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focused on that. Henry couldn’t decide which was a worse sound: the chewing-sucking one or the Nopie-running-his-mouth one.
    “See,” said Nopie, his tongue thick with peanut butter—
great
, Henry was going to be serenaded by
both
sounds, “the four neighbors who saw Tiger are all on the same side of the road.” He pointed to his drawing. “One, two, three, four…all of them heading up to Mansfield.” Nopie paused. “Maybe he’s looking for Wayne.”
    Jake’s bouncing leg got faster.
    “Animals get sad when their owners leave them,” said Nopie. He leaned way down and put his arms around Brae’s neck. Henry’s whole body stiffened. Brae licked the peanut butter off the corners of Nopie’s mouth.
    Annie filled a jar with water and put a handful of flowers in it. “There was an interview on the radio this morning with a man who had to leave his dog behind when he escaped the hurricane. And he was sure that the dog had died.” Annie plucked a flower out of the jar and held it up to her nose. “But he was wrong. The dog escaped from the house, swam through the flooded streets, and found him.”
    Jake’s leg doubled its speed. The table wiggled as his knee hit it from underneath.
    “Animal navigation,” said Nopie. “Like homing pigeons. Scientists don’t know how they can find their way back home.”
    “That’s what they said about this dog,” said Annie. “They don’t know how he got out of the house or how he smelled the man with the water washing over everything, but he found him.”
    “Animals have an extrasensory perception,” said Nopie. “I bet Tiger feels something strong about Wayne, and he’s looking for him.”
    “Ah!” Jake pulled his hand away from his coffee mug. “Shoot! I burned myself!” He rubbed his knuckles with his other hand.
    “I wonder if Tiger knows that Wayne died,” said Nopie. “I bet he doesn’t—”
    Jake stood up suddenly and almost knocked over the table. Nopie’s pencil fell to the floor.
    “I’m going to New Orleans,” he said.
    “Perro,”
said Annie.
    “Pardon me?” said Jake.
    “Isn’t that the Spanish word for
dog
?” said Annie.
    “Yes,” said Henry. “We learned the names of animals in Spanish class.
Perro
. Dog.
Gato
. Cat.
Pájaro
. Bird.”
    “I’ve been thinking—I want to learn Spanish.”
    “Did you hear me?” said Jake. “I’m going to New Orleans—” Jake stumbled around his words. “Early Saturday morning,” he said with clarity. “Before the sun comes up.”
    “There’s more French in New Orleans, isn’t there?” said Annie. “Not as much Spanish?”
    “Annie?” Jake asked her name like a question.
    “I understand,” she sighed. “You’re going to New Orleans.”
    “They still need folks to drive truckloads of food and clothes. I’ll only be down there for a few days. I need to go.” Jake walked to the kitchen door but then turned around. “I’ll be sad to miss that apple pie, Nopie.”
    Nopie looked up from his drawing. “I’ll freeze you a piece,” he said solemnly.
    Jeez, what a stupid thing to say
.
    “I’ll be back to eat it,” said Jake. He turned and walked out.
    —
    For a long time, Henry and Nopie and Annie sat at the table and stared at the flowers in the jar. Henry watched their petals brighten and dim as clouds passed over the sun again and again, then looked outside the window at Jake fiddling under the hood of his rig. The big, shiny green eighteen-wheeler brightened and dimmed too, and the heat inside Henry slowly burned down, until all that was left were flickering embers—on and off, on and off—barely lighting the darkness inside his body.

chapter 15

ZAVION
    Water was filling up his mouth again.
    And his nose.
    And his ears.
    Rain clattered from every direction.
    His arms windmilled, frantic.
    He opened his eyes.
    He had been trying to swim up for air, but air was all around him.
    Zavion willed his heart to slow down by counting his breaths in and counting his breaths