Noodle by Ellen Miles Read Free Book Online

her jacket pocket, Lizzie crossed her fingers. Was this it? The moment of truth when they would find Noodle’s owners?
    But Dad shook his head. “No answer.” He was still holding the phone to his ear. Then he held up a finger. “Hold on, there’s a machine!” He waited for a second, then said, “Hello, my name is Paul Peterson from Littleton, near Loon Lake. Have you lost a puppy? We’ve found him, and he’s safe and sound. Call us!” Quickly, he rattled off his phone number and hung up.
    “Now what?” Lizzie asked.
    Dad just shrugged. “I guess we just have to wait to see if we hear back,” he said.

CHAPTER TEN
    “Anything?” Lizzie asked as soon as she got home from school the next day. “Did anybody call?”
    “Not yet,” said her mother.
    Lizzie could hardly stand it. She had thought they were so close to finding Noodle’s owners, but why hadn’t anybody called back? Lizzie sat at the kitchen table, fiddling nervously with the purple collar. Finally, she couldn’t stand sitting still for one more minute. She had to
do
something. “Buddy!” she called. “Noodle!” Both puppies came galloping into the kitchen. “Look at you two,” Lizzie said. “Your paws are all muddy from being at the lake yesterday. How about a bath?”
    “Now
that
sounds like a good idea,” said hermother. “Maybe Charles can help. Just be careful and —”
    “Keep the door closed!” Lizzie laughed. She knew Mom was remembering the last time Lizzie had given two puppies a bath. They had managed to escape and run through the house, splattering soapy water everywhere.
    Charles ran the water while Lizzie gathered towels and puppy shampoo. Then she rounded up Buddy and Noodle and brought them into the steamy bathroom. She and Charles had just lifted Noodle into the tub and then Buddy, when there was a knock at the door.
    “Bath time?” the Bean asked, when Lizzie opened the door a crack. “Bath time for puppies?”
    Lizzie’s eyes widened. Why not? There was more than one way to wash a Fur!
    “Yes!” she said. “That’s right! Bath time for puppies!” And a few minutes later, the Bean joined Buddy and Noodle in the tub — with hisFur on! The two puppies and the little boy wriggled in the suds while Lizzie rubbed puppy shampoo into the Bean’s Fur and started to scrub. Good-bye, oatmeal! Good-bye, grape juice! Good-bye, milk and toothpaste and dog food!
    Puppy bath time was noisy and wet and took quite a long time. Finally, while Charles and Lizzie were rubbing the puppies and the Bean with towels, Mom called from downstairs. “Lizzie! Charles! Can you come right down? We have company!”
    Noodle, still a little damp, led the way downstairs. Lizzie saw a round, dark-haired woman waiting in the front hall. There was a girl next to her, about Lizzie’s age, with the same dark hair.
    “Lizzie, this is Mrs. Rispoli,” Mom said. “She just drove all the way up from Boston. And this is her daughter, Sophia.”
    Lizzie’s heart thumped. Instantly, she knew exactly who these Rispoli people must be. Theywere Noodle’s owners. The people who didn’t care about him. The people who had totally abandoned him.
    But Mrs. Rispoli was rushing toward Noodle. “Oh, there he is!” She scooped him up before he even got to the bottom of the stairs. “You darling!” She kissed him over and over on the top of his head. Sophia squeezed in so she could kiss Noodle, too. “I don’t believe it!” cried Mrs. Rispoli. “This is so amazing! I hope it’s okay that we drove straight here. I tried to call, but I kept getting voice mail. So we just drove up to Littleton and asked where the Petersons live — and here we are!” She kissed Noodle all over and hugged him tight.
    Lizzie could see tears rolling down Mrs. Rispoli’s face. There was no question about it: This woman was glad to see her puppy. Lizzie suddenly realized that Dad must have left his
cell phone
number when he left that message. And Dad’s cell phone was