A bowl of oats. That was the solution to any problem.

Steady drizzles made the lawn give a funny squelching sound each time someone ran across it. One-third of the pavement was already dotted with rainwater that looked like tiny bubbles and those parts were much colder than the rest. A steady breeze blew that occasionally nudged the multicolored beach ball into a brief roll and sent lightweight things tumbling along on the grass.

From the safe side of the pavement where he lounged on a luxurious mat, Sinclair watched the weather turn even grayer with lashing rain, munching on some oats Matilde had served him not too long ago. He had followed her to the pantry to get them out and nearly believed he died and went to food heaven. The Hopkins's pantry could make any supermarket feel like a disgrace.

Just like the weather, Sinclair felt gloomy.

He overheard some of the staff saying that Matilde was going to be replaced. He had been unsure at first, until Mrs Hopkins said so herself. Another thing he was unsure of was who her replacement would be, what they would be like and how they would treat him. He really liked Matilde. He preferred her to any kind of replacement Prim and Honey could find.

As he sat there, wondering a thousand things back and forth, he noticed that the rain had stopped. His bowl of oats were empty. Good thing he no longer yearned for more. He was full to the point of feeling bloated. He lapped up as much water to his satisfaction, then sat up and stretched. Leah was away for the afternoon. She had gone with her father to the hospital for another test. In spite of the numerous treatments, he saw no tangible improvements in her health; only that on some days she looked pale and pink as a flamingo on others.

The sound of more squelching made him lift his gaze and saw two approaching pairs. The first pair was Eloise in the company of Maxie. The second was Rosy led by a young girl about half Eloise's height. She wore her dark hair in a long ponytail and her roundish face was strewn with dark freckles.

"Look, it's Sinclair." Eloise said, beaming.

As they came up to the pavement, Prim appeared in the doorway accompanied by the staff.

"Good day, Mrs Hopkins." The shorter girl greeted.

"Joey!" Prim exclaimed, looking astonished. "Good to see you. Look how tall you've gotten. How long ago was that trip?"

The visitors came up to the pavement. Sinclair recoiled as Rosy and Maxie walked up to him.

"Hi." Greeted Rosy, quite sheepishly.

"H-Hey." Sinclair stuttered. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Came to pay the lil sick Hopkins girl a visit." Maxie clarified. "We're neighbors after all, won't be nice if we didn't stop by to see how she was doing after all them feast they share with us in those big groovy parties. News is lil Hopkins got a nasty flu down in Looks 'em Burg."

"Luxembourg." Rosy corrected with a chuckle. "That's how it's pronounced."

"What do I know about how to look a Burg?!" The dog scoffed. "That ain't none of my business."

Rosy faced Sinclair. "Felix would've come too, but the Murphys are leaving for a business trip and he's gonna go with them."

Maxie went over to sniff the inside of the empty bowl on Sinclair's mat. "What is it you was eating?"

"Um, dried oats."

The Great Dane made a whooping sound. "You must be having one hell of a good day, ain't ya, Sinclair boy? These oats might be gone, but they smell good. Say, don't the Hopkins wanna share some with us? All I got for breakfast was chicken. Same as yesterday morning. I want me some oats, some o' that condensed milk with the. . ."

Sinclair took his attention away from Maxie when Rosy nudged him and spoke quietly. "Hey, I'm sorry about yesterday. Harry's a real pain, but he shouldn't have attacked you like that. It was uncalled for. I don't want you to think the neighborhood dogs are bad."

"I don't think they're all bad." He muttered in a meek tone. "I just wish some of them could stay far away from me."

"Do I stay away too?"

His ears perked. "No, no. You're pretty nice and you seem more sensible than even," he lowered his voice and gestured to the Dane. "Max."

Rosy giggled. "Well, thank you. Truth is, you're yet to meet nicer dogs. That wasn't all of us back there at Rendezvous."

Sinclair's nose quivered. "Th-There's more of you?"

"Mmhmm. But if dogs don't do it for you, then maybe humans will. Like, Leah for example."

At the mention of Leah, Sinclair's fear melted. "Yeah, I just wish she weren't so sick. I only got the play with her one day and haven't even seen her so much after then."

"She'll be fine." Rosy assured. "Besides, she's fallen sick before now and it was worse than this. I do think that if they let her out into the sun a bit more, she could come around. The kid looks like wet paper. I heard Nick say it's not good for her to be indoors so much."

"Nick? Who's that?" Wondered Sinclair.

Rosy laughed again. "I guess I forgot to introduce my owner. His name is Nicholas Johnstone. He's ten and he's very friendly. I'll like for you to meet him at the party this evening."

"A party? There's a party?"

"Yes, at ours. That's partly the reason why Eloise and Joey came by. Joey is Nick's big sister. It's gonna be a small party and don't worry, only invitees can bring their pets so you won't be hassled by anybody at all. It's gonna be fun. There's usually lots of treats for us too so we don't feel left out. Rich folk think of their pet as people."

"Well, I've never been adopted by a rich family before, or by anyone ever, until the Hopkins came."

Rosy went over to lounge on the mat. "Really? Where did you live before?"

Sinclair noticed that the guests had followed Prim inside, and Max too. He was not very interested in finding out what they were talking about so he went to sit next to Rosy. Besides, he liked her better than a boring human conversation.

"A pet store."

Rosy gasped. "Whoa! I've heard of those, but I didn't know they were real. What was it like?"

