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Get out. You’re not welcome here. Haven’t you done enough already?
One of the girls burst into tears, but nobody moved.
Then the blonde girl silently stepped forward.
—We are here to fulfill Angie’s last wish.
That left me speechless.
—Last wish?
Why had my daughter confided in them something she had never told me before?
—Please —whispered the girl—. Come with us.
PART 2
I followed them to the living room almost without thinking.
And then I saw it.
A golden blur darted across the carpet at full speed and crashed into my legs, its tail twitching frantically.
Warm fur.
Wet nose.
A soft moan.
Then I saw the small crack in her right ear.
My breath caught in my throat instantly.
—Oh my God… Benji?
The dog cried happily as I knelt down and hugged him.
—Benji… Benji…
He frantically licked my hands, making the same happy little noises he always made when Angie hugged him too tightly.
When I looked up, the teenagers were crying too.
One of the boys was holding a USB drive.
—Angie told us about him —she said in a low voice.
He connected the phone to the television.
The screen came to life with shaky videos recorded on a mobile phone.
Angie laughing from the passenger seat.
Angie wearing an oversized sweatshirt at a gas station.
Then her voice filled the room, bright and heartbreakingly alive.
“My mother misses Benji every day,” she said, looking at the camera. “And he’s important because he was also Dad’s dog. So I’m going to find him no matter what… even if it takes forever.”
I put my hand to my mouth.
A girl next to me whispered softly:
—He didn’t tell you because he wanted it to be a surprise.
There were more videos.
In one, Angie was laughing openly with her friends like I hadn’t seen her in months.
In another, he was holding a handmade wanted poster with Benji’s old photo.
or stuck in the middle.
“He has a small crack in his right ear,” she explained proudly. “That way we’ll know it’s him.”
When the video ended, the quiet boy with glasses finally spoke.
“He talked about you constantly.”
“How did they find him?” I asked through tears.
The dark-haired boy leaned against the television stand.
“We had been looking for him for weeks. Shelters, old neighborhoods, flyers everywhere. Angie told us that Benji disappeared when you moved.”
I looked at them in shock.
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