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PAIGE
The next few days were uneventful, if you didn’t count me falling into a funk. Tanya got a brand-new laptop, courtesy of my father. She and Lance paraded around school holding hands while I tried to look the other way. Jealousy and sadness burned bright on my cheeks. The struggle was real. I missed having a boyfriend.
I was looking forward to Thanksgiving break, which was less than a week away. I’d have a break from seeing them all lovey-dovey, and a chance to be with my grandma, whom I knew would be a source of comfort. More than ever, I wished for Tanya to go back on her broomstick to wherever the hell she came from. The thought of spending another six months with her was unbearable. Neither Will nor I had made much progress uncovering her true identity. Or figuring out the connection between her and Billie Rae Perkins. We’d been working on the Case of Tanya Blackstone aka Operation Tanya for almost three months. So much for Sherlock and Watson.
Because my mom couldn’t cook on account of her bum finger, we ordered in almost every night that week. One night Italian. Another Thai. Yet another sushi. Every order included something vegan for me. My mom was civil to my father, but she seemed altered. The spark gone. Something unspoken. Conversation was at a minimum, Tanya taking center stage. I was always happy to be done with dinner and go upstairs to my room. Will felt the same way. Neither of us knew what was going on with our parents, but whatever it was it couldn’t be good.
On Sunday, the night before the start of our weeklong Thanksgiving break, we went to a chic fusion restaurant my father liked minus Tanya.
“It’s a shame Tanya couldn’t join us on account of her term paper,” said my mom, picking at her stir-fry with her chopsticks. “She would have loved this restaurant.”
I swallowed back a mouthful of my spicy vegan noodles. “Is that what she told you?”
She turned my way. It was time for headline news.
“Actually, she’s out with Lance. He cheated on me with her and that’s why I broke up with him. Now they’re together.”
While my father responded with indifference, Lance’s infidelity struck a nerve with my mother. Her face darkened.
“I knew something was going on with the two of them. That’s unacceptable. I’m going to have a talk with Tanya once and for all.”
“Don’t bother, Mom. I’m over it.”
While I was past shedding tears, she gave me a hug. “My darling, you should never be with a man who cheats on you.” She gave my father, who was sitting across from her, a wry smile. “Don’t you agree, Matt?”
My dad paled. “Let’s just get the check and split. I need to finish packing for our trip.”
When we got home, something felt amiss. Usually, we could hear Bear barking in the backyard or in Will’s room. The house was eerily quiet.
“Bear!” Will called out. “We’re home!”
Not a yelp. Not a whimper. Not a sound. I was feeling something bad in my bones.
“Maybe he’s asleep in my room,” said Will, anxiousness creeping into his voice.
I followed him upstairs, both of us taking two steps at a time. I felt a flicker of relief upon seeing his bedroom door closed. Will shoved it open and we both gasped. Bear was gone!
“Will, he’s got to be here!” Frantically, breathlessly, I ran after him as he raced up and down the hallway, opening every door along the way and shouting Bear’s name. When we got to Tanya’s room, her door was ajar. My throat constricting, I had a terrible premonition.
“Will, wait here. Let me go in first.”
My heart in my stomach, I hesitantly stepped inside. The room, as usual, was a pigsty. Her bed unmade. Her dresser littered with underwear. Clothes strewn everywhere.
And there he was. Bear. On the floor. Sprawled out. Motionless. Eyes closed. His tongue lolling out of his mouth. A pool of vomit surrounded him. On the verge of tears, I clasped my hand to my mouth and breathed out, “Oh my God!”
“Bear! Bear!” came Will’s hysterical voice from behind me. He sprinted over to his lifeless dog and flung himself on top of him. Sobbing. “Bear, Bear! Wake up! It’s me, Will!”
Our dog didn’t budge. My heart began to crack into a million pieces. Grief like I’d never known consumed me. The tears kept coming. Wiping them away, I noticed a trail of gum wrappers. Familiar silver foil ones. Trident. The kind Tanya chewed incessantly and kept in the drawer of her night table. My breath hitched. The drawer was wide open. There were several empty, chewed-up blue gum packages by the table. It was all coming together. While we were out for dinner, she must have let Bear out of Will’s room and lured him into her room, the drawer deliberately left open. Our dog would eat anything. Even gum. We all knew Trident contained xylitol, a sugar substitute that was poisonous for dogs. Often lethal. Hence, we kept all xylitol products out of the house. Even the Whole Foods peanut butter we loved.
While Will continued to bawl, sprawled on top of Bear, I screamed out for my parents at the top of my lungs. I couldn’t leave Will alone, not for a second.
“My God!” shrieked my mom, my dad right behind her, as she stepped into Tanya’s room and saw my blubbering brother with Bear. “What’s happened?”
“Bear’s been poisoned,” I choked out, my eyes still flooding. “I think he’s dead!”
My father raced up to Will and Bear. As gently as he could, he extricated Will from our dormant dog, my brother clinging to him and resisting. “No, Dad, no!” he sobbed. “Leave me alone!”
The pain on her face almost tangible, my mother rushed over to Will and took him in her arms. He wept against her chest while my father crouched down and put a hand on Bear’s back. His head spun around.
