Dog Whisperer Read Online Free Page B

black?” Emily asked.
    Her parents shook their heads.
    It could be either, since she was reasonably light-skinned. Now that she was thinking about it, it was kind of weird that she didn’t really wonder very much about her birth father. It was always the idea of her birth mother that loomed in her mind. But, the truth was that half of her came from someone who was obviously a complete stranger, even to her parents.
    Emily slouched back against the couch cushions, rubbing her hands across her eyes for a few seconds. It wasn’t that she felt like crying, exactly, but she felt—jumbled inside. And really, really confused. “When you send her photos and all, does she ask a bunch of questions?” she asked.
    â€œShe usually just thanks me, and doesn’t say anything more than that,” her mother said. “But, she was impressed by your sketch for the Faculty Contest.”
    Which had been of the lighthouse down on the point, on a windy day, with rocks and waves and seagulls everywhere. She had won second prize—and still, privately, thought that the first-prize winner, a splotchy oddly-colored mass of flowers and leaves, hadn’t been nearly as good.
    â€œYou got robbed,” her father said. “Those flowers were very mediocre.”
    Emily grinned in spite of herself, but decided not to admit that she agreed one hundred percent.
    Two hundred percent.
    â€œThe fix was in that day, Little Emily,” her father went on.
    Emily wouldn’t have thought that it was possible to break the tension in the room—but, that actually worked pretty well.
    â€œYou set a very poor example, Theo,” her mother said, but she was smiling, too, now.
    â€œShenanigans!” her father said emphatically. “I tell you, there were shenanigans in that judging room!”
    He probably really believed that, but Emily assumed that he was trying to change the subject, too. Whenever an umpire’s call went against the Red Sox, her father was prone to shouting “I sense shenanigans!” at the television set. Once, when they had been at Fenway Park, he had yelled that at the field, but everyone sitting near them had stared at him. It had been funny, but also embarrassing.
    â€œDo you have more questions?” her mother said.
    Of course she did. But, they probably weren’t questions that had any answers. “Yeah,” Emily said. “But—I don’t know. Maybe not any more today. I’m really tired.”
    Her parents nodded, both of them looking visibly relieved to hear that.
    It was quiet again.
    â€œI’m really sorry about all of this,” her mother said. “Nothing that has been happening today is remotely the way I expected us to spend your birthday.”
    Yeah, it had been kind of a downer, all the way around, from start to finish. “I think I want to go to bed, but can we maybe eat the rest of the melted cake first?” Emily said.
    Her father nodded enthusiastically. “We sure can!” he said.

 
    4
    So, they all went into the kitchen and ate the rest of the cake—which was delicious. They didn’t talk about anything serious, either, which was nice. When they finished, her mother took Zachary out to the yard for a few minutes, while Emily carried Josephine upstairs to the guest room. Her father set up one of the battery-powered lanterns on the bedside table, but it still felt dark and shadowy in the room.
    â€œAre you going to be okay?” he asked.
    Emily nodded. “Yeah. But, I’ll be glad when we get the power back.”
    â€œMaybe tomorrow, if we’re lucky,” he said.
    She sure hoped so.
    When she was ready for bed, her parents hugged her good night and tucked her in—and wished her happy birthday one last time.
    â€œYou’re sure you’re going to be able to sleep?” her mother asked. “Or do you want to talk some more?”
    Emily wasn’t sure about either of those