She pressed her fingers to her eyelids and was trying to organize her thoughts when she heard her cell phone ring. Pulling it from her pocket, she recognized Serena’s number and wondered why she was calling. Hadn’t she said something about going on a date?
She answered and instantly heard the panic in Serena’s voice, the words spilling out in rapid Spanish.
“Come home now!” Serena sobbed before Maria could say a single word.
Maria felt her chest constrict. “What’s wrong? Is Dad okay? What happened?”
“It’s Mom and Dad! Because of Copo! She’s dead!”
CHAPTER 17
Colin
C
olin worried that Maria was too shaky to get behind the wheel, so he drove her car to her parents’ house, trying to read her mood as she stared out the rain-splattered window. Between her sobs, Serena hadn’t been able to tell Maria much – no one really knew anything other than that Copo was dead. As soon as they pulled into the driveway, Maria rushed into the house, Colin trailing behind. Her parents sat holding each other on the sofa, haggard and red-eyed. Serena stood near the kitchen, wiping at her tears.
Felix stood from the couch as soon as Maria entered, and they both began weeping. Soon the whole family was standing with their arms around each other, crying while Colin stood quietly in the doorway.
When their tears abated, they all collapsed on the couch, Maria continuing to hold her father’s hand. They were speaking in Spanish, so he couldn’t follow much of the story, but he heard more than enough to let him know that the dog’s death had made no sense at all.
Later, he sat with Maria on the back porch and she caught him up on what she’d learned, which wasn’t much. Her parents and Serena had gone to their relatives’ after brunch, and while normally they’d bring the dog, there were going to be a lot of kids there, and they’d been worried that Copo might get overwhelmed, or worse, accidentally hurt. Serena had returned to the house an hour later because she’d left her cell phone charging on the kitchen counter. When Serena saw Copo lying near the back slider – which had been left open – she assumed the dog was sleeping. But when the dog hadn’t moved by the time she was about to leave, Serena called out to her. Copo didn’t respond, so Serena went to check on her, only to realize that the dog had died. She called her parents, who drove straight home, and then Maria.
“Copo was fine before they left. She’d eaten and wasn’t acting sick. There was nothing for her to have choked on, and my dad didn’t find anything in her throat. There wasn’t any blood or vomit…” She drew a shaky breath. “It’s like she died for no reason, and my dad… I’ve never seen him cry before. He brought her everywhere; they hardly ever left her alone. You can’t understand how much he loved that little dog.”
“I can only imagine,” he said.
“Maybe,” she said. “But still… you have to understand that in the village my parents came from, dogs work or herd or spend time with you in the field, but they aren’t regarded as pets. My father never understood the American love affair with dogs. Both Serena and I begged for a dog when we were younger, but he was adamantly opposed. And then, when Serena and I left home, there was suddenly a gigantic void in his life… At some point someone suggested they get a dog, and this time, it was like a light suddenly went on for him. Copo was like his child, but more obedient and devoted.” She shook her head, quiet for a moment. “She’s not even four years old. I mean… can a dog just… die? Have you ever heard of that happening before?”
“No.”
She’d expected the answer, but it didn’t help, and her thoughts circled back to the reason she’d needed to talk to him. “Colin… About what we were talking about earlier…”
“You were right. About everything.”
She sighed. “I care about you, Colin. I love you and want nothing more than to be with you, but…”