18 Chapter 18

“Let me try something. May I?” Edison reached for the lead, which Stone passed back. With a firm but gentle tug, both hands on the leash so the leash itself felt the tug, not Python, Edison got him to sit again. “Pet his head or his ears. Gentle and calm, not all spaz.”

“All spaz?”

“Spaz is never good. It’s tempting to be goofy, to make a big deal of hellos and goodbyes, especially. That might be the biggest mistake pet mommies and daddies make. It’s better for the dog if, when you leave, you don’t make it seem like you’re never coming back, and when you do, like you just came home from prison and haven’t seen him in six months.”

“Gotcha.”

“Play is play, and everything else is calm. You have to be calm. See?”

Python stayed put.

“What a good wittle wubby wub.” Stone bit the inside of his cheek. “How do you feel about baby talk?”

“Depends on the situation. Are we naked? Is it foreplay or during the act itself?”

“Rhetorical, right?”