Dog Beach Unleashed by Lisa Greenwald Read Free Book Online Page A

change,” I tell her. “But I know what you mean. I always want to know how things are going to end up. Not knowing is the worst part.”
    â€œExactly,” she says, and this makes me feel good. Maybe I’m making some sense; maybe I actually understand how she’s feeling.
    I continue. “And I think you’re right about getting used to the new way of things. It’s like when Micayla and her sister and brother, Ivy and Zane, became year-rounders here. There was so much buildup and tension, and then, once it was settled, it turned out fine.”
    â€œRemy.” Claire gives me a cold stare. “These two things are not the same. At all. You can’t compare Micayla’s living year-round in a beach town to my parents’ getting divorced. Come on.”
    â€œNo, I—”
    Claire stands up and walks away, and I’m left feeling like the worst friend in the world.
    â€œClaire seems so sad today,” Micayla says a few minutes later, carrying over Tabby’s water bowl so she can fill it up. “Did anything new happen?”
    â€œNo, I don’t think so. Just the usual stuff,” I tell her. I don’t want to rehash my conversation with Claire and how I messed it up.
    â€œBy the way,” Micayla says, “I don’t want to freak you out, but I think Calvin likes you.”
    I gasp. “What?”
    At that exact moment, all the dogs seem to go crazy. Marilyn Monroe starts running in circles. Potato Salad and Oreo swim way too far out, and Bennett has to rescue them. Tabby, Rascal, and Atticus all start growling as if they’re in a giant fight. And Ritzy seems to have tummy troubles.
    And then there’s Lester, huddled under a lounge chair, the way he’s been for the past half hour. Maybe Ritzy is freaking him out. He seems to shy away from her.
    â€œWe have to focus on the dogs,” I tell her. “But I need more details. Obviously.”
    â€œRight. Let’s talk later.”
    The whole time I’m wrangling the dogs and trying to solve all their problems, I’m thinking about what Micayla just told me. Could it possibly be true?
    It feels like the most terrible yet exciting news.
    I don’t know what to do with this information. I came here this summer thinking everything would be perfect: I liked Bennett, the doggie day care business was going to be easy-breezy, I was going to be a great help to Claire, and we were all going to have the best summer ever.
    But now Claire thinks I don’t understand her, Calvin might like me, and the weather is totally unpredictable, with a storm possibly on the summer horizon.
    And a college improv troupe wants to recruit our dogs?
    Nothing makes sense anymore.
    It feels like the summer I was eight, and, without realizing what I was doing, I swam out too far. The ocean started to get choppy, and the waves got bigger and bigger, crashing over my head. And one of the lifeguards had to dive in to help me.
    That’s how I feel right now. I swam out too far. I need to be rescued.

“Did you ever know anyone whose parents got divorced?” I ask my dad over dinner. My mom is at book club tonight, and Dad and I decided to walk to Frederick’s Fish and eat on their roof deck.
    I’d never tell Mom this, but I love the nights she has book club. Sometimes it’s nice to have Dad all to myself. Mom has a tendency to ask too many questions when I turn to her for advice. Dad sits quietly and listens. He only chimes in with a question when absolutely necessary.
    â€œYes, a few people, actually.” He takes a bite of his fish sandwich and looks at me with wide eyes, as if I should continue.
    â€œWell, how did you help them?” I ask, and then decide to rephrase my question. “I guess what I’m asking is, did you ever have a friend whose parents were going through a divorce, and you didn’t know how to help her?”
    Dad wipes his mouth with a napkin.