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thanked her for helping, congratulating myself for not sounding sarcastic.
    I set the receiver down and wondered what to do. It had seemed like such a simple task.
    The phone rang. It was Nell. “Gracie, you’re going to have to go on your own to the florist shops.”
    “What?” I looked at the time. Why wasn’t Nell working? Usually you couldn’t drag her away from her computer when the market was open. “Why aren’t you working?”
    “Don’t worry. Your portfolio is sound.”
    “I don’t care about my portfolio.” I heard someone whimpering in the background. “Who is that? Is that Riley?”
    “No, it’s George.”
    “Who the heck is George?”
    George whimpered again, then I heard him panting. I frowned, trying not to picture the various lewd acts my sister was involved in that could reduce a man to that state.
    Nell sighed dramatically. “Last night I went to the grocery store to get some ice cream. The corner store doesn’t carry Ben & Jerry’s and I really love Coffee Heath Bar Crunch, you know—”
    “Nell. Get to the point.”
    “I got a puppy.”
    “At the grocery store?”
    “If you’d have listened to my story, you’d know the details, wouldn’t you?”
    “Just tell me, Nell.”
    “Outside the store, there was a woman with a sign that said ‘Free Puppies, Take One.’ I stopped out of curiosity. She said her dog had a litter of puppies and she couldn’t keep them and wanted to find them a good home. She’d given away all of them except for George.” She made some kissy-face noises. “Isn’t that right, Georgie?”
    I almost gagged. “So you took home a dog?”
    “I couldn’t help it, Gracie. He loved me on the spot. He looked at me with his big puppy eyes and nudged my hand with his nose and I knew.”
    “What did you know?”
    “That he was mine. I had to have him.”
    “Nell, you live in a condo. Where are you going to keep him?”
    “My condo’s roomy, and he’s not that big. George and I are going to be fine.”
    More whimpering on the other end. “Are you sure about that?” I asked.
    “He just needs to adjust.”
    “Okay.” I shook my head but let it drop. “So tell me why you can’t go to the florists.”
    “George and I have to bond. I can’t leave him alone here. He’s just a baby, after all.”
    “Bring him along.”
    “Well—” Nell laughed faintly. “He doesn’t really like riding in the car. He gets carsick.”
    I imagined him throwing up in Nell’s immaculate Lexus and grinned so hard my face almost cracked.
    “Please, Gracie. Do you mind checking out the florists on your own? You know what I like and I trust your judgment.”
    “Sure. No problem.” Flowers I could handle. I might even enjoy the chore.
    Nell sighed in relief. “You’re the best, Gracie.”
    “Listen. About the church—”
    “George! Stop that. Drop it.” I could hear some kind of struggle. “Gracie, I have to go. George is chewing on one of my favorite Manolos. Oh shit .”
    “What happened?”
    “No. Shit . Literally. He just went on my shoe. Talk to you later.” She hung up abruptly, leaving me staring at the receiver.
    I shrugged and set it back.
    I never knew Nell wanted a dog. Chloe, sure. Chloe’s Christmas lists had always started out with the same three things: dog, horse, and monkey. Chloe was the one who’d rescue lost or injured animals on the way home from school. At one point, we were on a first name basis with the folks at the animal shelter.
    Nell, on the other hand, had always been too busy with life to bother with pets. What was she going to do with a dog? She was fond of spur of the moment trips. I wondered if she realized the dog would restrict that kind of freedom.
    Whatever. Nell was her own woman.
    I grinned again at the dog barfing in her car.
    An hour later I got an email from her listing the florists she wanted me to check out. It was fairly short and I was familiar with most of them. By afternoon, I was excited to take on the task. It