Buster by Caleb Huett (ebook reader library txt) 📕

didn’t stop me? Even a little bit of chocolate could mean a really bad time for me. I wasn’t sure I could risk it.

The front door clicked unlocked, and Mr. Pulaski carried a handful of boxes inside. He pushed past Tonio into the kitchen, set the boxes down on the counter, then looked down at me.

“I brought you some more—oh, geez! Tonio, he can’t eat chocolate.” Mr. Pulaski leaned down, grabbed the wrapper from my mouth, then started throwing candies back in the jack-o’-lantern.

Tonio stared me down from under his curls. “I know.”

“How did he even get to this? You need to keep a better eye on him, or he’ll get hurt.” His dad was on a roll now, and he smelled sweaty and tired. “And you need to take him outside more so he doesn’t go looking for new ways to entertain himself. Take him for a walk right now and play with him tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay.” Tonio was still staring directly at me. “And you’re right. I think I do need to watch him better.” He grabbed my leash from a peg by the door and clipped it to my collar. “Come, Buster!” Mia joined us downstairs, and we headed out for a walk around the square together, my tail between my legs. I tried to sniff poles for too long and tangle up his legs with the leash enough times to seem annoying and normal, but I had a sinking feeling he wasn’t fooled at all.

After our walk, the gaming continued. Tonio made it very clear I wasn’t to leave his sight, so I watched as he and Mia played.

Mia’s hand slammed down on the cardboard playmat. Tonio had drawn little rectangles for where all the different cards should go at different times, and she’d placed a new one in the Battle Server spot. “I use all my Manabytes for MIGHTAS, THE GOLDEN BARBARIAN!” She boomed his name proudly. “He’s got cool bracelets.”

“You don’t have enough Manabytes,” Tonio pointed out. “You need three.”

“Auughhhhhguughhhh. Okay, let me think.” Mia put Mightas back in her hand. It lasted long enough that Tonio felt like he needed to fill the silence.

“Do you ever feel like dogs might be … like, smart?”

Oh no.

Mia shrugged. “Well, yeah. Dogs are super smart.”

“I mean human smart.”

“Are you trying to distract me? It won’t work! I’m going to—” She flipped through the cards in her hand. “I’m about to totally win.” She raised a card in the air triumphantly, then huffed and put it back in her hand. “I can’t do anything else. Your turn.”

I’d started out with two mistakes, and now I’d made five. Tonio kept glancing over at me suspiciously while they played. I’d really messed up this time.

“TOOOOOOOO-NII-OOOOOO! Come DOOOOOOOWN, PLEEEEEEEEASE!”

We walked down to the grocery and found Mr. Pulaski had loaded up two wagons with over a dozen plastic bags, tied and labeled with names. I turned my head away to sniff—they were full of produce, laundry detergent, canned food, even cat food.

“We’re trying something new: delivery! Nobody else takes groceries right to your door … and especially not by rocket ship!” Mr. Pulaski posed proudly next to his wagons, which I realized he’d painted silver. He’d attached swim flipper “wings” to the sides, antennas made of foam and wire on the front, and plastic cups to build jet engines on the back. That was commitment!

“That’s a great idea, Dad.” Tonio poked at an antenna, and it wobbled. “I didn’t know you could make stuff like this.”

“Are you kidding? I made a lot of the decorations in the store! Your mom and I used to go to tons of conventions; we’d build costumes and everything. You knew that!” He clapped Tonio on the shoulder.

“No, I didn’t.” Tonio frowned. “Why did you stop going?”

“Just got busy, I guess.” Mr. Pulaski lifted his cap off his head to scratch at his hair, then rested it back down. “Anyway, more people signed up than I expected, so I need your help delivering these today. They’re all in walking distance, and I even drew up our galactic trade route! Figured it’d be good exercise for Buster, too.”

Tonio’s eyes widened. “Uh, I don’t know. It’s gonna get kind of dark soon, right? Are you sure it’s safe?”

“It’s only four thirty!”

“And those look kind of heavy. I don’t want to slow you down.”

“I can’t pull two on my own. You’ll be a huge help!”

“I just don’t know if you really want me around while you’re trying a new—”

“Antonio, come on. Don’t be lazy. You’re coming.”

Tonio’s head tilted down so his hair dangled over his eyes. “Yeah, sorry. No problem.”

His dad didn’t get it. Tonio wasn’t being lazy—he was nervous about messing things up for his dad.

But he didn’t say anything else. We went along with the plan and soon were off into Bellville Square, following the route on Mr. Pulaski’s clipboard.

“Where to first, Captain?” Tonio tried to make up for his hesitation by playing along, and Mr. Pulaski beamed.

“Mrs. Morris requires two bags of dog food, pasta noodles, meat sauce, and one secret item delivered directly to Planet Garden Gnome.” Tonio laughed, and when we got to Mrs. Morris’s house, I saw why—her whole yard was filled with gnomes in a variety of sizes, from the little ones who hid in her flower beds to a giant one by her door that was almost as tall as Tonio if you included his hat.

An old woman with crinkly skin and a giant wig answered the door and smiled at us. “Well, look at you boys. Ring, ring! Having a good evening?”

Mr. Pulaski shook his head. “Evening? It’s not even five o’clock! What has gotten into everyone today?”

“Well, when you’re my age …” Mrs. Morris winked and laughed. “And look at this cute little dog. He’s yours?” Tonio nodded. She leaned down to pat me on the head. A corgi peeked out from around the door-frame and—oh,