9780008390662

I just don’t want to die this way, not like this.
The fear’s in my throat, my heart, my gut. I’ve gotta get off this rickety
bridge, get back to Ivan and Ruby, back to my wonderful, Bob-smelling bed.
I’m not a hero, never have been, never will be.
I can live with that, ’cause at least I’ll be alive.
I turn, moving snail-slow because the stupid bridge just won’t stay put,
crawling on my belly so I won’t lose my footing again.
Almost to the end, I glance back, like a fool.
Just in time to see the car with the puppy lurch loose from its mooring in the
tree, swirling into the middle of the creek like a toy boat in a bathtub.
The puppy isn’t howling or anything. He’s just lying on his belly, same as
me, waiting.
What a nincompoop, I think yet again, and I’m honestly not sure whether I
mean him or me.