King was nervous to go back to his house. What would Erin think? What would Cleo think?

“I guess I’ll see you later,” King said to Hugo, his voice shaking, as they stood in Lulu’s driveway. Hugo’s house was next door, and King was about to be on his own.

“I’ll come with you,” Hugo said. “For moral support! My house can wait.”

“I’ll come too! For moral support!” the puppy barked. “What’s moral support?”

This cheered King up a bit, and they started walking down the street and around the corner.

When King, Hugo, and the puppy got to King’s house, Erin’s car was already in the driveway, which meant that she and Cleo were home. Normally, when King was inside his house, he would be thrilled when he saw Erin’s car pulling into the driveway. But now he mostly felt anxious. Erin would know by now that he’d left the laundry room, and she was about to see that he’d lost his cone of shame.

Even if she never finds out about the scarf, King thought, she’ll know right away that I’ve been a bad dog—again.

King took a deep breath.

“You sure you don’t want us to run back to the park and grab your cone?” Hugo asked. “I’m sorry we didn’t go back for it.”

King shook his head. “I should just go inside. The longer I’m out, the more trouble I’ll be in.”

“If you’re nervous, you could come home with me,” Hugo offered.

“That’s okay,” King responded. “It’s time for me to face the music. I was a bad dog. Now I have to own it. If Erin can’t accept that, well . . . well . . .”

He thought about it for a moment, then lowered his voice. “I can’t think about that right now,” King said softly. “I’ll just have to play it by ear. You know, lick Erin’s ear a lot and see if that changes her mind.”

Then the three dogs sniffed one another’s butts goodbye, and King walked around the house to the back door. He climbed the two steps, took another deep breath, then gave the door a good hard scratch. He let out one of his signature whines to let them know it was him. Erin came to the door right away.

“Well, well, well . . . ,” she said, shaking her head as she opened the door. “Look who came home!”

But the look on Erin’s face wasn’t disappointment. It was relief. He expected her to yell at him, but as soon as he walked inside, she got down on the floor, wrapped her arms around him, and gave him a ton of pets.

“Where were you?! We were all so worried, King,” Erin said as Cleo also ran over and licked him affectionately.

“Finally, you’re home!” Cleo said excitedly. “What happened? Are you okay???”

“Yeah, I’m okay!” King managed to say in the midst of all the hubbub.

“We were worried about you,” Cleo said. “It’s not like you to sneak out of the house.”

“What do you mean?” King asked sheepishly. “I’m a bad dog all the time.”

Cleo sighed. “You’re not a bad dog,” she said. “You just make mistakes, like we all do.”

“You don’t make mistakes . . . ,” King said.

“Oh, I certainly do!” Cleo retorted. Then she looked away, almost as if she were embarrassed. “The reason we’re home early . . . is that I totally messed up at the agility competition. I got distracted by a squirrel!”

King couldn’t stop his tail from wagging.

“I mean, can you believe that?!” Cleo asked. “A squirrel! What am I, a puppy?”

King was running around now, so excited, he couldn’t contain himself.

“Okay, okay, no need to gloat!” Cleo said.

“What kind of squirrel was it?” King asked. “Was it big or little? Was it fast? Did you chase it?”

“It was small and fluffy,” Cleo said. “I didn’t chase it, but I really wanted to!”

Then they both started laughing and laughing, and Erin picked King up to take him over to the kitchen sink.

“I wonder what happened to your cone,” Erin said as she cleaned off his paw and wrapped a brand-new bandage around his cut. “I guess it wasn’t much fun to wear it, huh? Well, let’s see how you do without it.”

When his paw was wrapped up nicely, Erin got out some food for both of the dogs . . . but something smelled different about their dinner.

“Is that . . . what I think it is?!” King said, sniffing the air.

“Here’s some cheese!” Erin said as she carefully laid two big slices on top of their bowls—one for King and one for Cleo.

Cheese! Cheese! Cheese! Cheese! Cheese! King’s mind was racing. Do I eat the cheese first, then the rest of the food? Or the rest of the food first and save the cheese until the end? Or maybe I eat it all at the same time?

King wanted to run and jump all around the house! But if he did that, it would be longer before he could eat his cheese. So he sat still and wagged his tail as hard as he could as Erin placed the bowl in front of him.

“I thought you two could use some cheering up,” Erin said, petting them both on the head.

“But! But!” King said, turning to Cleo. “Our snacks are usually like—like . . . organic vegan quinoa and carrot cubes! I thought cheese was bad for dogs!”

“It’s okay once in a while,” Cleo said. “As a special treat.”

King was about to dig into his delicious cheesy meal, but he paused and turned back to Cleo. “I’m glad Erin didn’t punish me for sneaking out,” he said. “I thought she’d be so mad . . . that she’d send me back to the shelter.”

