Over the last year I’ve learned advertising is vital to business. I park my Volvo behind the truck. Rake and shovel handles stick over the edge of the tailgate. Several refrigerator-sized cardboard boxes are piled into the bed. Around the side of the house, where the battery-powered pink Barbie Jeep still remains, Jack and his son amble toward me. The giant dog lopes alongside, its black hair waving with each springy step. I roll my window down and wave from the safety of my car. “Hi!” Jack coils a yellow nylon rope, looping it hand to elbow. “Hello there. How’d your emergency work out?” His son grabs the oversized puppy by the collar and lowers the truck’s tailgate. The dog jumps into the bed in a seemingly effortless move. “It’s going to work out just perfectly.” I smile, feeling the possibilities deep in my bones as I climb out of the car. “I’m sorry again that I had to leave so abruptly.”
