Breaking Skin Read Online Free PDF Page B

across the floor until it hits the first impediment. Then he continues to lick it until I remove it or refill it.
    It would be too much of an imposition to bring Siegfried to my sister’s house, but I hate to leave him so soon after bringing him home. Thankfully, Deedee agreed to keep him while I’m gone, something I’m sure she did grudgingly, although she pretended she didn’t mind. I’ve taken Brandi enough times to earn some goodwill.
    Once Siegfried’s leash is clipped on, I grab my shoulder bag and an envelope addressed to my sister. It contains the monthly check I send her to use toward our mother’s care. I could probably afford to live somewhere nicer if I didn’t send her money every month, but Renee handles everything. The least I can do is contribute financially.
    But I’m always careful to make the check out to my sister and not my mother. If Renee decides to spend the money on herself or Langley, that’s okay with me. As a single mother, she may need it sometimes. If so, I hope she uses it.
    All I know is Renee cashes the checks each month, which takes the edge off my guilt.
     

     
    “Siegfried, no!” I shout, but not before Lisanne, the lovely middle-aged woman who runs the youth center, walks right into Siegfried’s unmoving mass and tips the tray of snacks she was carrying.
    “Are you okay?” I rush toward them, already bending to pick up the spilled packages of cookies and fruit.
    “Where did he come from?” Lisanne asks, scratching her head.
    Maybe it’s not my apartment that’s too small for Siegfried. Maybe it’s the whole world.
    “He has a knack for stepping right in front of you when you least expect it. I’m so sorry.” Awkwardly, I balance the oranges in my arms. While I’m still hunched down, Siegfried approaches and licks my cheek.
    I roll my eyes while Lisanne laughs softly and shakes her head. “Was he a service dog?”
    “A service dog?” I ask, standing with the oranges piled in my arms.
    “For a visually impaired person, maybe? I hear they’re trained to step in front of their owners if there’s some kind of danger in their path.”
    I squint at Siegfried curiously. “The shelter didn’t mention that. They just said the owner was elderly and had no family that wanted Siegfried. I would have thought they’d mention it if he were a service dog.”
    “Well, he seems like a nice dog. Keeps you on your toes.” She chuckles, eyeing the pointe shoes that hang from my shoulder.
    I smile at the pun. With the snacks back on the tray and an innocent-looking Siegfried following behind us, we walk into the common room where the children are gathered.
    Their chatter pauses when they spot us, and my heart warms at their welcoming smiles.
    Lisanne and I hand out the cookies and fruit, but my eyes continue to dart in Siegfried’s direction. I wonder how he’ll handle a roomful of noisy, rambunctious children, and I’m relieved to see that he maintains his usual unflappable demeanor as the kids approach. In fact, as more children crowd around Siegfried, I realize he has the perfect temperament for this, sedate and gentle. All the noise and attention doesn’t bother him at all.
    “What’s his name?”
    I glance over to see Mia standing there, holding a chocolate chip cookie in one hand as she points at Siegfried with the other.
    At twelve years old, Mia is tall, graceful, and perfect for dance. I suggested to her mother that Mia apply for a scholarship with the company’s youth division, but she never filled out the paperwork. When I went so far as to show up at her house and offer to help her mother with the paperwork, the woman flatly refused.
    Mia was there and so was her brother. He had a hockey stick in his hand and was dressed in padding and a uniform. I couldn’t help but think, She’ll let her son play hockey but she won’t let her daughter take dance?
    When I went to Lisanne and asked what more I could do, she told me that interfering in these children’s