preemie infant. No wonder the poor guy had dark circles under his eyes. He was probably completely exhausted.
Alan didn’t notice the new cup of coffee until after he had resettled himself in the chair. “Thanks for the refill,” he said. “I appreciate it.”
I glanced at my watch and realized it was already half past noon and well into lunchtime. “What about some food?” I offered. “Have you had anything to eat?”
“Breakfast back at the hotel is all,” he answered.
In my experience those “breakfast included” breakfasts don’t amount to much.
“I’m not exactly a gourmet cook,” I told him, “but I’m capable of making a killer ham sandwich when called upon to do so. How about one of those?”
“Sure,” Alan agreed. “That would be great.”
I left him there and went to the kitchen. When I returned a few minutes later carrying two ham sandwiches on separate plates, I found him fast asleep in the chair. I didn’t wake him. Lucy, having abandoned all pretense of staying on the rug, had curled herself into a surprisingly small ball and positioned herself between Alan’s feet and the baby carrier. I let her be, too. She had yet to decide if Alan posed a threat to the little one, and she obviously wanted to place herself