I tied the bag shut again to take it outside, to see if the smell in my kitchen would improve further.
When I reached for the doorknob, I found a generous (and fresh) bunch of rue hanging from the latch, tied with a piece of red gift ribbon. I stepped back involuntarily, and somehow my mind managed to connect those tender, fragrant stems with why the house no longer smelled so strongly of dog.
I let out a long sigh and went outside with the trash bag.
I must have spent about fifteen minutes on that errand, and when I came back in, Alexander was standing in the doorway to the living room with another, smaller black bag in his hand, and Andre behind him, adjusting the sleeves of the sweater I had gotten him. At least the father had a clean-looking bandage over the wound on his side, and h