Sinclair chuckled in slight embarrassment. "Uh, nothing like here of course. We live in cages and there were tons of different animals."

"All in one cage?" Rosy was slightly wide-eyed.

"No. Everyone had their own cage except for animals that were born to the same parent, like this Bunny called Smiley. But a lot of the animals weren't friendly and were violent. I didn't like most of them."

"Easy to guess." Rosy's head tilted. "Did you have any friends?"

Sinclair's thoughts raced back to the pet store. "Uhh, not really. I just got along with them as best I could and kept my nose out of trouble."

"You really don't like it!" Rosy commented, laughing.

"I'd steer clear all my life if I could." He confessed. "I mean, there's no one to defend me if I ever got in trouble, and I'm not half as confident as any other dog."

"I think you are confident, Sinclair." Rosy objected. "You probably just don't believe it yet. Just because you want to stay out of trouble – and that's a good thing – doesn't mean you're a coward. You're just being smart, smarter than any other dog."

Sinclair stared at Rosy for a short moment. No one had ever said such nice things to him before. "Thank you, Rosy. That's really nice of you."

"You're welcome." She felt the mat with her paw. "This is so soft. They tell you what its made of?"

He shook his head. "Matilde would've. . . If she wasn't going away."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not very sure, but I heard them say she's going to be replaced by another person to take care of Leah. I don't know why. She's been doing a great job since I came."

"I think you shouldn't let it bother you. Matilde's not the  first nanny for Leah neither would she be the last. Mrs Hopkins' been replacing them like game cards since Leah was born. I think the last one was only a month before you arrived."

"Do you know why she does it?"

Rosy stretched as if suddenly exhausted. She had flabby white ears that reminded him of Smiley's siblings, but hers were bigger. "Meh, who can tell? Mind if I lounge here for a bit? Joey takes a mile hike every morning and decided to bring me today. Worst Wednesday ever! My legs feel like a motorcycle tyre on hot asphalt. I can still feel them walking even though I'm just in one place."

Sinclair burst into laughter at that. "That's horrible. You can rest a bit. I'll go see what the others are doing inside. Maybe Leah might need me. Be back in a jiff."

"Alright."

Down the white marble steps and across the long hall, Sinclair raced through the mansion in search of Leah. Thankfully, he knew his way around pretty well now. Some of the floors had been freshly mopped and so he got shooed by the day cleaners when he went close.

Using a different route, he was able to access the second floor balcony hall and found Leah's bedroom door wide open.

". . . for a business trip. We'll be gone two days and we expect you to give the fullest attention to our girl. Is that understood?"

Sinclair inched in further and found both Prim and Honey lounged in a couch by the corner. Leah's room was larger than one meant for a child her age. If not for her toys and the light pink paint on the walls, one would think the bedroom belonged to a middle-aged person.

Standing before the couple was a hunching old lady and a younger one with an erecter posture. The latter was a staff Sinclair had seen a few times before, but he had no idea who the old lady was. She could have passed as Leah's grandmother and he wondered if she were.

"Yes, madam." The woman replied.

"Lucy here will give you a rundown of Leah's medicine prescriptions, bath and mealtimes, playtime and napping hours." Prim went on. "I implore you to please never leave my daughter by herself no matter what and do not bring her with you into the kitchen for any reason. Our day staff will provide all that you need before they close for the day so that you have no need to go anywhere other than this bedroom. Am I clear?"

"Very clear, madam."

Sinclair was about to retreat when he caught Honey's eyes. "Ah!" He sat up and snapped his fingers. "Here, boy! Ms Wickleworth, this is Leah's dog, Sinclair."

Sinclair stared up at the old woman, who beamed in a way that frightened him. The face on her skin was very wrinkly, making her look like human Pug. He scooted close to Honey and the man picked him up.

"Yes," Prim nodded. "Lucy will also inform you of how to care for the dog. He's Leah's playmate and it is very important that she sees him as often as possible otherwise you'll get a fuss you cannot subdue."

"Noted madam, he's an adorable pet. I will care for both with the utmost delicacy and attention, you needn't worry about a thing." Wickleworth assured with another smile.

Sinclair did not find Ms Wickleworth very likeable, but she seemed friendly. He wondered why they would take Matilde, who was younger and more likely to walk up the steps without heaving, and replace her with a granny.

"We leave for Winchester tomorrow morning." Honey contributed and set Sinclair down. Everyone rose. "For now, Lucy will show you around and get you settled in."

He turned to his wife. "Now, we have a party to attend tonight at the Johnstone's. If you'll excuse us."

Ms Wickleworth nodded in acknowledgement. "Of course, sir. Madam!"

Sinclair followed them out, his mind darting back to Rosy. He had left her outside longer than a minute and when got there, she was in the company of Joey and Eloise with Maxie – all preparing to leave.

"Awwn, cute doggie." Joey said immediately she spotted him and came to scratch his head. "Is he Leah's?"

"Yes." Eloise shared. "He's been here only a week, I think. He's very quiet."

"You leaving already?" Sinclair asked Rosy. To be honest, he had enjoyed her company almost as much as he enjoyed Leah's, but his owner was sick and he was all alone.

"Yeah, but we'll see you tonight, won't we?" Rosy inquired.

"I think so."

"Make sure to put on your running shoes." Maxie chuckled. "It's gonna be one night of crazy fun, I tell ya. Be good, Sinclair. See ya tonight."