"Who is it?" Aunt Grace sounds distant.

"Me, Hallie," I yell in the crease of the door, relieved she is okay.

The hallway echoes the clinking of the locks as Aunt Grace unlocks all eight that she claims she needs to keep her safe. If this isn't a sure sign she needs to move, I don't know what is.

"Hallie." She opens the door with her arms stretched out before her.

I'm stunned. I don't know if she realizes her teeth are out, and her wig is perched atop her head ratted like a bird's nest. I can tell by her slow walk that she isn't her spry self.

"You want something to eat?" She stirs the pot on the hot plate. "Tomato soup."

I sit down and look at the hot plate. I'm pretty sure tomato soup is red, not brown.

"I'm full, thanks." I turn my head in the direction of a whining sound coming from behind her bedroom door.

"You need to eat." Aunt Grace scans up and down my body.

"No, Aunt Grace. You look like you need to eat."

"I do eat." She looks in the direction of her bedroom. "Just lost all my muscle, that's all."

She's not going to discuss it with me and maybe she's right, but I'm sad to see her getting older by the day.

"Who's in there, Uncle Jimmy?" I amuse myself at the thought of her having him locked away or tied up for bad behavior.

"Crazy fool, don't know where he is." She opens the door and a little pink poodle runs out, straight towards my Prada sandals. "Got me a dog to keep me company."

I throw my feet up in the air, just in case the little booger wants to either pee or try to chew my toes.

He jumps up, trying to bite my feet. Aunt Grace cries out in amusement. "Get down, little buddy."

It looks like the same dog the whistling lady had, except this one is white.

"Aunt Grace, where'd you get the dog?" I ask.

He's sweet. No sign of peeing or chewing once I put my feet back down.

"Found him on the street." She's avoiding eye contact. She picks up the dog and heads towards the door. "Now don't get any funny notions about it. Just put it out of your head."

I follow her up the stairs to the building's roof. She let the dog down and to run around and do his business. I probably would've taken in the view of the city, but I'm concerned. Why didn't she take the dog outside?

"Let's take him for a walk," I protest.

I have enough time to do the poor animal justice before I leave.

"No, he doesn't like it. Besides, I don't let my tenants have dogs so I can't let them see me with a dog." She grabs him, and hurries back to her apartment.

I step over a few cockroaches and pick up the iodine bottle sitting next to the hot plate.

"Put it back. Thought it was dog shampoo." Aunt Grace put the dog, fighting her tooth and nail, back in the bedroom.

"Aunt Grace, tell me the truth." The little fellow is scratching and whining, which tears my heart out.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Did you take that woman's dog and dye its fur?"

The little poodle continues to claw and nip at the door.

"You saw her drag that poor baby down the road. Now I don't want to hear another word." Her eyes flash, and she talks to me like I'm five years old. "You hear me?"

I let it drop for now.

"Where is Jimmy?" At least he has brains. He's my only hope for getting the dog to freedom.

"I told you I don't know." She stirs the soup. "Probably off drunk somewhere."

There's no sense in arguing with her. I know I won't win.

"I'll call you when I get back." I unlock all the locks, taking me a good five minutes. "I know you don't want to hear me. It's not fair to treat a dog that way. Remember, you say I'm psychic like my mom."

She scuttles around the apartment gathering a few things in one of those plastic grocery bags. Flings it over her shoulder, opens the bedroom door and picks up the dog.

"He's all yours." She hands me the dog, the bag and pats me on the back. "Have a good time this weekend. Call me next week."

She pushes me out the door so fast I can't object, my brains isn't keeping up with hers, which is unusual. I don't want her to give me the dog. I want her to give the dog back to its rightful owner. I've never owned a dog and don't know what to do with a dog.

Reluctantly, I take him with me because I know he'll be safe at my house.

I put him in the passenger seat of my car, but he jumps into my lap. He leaps back over the console. No matter how fast I move my head back and forth, his licker is faster than me.

I'll find the owner and give him back. Only the search is going to have to wait until I get back from the spa. By then, Uncle Jimmy will hopefully be back and know where she lives.

"Okay..." I have no idea what to call a male dog dyed pink.

He cocks his head to the side, looking to me for reassurance. I rub his back.

"Okay, Henry, let's go get the girls."

He perks up a bit. I think he likes the name. With the top down, and Henry next to me, everything is feeling good.

Henry wags his little tail as if he understands what I'm saying.

Chapter Twenty-Three.

Circling the airport with a barking pink dog isn't my ideal way of getting attention. But I like all the people staring, and smiling at the little guy.

In true Hollywood fashion, Prudence is standing on the curb in a big floppy hat, large sunglasses, and sun dress with wedge heels.

"Over here." She flags me, pointing to the curb like I don't know what I'm doing.

