Cocoa by Ellen Miles Page A

guffaw, and Charles laughed, too. Harry was such a cool guy. He was a baseball and basketball star at the high school. He drove a rusty old red convertible. He had the coolest dog, a big chocolate Lab named Zeke who always wore a red bandana. And he went out with Dee, a really nice girl who also happened to have a chocolate Lab. Murphy was Dee’s service dog, and he was so smart. Since Dee got around in a wheelchair, Murphy helped her in a million ways. He could pick up anything she dropped, for example, or help her put on her socks.
    Harry nodded at Dad. “Are you guys fostering a puppy these days?” he asked.
    Harry knew that the Peterson family fostered puppies, which meant that they took care of puppies who needed homes — just until they could find each one the perfect forever family. In fact, Charles had first met Harry when the Peterson family was fostering a very spoiled Yorkie named Princess.
    “Nope,” said Dad. “We’re a one-puppy household for the time being.”
    “Buddy doesn’t mind getting all the attention,” Charles added.
    “Hey, would you like to join us for dinner?” Dad asked Harry. “We just ordered enough food for an army.”
    Harry smiled. “I’d love to, but I can’t. I’m ordering a bunch of stuff to bring to a meeting over at city hall. I’m on the WinterFestcommittee and we’ve got a lot of work to do before next week.”
    WinterFest happened every year in Littleton, around the holidays. It took place on the playing fields at Charles and Lizzie’s school. There were snow sculptures, a relay race, all kinds of games, and hot cocoa and singing around a bonfire at the end of the afternoon. “That’s right!” Charles said. “WinterFest is next Saturday! I love WinterFest.”
    “So do I,” said Harry. “Which is a good thing, since Dee is head of the planning committee this year. She talked me into working on it, and we’ve been having a blast thinking up new games and activities.” Harry looked at Charles. “Hey, you want to be on my relay race team? Our name is Rudolph’s Revenge, and we need a third person.”
    Charles stared at Harry. “Me?”
    Harry shrugged. “Sure, why not? You’d be great.”
    “Well — okay!” Charles felt his face grow hot with the pleasure of being asked. He wasn’t really the racing type, but he couldn’t help saying yes. He would have agreed to just about anything if it meant hanging out with Harry, the coolest guy he knew.
    “Oops, guess it’s my turn to order,” said Harry, stepping up to the counter. “I’ll call you, okay, Charles?”
    “Okay!” Charles waved as he followed Dad to the door.
    Dad’s phone beeped as they were leaving the restaurant. He pulled it out and frowned down at it. “Seven text messages?” he asked. “Nobody ever texts me.” He read silently for a moment. “Hmmm,” he said. “Interesting.”
    “What do they say?” Charles asked.
    “They’re from Meg, at the firehouse,” Dad said. Meg Parker was a firefighter, just like Dad. “She wants us to get over there as fast as we can.”
    “Is it an emergency?” Charles asked, as they hustled down the street toward the firehouse. Clouds of white mist puffed from his mouth as he talked, and he banged his hands together to warm them up. It sure was cold!
    “Not exactly,” said Dad. “It’s about a puppy.”

“A puppy?” Charles felt his heart skip a beat. “What about a puppy?”
    “I’m trying to figure that out.” Dad stopped on the sidewalk, staring at the screen of his phone. “These messages are all jumbled. Meg seems to be trying to tell me that —”
    “Dad!” Charles tugged on his father’s sleeve.
    “Hold on, bucko,” Dad said, still toggling away at his phone. “Let me just —”
    “But Dad, look! Isn’t that Meg? With that dog?” Charles pointed up the street. A big, strong dog dragged a woman toward them, pulling her like a boat tows a water-skier. Charles noticed the dog’s beautiful brown coat and thought that