“Don’t be silly,” Cleo said, and then she got very serious. “Listen. Erin will never, ever send you back to the shelter. Okay? We love you, you little goofball. We’re a family!”

Cleo nuzzled him with her head, and King nodded, smiling.

“Now, let’s eat!” Cleo said, and she scarfed down her whole meal in three big mouthfuls.

“Wow! You were hungry, Cleo,” Erin said, laughing.

King looked around at Erin and Cleo and his warm, cozy kitchen and delicious cheesy dinner, and his tail started wagging again. But not just because of the cheese. Because he knew he was home. For good.

Hugo and the puppy watched from the bottom of the driveway as King disappeared behind the house. Hugo hoped his friend wouldn’t get into too much trouble with Erin, but there wasn’t much he could do to help now. He realized it had gotten late, and it was time to make his way home.

“Well, I guess I’ll be going now . . . ,” the puppy said.

“Really? Where?” Hugo said, caught off guard.

“I’m not sure,” the puppy answered. “I was living in a drainage ditch behind the school when they picked me up. But I’ve heard there’s a nice abandoned shed over by the dump. It doesn’t have a roof, but that means there will be plenty of rain puddles on the floor to drink out of.”

“Forget it! That’s no place to live,” Hugo said. He didn’t have to think very long to know what he needed to do. “Come on! You’re coming home with me.”

The puppy’s eyes got wide, and her jaw dropped. She was speechless. Then she just repeated that word, home, a few times softly to herself.

“H-h-home? Home. Home?” she said. “I could have a . . . a . . . home?”

“This way!” Hugo said, leading the way home as the puppy eagerly followed. “By the way, I don’t think I caught your name.”

“Oh, I don’t think I have one,” the puppy replied. “I guess I’ve always thought of myself as either a Puppy, or a Lil’ Puppy, or a Sweetie Puppy Girl, or something along those lines . . . But I’m open to anything.”

When they got to the house, Hugo led the way through the yard to the back door. He got up on his hind legs and peeked through the window.

There they were: Hugo’s family. And it looked like the usual chaos. Mom was busy on the phone, pacing back and forth while the kids were drawing at the kitchen table. Dad was running around, frantically looking for something. There were papers all over the place, and everyone was talking loudly on top of one another.

Just another weekday night at our house, Hugo thought sadly. It seemed like they hadn’t even noticed he was gone. Heartbroken, he looked away from the scene and put his tail between his legs. Was it possible that they were happy he was gone?

As he walked through the doggy door, and the puppy followed behind him, he was suddenly able to hear the commotion inside the kitchen much more clearly.

“He’s a golden retriever, about seventy pounds, twenty-three inches tall,” Mom was saying into the phone. “He was here this morning. Please, please, let us know if you hear anything. Thank you.”

“How’s this?” Zoe asked, holding up the picture she was drawing. Hugo looked and saw that it was a picture of him! It said “Missing Dog” on it. Zoe looked like she had been crying.

“That’s perfect,” Sofia said, hugging her sister and adding the flyer to a pile of “Missing Dog” pictures. “I’ll go put these up around the block.”

“Found my keys!” Dad shouted. “Sofia, you can come with me. We’ll drive around the neighborhood and look. He can’t be far!”

They had noticed he was gone, Hugo realized. And they were more worried than he’d ever seen them. The family was so busy looking for him that they hadn’t noticed him walk in, so he gave one loud bark, and everyone gasped.

Dad dropped his keys, Mom dropped the phone, and the kids all jumped up from the kitchen table. They ran as fast as they could toward Hugo and practically fell in a big pile on top of him.

“Hugo! You’re back!” Enrique cried with excitement.

“Thank goodness!” Mom said, smiling as she kissed Hugo’s head.

“I missed you so much!” Zoe said, giving him the biggest hug of anyone. Then she whispered in his ear, “I thought I saw you today, but it was a bad dog . . .”

Then, Zoe noticed the puppy standing sheepishly behind Hugo. And she screamed!

“OHMYGOSH OHMYGOSH! A PUPPY! A PUPPY?! A PUPPY?!!?!?”

Zoe stared at the puppy. The puppy stared at Zoe.

“YOU BROUGHT ME A PUPPY FOR MY EARLY BIRTHDAY PRESENT!” Zoe said, giving Hugo another big hug. “You always know what I want, Hugo!”

Then Zoe gave the puppy a big hug and started to cry with happiness. Hugo knew that dogs didn’t cry, unless they had allergies or an underlying tear duct issue. But he could tell that if she could have, the puppy would have cried from happiness too.