If I didn't know her, I might've mistaken her for an actress.

Her face curls as I pull up with Henry in the seat. "What is that?" Her nose crinkles and she points like he's some type of disease.

"Aunt Prudence, this is Henry." I know he'll grow on her like he has on me in the last twenty minutes.

I leave Henry in the car barking and put her luggage in the trunk. There are a lot of people coming out the terminal doors, but no signs of Lucy and Georgia.

"Where's Lucy and Georgia?" I ask.

"Okay first off, I bought you that Prada, and why's it in the trunk and clinking?" She props her hand on her hip. Aunt Grace's china is still in the trunk. She pulls her glasses down on the bridge of her nose. "Secondly, they're waiting for their luggage. Who are you, and where's Hallie?"

"Shut up and get in."

Lucy and Georgia come running out the revolving door. My strange mood turns to complete elation as I realize my girlfriends are finally here.

"Hallie! I'm so glad to see you." She's drags out her words with her southern accent she does when she's really tired. "I don't think I can live another two months without you."

"We don't know how you do it." Georgia lightly pats me. "She is high-maintenance. When are you coming home?"

"Tell me about it. It's been on a nice break." I roll my eyes, smile and point to Lucy.

I'm really joking. She's never been high-maintenance. Or maybe I'm just used to her after all these years.

"Henry." Prudence holds up my new cute little companion. "Meet Aunt Georgia and Aunt Lucy."

"What the hell kind of dogs do they raise here in Cincinnati?" Georgia's eyes bug out of their sockets.

"I guess you've never seen a pink male poodle." I motion for everyone to get in the car. I don't think I can wait another minute to start our girls' trip. "Long story."

None of us shut up the entire way to Hyde Park. Henry sits in my lap hanging over the door, with his long fur flapping like he's been here all his life.

I let Henry out in my back yard so I can show the girls around. They love the cottage feel of the apartment, and I am proud of it. Even though it was already furnished, I have added a few "Hallie" touches to make it home.

"Hallie!" There is anger in Wilson's voice. "What the hell, Hallie?"

Crap. Crap. Darn. I forgot about Wilson. I hope he isn't allergic to dogs.

"What is this?" Wilson walks into the room, holding Henry. "No dogs. Especially a pink one. Orders of the landlord. Poor guy. You should be ashamed, taking away his masculinity like this."

I can't think up a good excuse at the moment. But Prudence is quick on her feet.

"First off, who said she can't have a dog? And real men wear pink." Prudence gets into Wilson's face.

Little does he realize who he's messing with. A lawyer who loves to test the laws.

"Besides, who are you?" Prudence plants her hands on her hips.

I stand between them. "This is Wilson. He lives in the basement apartment." I completely forgot to tell them about Wilson during our phone calls.

What little time we do get to talk on the phone, I play catch-up on what they are doing without me.

"Well, well." Lucy turns her head, checking him out. "Nice to meet you."

"I'm Georgia." She puts her hands on Prudence's shoulders. "This is our single lawyer friend Prudence."

"These are my friends I was telling you about." I remind him.

"Oh, the spa thing." He nods as though he remembers.

"According to article..."Prudence isn't going drop the confrontation with Wilson.

While they continue to argue, Lucy, Georgia, and I quietly make our way downstairs to catch-up.

I tell them about Hyde Park, Aunt Grace-including Henry, the boutique, and what little I know about Wilson. Wilson and Prudence join us with smiles on their face. I guess they settled out of court.

"He's a lawyer for Proctor and Gamble." Prudence's eye brows lift in delight.

She gives me "the look." The look she gets when her hormones are on high alert for a potential mate.

"I didn't even know that." I look at Wilson with surprise and a little disappointed he never told me. "You said you worked at P & G, but a lawyer?"

"You didn't ask." He seems pretty pleased with himself.

"The landlord said cute Henry can stay, and he'll keep Henry while we're away for the next three days." Prudence smiles in a way that tells me that there's something up her sleeve.

"I don't know the land lord." I conclude Prudence's hormones are making her crazy.

"I'm the landlord." Wilson looks down at his feet avoiding eye contact with me. "The rent pays off law school debt. I guess I failed to mention that, too."

I can't believe it. This entire time and he never once said he's the landlord.

"You didn't tell me that either." Now I'm just pissed. I've been living here for a month and don't know a thing about him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"No need to. You've been a good tenant so far." He takes a Coke out of the refrigerator. "Until Henry."

"Okay, let's go." Prudence picks up Henry and turns to Wilson. "He's going to show me around Hyde Park."

Georgia, Lucy, and I are speechless.

Prudence caresses Henry in a Cruella Da Ville kind of way. Thank God she isn't into pink fur!