Girl's Best Friend

Chapter Eight: Dognapping

On the way home, Diana gives me a look. I know what it means. She's gonna start talking about putting Jake in a show. I pretend I don't see it. Diana starts talking anyway.
"Hannah, Jane Moore said that Andrew Harris said that Kristine Angelico is going to kidnap Jake."
Woah. I was not expecting that.
"You're joking." I say.
Diana shakes her head. "Jane never lies."
"Why would Kristine kidnap him?" I ask.
Diana shrugs. "Ask Kristine."
"That'd be a nice conversation. 'Kristine, is it true that you want to kidnap my dog?'"
Diana laughs. She's done with the conversation. But I'm not.
That night, I worry about Jake. I stay awake listening for the sound of a car pulling up. I hear nothing and finally fall asleep.
The next morning, I fill a bowl with food and another with water. But when I make my way into the garage, Jake is gone! The garage door is open and there are tire tracks leading away from the garage.
"Jake!" I shout. "Jake! Come here boy!" Tears fill my eyes. "Jake!"
Mom comes out the door. "Hannah, what's all the racket about?"
"J-Jake is g-g-gone!" I stutter, and find myself in tears.
"But you didn't mind him disappearing when he was living in the barn!" Mom says.
"This is different!" I say. "Somebody kidnapped him! Kristine Angelico kidnapped him! I know it!"
"Hannah, why would Kristine kidnap Jake?" Mom asks.
"Because- oh, I don't know, maybe because Diana said that Jane said that Andrew said that Kristine was going to kidnap him!"
"Oh, honey." Mom says. "Last night, Jake got into the house and ate some food- we didn't know what he ate, so Dad took him to the vet this morning, just in case."
"Oh." I say. "Is he okay?"
"I don't- oh, look, here he comes!"
Dad's dirty white pickup truck rattles into the driveway. I feel so relieved.
Jake is fine, so I feed him, and then we drive to church.
When we get there, we have to wait for a while because Dad can't find his bible. When he finds it, we start going inside- but Jake trots into the parking lot! He has followed us the whole two miles to church!
Mom rubs her temples.

We tie Jake to a tree using a rope on the back of Dad's truck. During the whole church service, he howls and barks. Mom looks mortified. People whisper: "Is that a dog?"
We leave early so that we can take Jake home. Mom doesn't want anyone to know that it was our dog that was howling during church. It doesn't seem like a very smart idea because we sit in one of the front seats, so everyone saw us leave, and most of them will probably notice that the barking stopped once we left.
Jake doesn't have any room in the pickup, so he sits on my lap. He sheds all over me, so when we get home, it looks like I am wearing a white skirt instead of a black one.
Mom sighs when she sees me. She makes me go to my room to change clothes.