Chapter 78

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“There was a man who decided that living in the city was too dangerous, so he moved his wife and little girl to an estate whose backyard was the Hudson River.”

“Oh, this takes place in New York?”

“Yeah.” I smiled, able to hear again my father’s brother talking about the currents of the river near Bear Mountain. “The little girl had those fat, blonde sausage curls, and blue, blue eyes. She looked like one of those child stars of the thirties, you get the picture?”

“Yes, I see, Mark.” There was laughter in his voice, but I pretended not to notice.

“Well, one day, this beat-up old mongrel wandered into the yard. The mother nearly had a heart attack, certain it was going to eat her baby, but the little girl fell in love with the dog, and begged and pleaded to keep him, and the dad allowed it.