“Meandering,” Meena said. “It’s a beautiful day.”
“We were doing some training on the word stay.” Sam jiggled the leash. “Weren’t we, Wally?”
“I don’t think it took.”
Sam shook his head. “Want to join us for a little walk around the block? He can’t go for long, but I’m hoping he’ll fall asleep after this so I can get work done.”
“What are you working on?”
“A television show right now,” Sam said. “It’s fun, and the showrunner and directors have given me the freedom to be creative. I’m working on a multidimensional monster that’s the entry point for different galaxies. Wally, come.”
Meena laughed as the dog completely ignored Sam.
“Wally,” Meena said.
The dog looked up and trotted over to her.
“It’s because you’re the new, shiny person,” Sam pointed out. “But I have treats.”
They walked a bit and turned the corner, heading away from Newbury toward Beacon Street. Beyond it was Storrow Drive and then the Charles River. It was quiet in the mostly residential area. Thursday afternoon meant the professionals who lived here were working.
“Did Wally get as excited when he saw Neha?” Meena asked.
Sam tugged the leash and walked a little bit. “No. They never met. Wally wasn’t even born when she died. He’s only ten weeks, and I got him two weeks ago. That’s why he loves and ignores me interchangeably.”
“Oh,” Meena said. “I don’t know much about dogs.”
“This one is a baby,” Sam explained. “But he’ll grow to be about seventy pounds.”
“I hope he understands your commands by then.”
“We’re signing up for puppy school once he’s fully vaccinated.”
They walked to the end of the block and turned right, toward Marlborough Street. The Public Garden was to their left.
“Wally was a gift from Neha.” Sam smiled. “She left me a dog in her will. Ever since I was a little kid, I wanted a dog, but my parents would tell me it wasn’t allowed. Sabina’s family are the original caretakers, and she’s the current one. She’s not a fan of chaos or mess, so the homeowners’ agreements have a lot of clauses.”
“And you’re all OK with it?”
“For the most part.”
“Even Neha?” From the notes, Meena got the sense that Neha had had strong opinions and wouldn’t have been so easily led.
“She was a challenge to Sabina auntie, most of the time indirectly. Like the pet policy. Neha left a puppy for me in her will. Made it so Sabina couldn’t say no. I know she’s not a fan of me having a dog, but she hasn’t outright told me he wasn’t welcome. So we let a few things ride.”
Meena was starting to understand him. “You don’t pick battles; you just outlast them.”
He gave her a small grin. Dimples indented his cheeks. Then he tripped over the leash. Meena held in her laugh and helped him untangle himself.
“What was Neha like?” Meena asked.
“Extraordinary in an unexpected way,” Sam disclosed. “She was so smart that sometimes her brain needed release, so she’d have these spurts of unpredictability. Once, when I was in college, she came to my dorm at MIT and asked me to drive her to Vermont. She had a very specific craving for Ben & Jerry’s and wanted to go to their factory. I told her there’s a Ben & Jerry’s shop right down Newbury, but she didn’t want that. We drove three hours in the middle of February for ice cream.”