A city boy. As we walked, he kept saying, “I last saw him just over here.” Then, “Wait, over there.” And, “Just a little farther now.” “What does he look like?” I asked. “He’s brown.” “Big? Small?” “In between.” The guy turned. “Why don’t you take your dog off-lead? She might find mine that way.” “I don’t do that in the forest. Much too dangerous.” I paused. “But why don’t I go ahead? I know the lay of the land better than you do.” He struggled not to smile. “That’s an excellent idea.” “Great! Come on, girl. Let’s find us a missing puppy.” I passed the guy and got ten paces before I heard the whir of his jacket being unzipped. I turned so quickly he jumped. “Oooh,” I said. “You might want to leave that zipped up.
