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Prologue: In the End

“The end came quickly, and there wasn’t any pain” Sometimes, the father whispers it to the mother Sometimes, the mother to the father Fro

For Lizzie’s sake, Lucy wants to believe that the end was quick and painless: a quick end is a good end But she can’t help wondering, How do they know? The moment of the crash certainly must have been painful, Lucy reasons And what if that one moment hadn’t been quick at all?

She wanders into Lizzie’s rooirl’s whole life is a collection of odds and ends: a turquoise bra thrown over a computer monitor, an unmade bed, an aquarium filled with earthworms, a deflated Mylar balloon fron on the doorknob, a pair of unused tickets for a Machine concert under the bed In the end, what does it all mean anyway? And what does it matter? Is a person just a pile of junk?

The only thing to do when Lucy feels this way is to dig Dig until she forgets everything and everyone Dig right through the pink carpet Dig until she reaches the ceiling of the floor below Dig until she falls through Dig and dig and dig and dig

Lucy has finally worked up a good cleansing dig when Alvy (the seven-year-old brother) picks her up off the rug and sets her in his lap “Don’t worry,” Alvy says “Even though you belonged to Lizzie, someone will always feed you and wash you and take you to the park You can even sleep in my room now”

Sitting priines that Lizzie is just away at college Lizzie was nearly sixteen, and it would have happened in about two years anyway The glossy brochures had already begun piling up on Lizzie’s bedroom floor Occasionally, Lucy would urinate on one of the brochures or bite a corner out of another, but even then she knew it couldn’t be stopped One day Lizzie would go, and dogs weren’t allowed in dorm rooms

“Where do you think she is?” Alvy asks

Lucy cocks her head

“Is she”—he pauses—“up there?”

As far as Lucy knows, the only thing up there is the attic

“Well,” Alvy says, jutting his chin defiantly toward the sky, “I believe she is up there And I believe there are angels there and harps and heaps of puffy clouds and white silky paja”

Likely story, Lucy thinks She doesn’t believe in the happy hunting ground or the rainbow bridge She believes a pug goes around once and that’s it She wishes she ain someday, but she doesn’t hold outafter the end, who knows if it has kibble or naps or fresh water or cushy laps or even dogs? And the worst part of all, it isn’t here!

Lucy er When a fa’s mealtimes can be erratic Lucy curses her treacherous story when her best friend is dead?

“I wish you could talk,” Alvy says “I bet you’re thinking so”

“And I wish you could listen,” Lucy barks, but Alvy doesn’t understand her anyway

The next day thepark It’s the first time anyone has remembered to walk Lucy since the end

On the way over, Lucy can smell the mother’s sadness all around them She tries to determine what the smell reminds her of Is it rain? Parsley? Bourbon? Old books? Wool socks? Bananas, Lucy decides

At the park, Lucy just lies on a bench, feeling friendless and depressed and (will it never end?) a little hungry A toy poodle nah Lucy tells her As the poodle is a notorious gossip, the news spreads quickly through the dog park

Bandit, a one-eyed all-American who in less refined circles would be called ayou on the streets?”

“No,” Lucy replies, “I’ll still live with the same family”