Chapter 40
One year later
Mary and Dean sat at a high-top in the pub at Addison Heights after their round of golf. Above the bar, all the televisions were set to CBS, where Liz Collins was anchoring the evening news. “We’ll be right back with a heartwarming story about Gasper, a golden retriever in Massachusetts,” Liz said.
Dean beamed across the table at Mary. “My wife’s story is coming up next,” he announced.
A commercial for a candidate running for president came on the television. Mary swayed impatiently, not believing her story was about to be on CBS Evening News . She’d written to Liz months ago, telling her she’d started a YouTube channel that covered only happy stories. Liz had called immediately, delighted to hear from Mary after all these years. “I’ll do whatever I can to help,” she’d promised. “Our time together at Channel 77 put me on my path.” Mary had felt a lump of regret in her throat, thinking about how she’d begrudged Liz her success. She’d learned a valuable lesson about supporting others from Kimberly, who was getting national attention for her work on ICNN’s Morning Show .
The commercials ended. The bartender turned up the television’s volume. Liz was back: “This story comes from a former colleague of mine, Mary Amato, who has a YouTube channel, Mary’s Miracles, with the good news stories we all need.”
The screen switched from Liz’s face to a dark-red golden retriever wagging his long tail and Mary’s voice. “Ten months ago, the Cornell family’s trip to Maine to view the foliage took a sad turn when their dog, Gasper, bolted from a hiking trail chasing a squirrel and went missing.”
On television, Mary squatted so that she was eye level with a seven-year-old girl and a five-year-old boy. The golden retriever stood on all fours between the two kids, each child with an arm around him. The dog’s thick red tongue hung out the corner of his mouth, and his tail swished back and forth. His ribs were visible through dark-red hair, but he otherwise seemed healthy and happy.
“Tell me what happened,” Mary said.
The camera focused on the girl. “I couldn’t believe it. I went outside to play on the swing set. The slide is really fun.” The little girl’s two front teeth were missing, giving her words a whistle-like quality. “Gasper was just lying there. Somehow he found his way home. I don’t know how.” She shrugged with her arms extended and her palms facing up. “It’s a miracle.” She wrapped her tiny arms around the dog and kissed him on his snout. Gasper wrapped his front leg around her calf as if he were hugging her back. “I missed him so much.”
“Looks like he missed you too.” Mary smiled.
The story ended. Dean clapped, and soon all the patrons in the pub were joining in.
Mary paid no attention to the applause. She was too busy thinking about that determined dog covering all those miles through rough terrain to get home to his family. She understood exactly how miserable he’d been without them and how happy he must have been to make it home.