“Wally, wait.”
Meena braced as the puppy came barreling toward her, shifting her weight to both feet. She squatted as the dog threw himself into her. Excited and happy. She gave him rubs, scratches, and coos. “Hi, Wally. Hi.”
She glanced up as Sam stood over them. “Why is it that he’s always trying to escape?”
“Because I’m the one that tells him no, makes him get off the couch, stops him from chewing on things that aren’t his toys.”
“Aww.” Meena scratched him. “But he’s such a good boy.”
“For other people,” Sam said. “It’s a con.”
“I don’t believe that for a second.” She stood as Wally became distracted by a squirrel in a tree and began to yip at it.
“You’re not going to be able to catch the squirrel, Wallster.” Sam bent down and clipped the leash onto Wally’s harness.
“Why was he loose?” Meena asked.
“Because he saw you and ran out of the yard,” Sam muttered.
“Ah.”
She warmed at the idea that the puppy had wanted to see her. She’d always wanted a dog when she was young, had even asked Santa for one. But her lifestyle could never allow her to have a dog. She didn’t even have consistent people in her life. Just Zoe, whom she saw twice a year. She knew people, of course. She had a professional network, past mentors, local contacts. She socialized with them when she saw them, but they didn’t really know her.
“Were you coming or going?”
“Meandering,” Meena said. “It’s a beautiful day.”
“We were doing some training on the word stay.” Sam jiggled the leash. “Weren’t we, Wally?”
“I don’t think it took.”
Sam shook his head. “Want to join us for a little walk around the block? He can’t go for long, but I’m hoping he’ll fall asleep after this so I can get work done.”
“What are you working on?”
“A television show right now,” Sam said. “It’s fun, and the showrunner and directors have given me the freedom to be creative. I’m working on a multidimensional monster that’s the entry point for different galaxies. Wally, come.”
Meena laughed as the dog completely ignored Sam.
“Wally,” Meena said.
The dog looked up and trotted over to her.
“It’s because you’re the new, shiny person,” Sam pointed out. “But I have treats.”
They walked a bit and turned the corner, heading away from Newbury toward Beacon Street. Beyond it was Storrow Drive and then the Charles River. It was quiet in the mostly residential area. Thursday afternoon meant the professionals who lived here were working.
“Did Wally get as excited when he saw Neha?” Meena asked.
Sam tugged the leash and walked a little bit. “No. They never met. Wally wasn’t even born when she died. He’s only ten weeks, and I got him two weeks ago. That’s why he loves and ignores me interchangeably.”
“Oh,” Meena said. “I don’t know much about dogs.”
“This one is a baby,” Sam explained. “But he’ll grow to be about seventy pounds.”
“I hope he understands your commands by then.”
“We’re signing up for puppy school once he’s fully vaccinated.”
They walked to the end of the block and turned right, toward Marlborough Street. The Public Garden was to their left.
“Wally was a gift from Neha.” Sam smiled. “She left me a dog in her will. Ever since I was a little kid, I wanted a dog, but my parents would tell me it wasn’t allowed. Sabina’s family are the original caretakers, and she’s the current one. She’s not a fan of chaos or mess, so the homeowners’ agreements have a lot of clauses.”
“And you’re all OK with it?”
“For the most part.”
“Even Neha?” From the notes, Meena got the sense that Neha had had strong opinions and wouldn’t have been so easily led.
“She was a challenge to Sabina auntie, most of the time indirectly. Like the pet policy. Neha left a puppy for me in her will. Made it so Sabina couldn’t say no. I know she’s not a fan of me having a dog, but she hasn’t outright told me he wasn’t welcome. So we let a few things ride.”
Meena was starting to understand him. “You don’t pick battles; you just outlast them.”
He gave her a small grin. Dimples indented his cheeks. Then he tripped over the leash. Meena held in her laugh and helped him untangle himself.
“What was Neha like?” Meena asked.
“Extraordinary in an unexpected way,” Sam disclosed. “She was so smart that sometimes her brain needed release, so she’d have these spurts of unpredictability. Once, when I was in college, she came to my dorm at MIT and asked me to drive her to Vermont. She had a very specific craving for Ben & Jerry’s and wanted to go to their factory. I told her there’s a Ben & Jerry’s shop right down Newbury, but she didn’t want that. We drove three hours in the middle of February for ice cream.”
Sam grinned, and Meena squelched the spark of attraction. It surprised her. For Meena, attraction meant a one-night stand, and it wasn’t a good idea to get involved with someone she would run into over and over again.
“Neha seemed like a good person,” she said.
“She had her moments.” Sam glanced away. “She was also petty. Case in point: Wally. Neha wanted me to have a dog because she had a soft spot for me, and she wanted to stick it to Sabina one more time.”
“The two of you were good friends.”
“In a way. She’d grown up with my mom. My parents lived in my place before me. They’re now in Germany with my brother and his family. I came back from LA to live here. I grew up with her as Neha auntie, but in the last few years, we were friends. She liked people who did things for her that she didn’t want to do herself.”
“Did she live alone?” Meena wondered if Sam knew Neha’s husband or why he had left.
“She didn’t have use for a lot of people,” Sam said. “Not even me, unless it was on her terms. She had her limits as to how much time she spent away from her work and her books.”
“She has a massive collection.”