As everyone crowded around Hugo and the puppy, Hugo felt a flood of relief that no one seemed mad at him for disappearing. They were just happy he was back.

Mom looked at the puppy a bit skeptically and then turned back to Hugo. “And you brought us a new pet to feed . . . ,” she said, sounding significantly less thrilled than Zoe. She looked a little concerned.

Hugo whined and playfully nuzzled the puppy with his head.

“It is really cute,” Sofia said.

“It definitely is!” Dad agreed, getting down on his knees to pet the puppy. Mom took another look at her and smiled.

“You take care of everyone, don’t you, Hugo?” she said. “That’s why we love you. You must have known this little dog needed a home.”

“So we can keep her?” Zoe asked.

“I think we need to take her to the vet and make sure that someone didn’t lose her,” Mom replied. “But if everything checks out, then I say . . . yes.”

“I say yes too,” said Dad, smiling.

“Yayyy!” Zoe squealed, clapping her hands and jumping up and down.

“I think this cutie needs a name, doesn’t she, Zoe?” Mom asked.

“Um . . . she’s brownish gold, and she’s really sweet,” Zoe said, thinking out loud. “Just like waffles! And that’s my favorite food! I’m naming her Waffles!”

Waffles barked with delight.

“What do you think of that name?” Hugo asked her.

“It’s perfect!” Waffles said, her tail wagging. “Way better than my ideas! It’s like the name I always should have had, but never knew! What are waffles? Are they good?”

“I think you’d like them,” Hugo replied.

“Come here, boy! Here, Hugo!” Enrique called. He was sitting on the couch in the living room now, away from the family.

Hugo ran over, and Enrique gave him some really phenomenal pets. Then Enrique looked Hugo right in the eyes and spoke softly. “I’m not sure what you got up to today, buddy. But I’m sorry I haven’t been paying you enough attention lately. I promise that’s going to change. How does this sound? First thing tomorrow, a long walk, just the two of us.”

Hugo was thrilled. He wagged his tail and gave Enrique a big fat lick on the face.

“Dinnertime!” Mom called from the kitchen, and Hugo took his usual spot by Sofia’s seat, sitting patiently and staring up at the table with his tongue hanging out.

“This is what I do during meals,” Hugo explained to Waffles. “You can do it too! It’s easy. Just sit wherever you like and stare up at the table!”

“That sounds fun!” Waffles said. “Are you trying to get some of the people food?”

“Nope!” Hugo answered. “Just watching to make sure everyone’s having a nice meal.”

Waffles nodded, and sat under Zoe’s chair.

“But if they drop some food on the floor, then I go to town,” Hugo added with a smile. “Have you heard of the five-second rule?”

“The five-second rule?” Waffles asked.

“Yeah, if food falls on the floor, I will eat it within five seconds. And it rules.”

“Remember, no dessert for you, Enrique!” Mom said. “You’re grounded.”

Enrique looked sheepishly at the floor.

“I don’t know what got into you,” Mom said. “Pushing the Roomba down the stairs.”

“I’ve never seen so many pieces,” Dad added. “Do you know how long it took me to clean that up?”

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what got into me either,” Enrique said, shrugging. Then he looked under the table and gave Hugo a little smile. “Maybe I’d just had enough of that Roomba.”

Hugo whined happily and put his head on Enrique’s lap to say thank you. Enrique nodded and petted his head. So it would be their little secret. Hugo was okay with that.

“How do you clean up the broken pieces of a Roomba?” Dad asked. “You can’t use the Roomba!”

Dad laughed at his own joke while the rest of the family rolled their eyes.

“He’s funny!” Waffles said to Hugo, wagging her tail. Dad noticed Waffles wagging her tail and rubbed her head.

“Waffles likes my jokes!” Dad said.

“I do! I really do!” Waffles said, but Hugo knew that all the family could hear were happy barks.

Then Hugo had an idea. He motioned for Waffles to follow him across the kitchen. Zoe’s backpack was lying on the floor in the corner. He lifted it open with his mouth.

“Wanna go in? It’s really fun!” he told her. Waffles wagged her tail and jumped right into the backpack, then turned around so that her head was sticking out the top.

So this is what I looked like back then, Hugo thought. So funny.

“Oh my gosh, look!” Sofia called out from the table, and soon everyone was looking at Waffles and Hugo and cracking up. Enrique started singing, and then the whole family joined in. “Backpack dog! Backpack dog! Waffles is a backpack dog!”

After dinner, the family settled down in the living room to watch the big glowing rectangle together. Enrique picked a nature show. Waffles played on the floor with Zoe, and Hugo sat on the couch with Sofia, resting his head in her lap. He closed his eyes happily.

Today was pretty exciting, Hugo thought. But there’s nothing better than this.