Say Good-bye Read Free Page A

all, though, even when I dab a small amount of ointment into his eyes to protect them from the shampoo.
    Next I put cotton balls in his ears to keep the water out. I laugh. On Yum-Yum, they look like tiny little earmuffs!
    Talking softly to Yum-Yum, I turn on the sprayer and check to make sure the water is warm, but not too warm. Then I hold the sprayer about an inch from his back and soak his coat down to the skin. Gran taught me an important lesson about bathing animals: Be careful never to spray them in the face. It really upsets them.
    Once Yum-Yum is good and wet, I soap him up with a mild doggie shampoo. When I shampooed Yum-Yum the very first time, I wanted to use my salon shampoo and conditioner that I brought from New York. Mom always said it was the best brand for shiny, silky hair. I thought it would make Yum-Yum smell great and make him look like a doggie movie star. But Gran told me that you should never use people shampoo on dogs. It can be too harsh.
    Yum-Yum’s tail wags as I gently rub the soap through his coat. Some animals hate to be groomed, but Yum-Yum seems to enjoy his shampoo. He doesn’t try to squirm away. And he looks like he’s smiling!
    When I’m finished, I rub him down with a towel, then use a blow-dryer set on a quiet, low-temperature setting to dry him.
    “If you ever get tired of the animal business, you’ve got a job at my salon,” Jane jokes.
    “This is a lot more fun than some of the things we have to do here,” I tell her as I comb Yum-Yum’s soft hair. Like clean up dog poop!
    Gran stops by in between patients. “Yum-Yum! What a handsome pup you are.” She smiles at me. “How’s our groomer doing?”
    “Great,” Jane tells her. “Yum-Yum’s always glad to see Zoe.” Then she turns back to me. “Say, how would you like to come with me today and see Yum-Yum do his stuff?”
    “You mean to the hospital?”
    Jane nods. “What do you say, J.J.?” she asks Gran. “Can you spare your assistant for an hour or so?
    “Can I, Gran?” I ask hopefully. “Please?”
    “Sure,” Gran says. “Things are kind of slowaround here today. And don’t worry, we’ll save some cleanup for you to do when you get back.” I know she’s teasing a little, though she barely cracks a smile. And I also know there really will be chores for me to do when I get back!
    “Thanks, Gran!”
    I hear a little bark and look down at my feet.
    Sneakers has snuck into the clinic again.
    “I’ve got one more thing to do before I go, though,” I tell Jane. She looks down and laughs. Gran shakes her head.
    Sneakers has peed on the floor!

Chapter Three
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    I hold Yum-Yum in my lap as Jane drives us to the hospital. It’s a beautiful, hot August day, so we roll the windows down and drive with the wind in our hair.
    When we pull in to the parking lot, I stare up at the huge hospital building. So many windows … I think about all the people inside and why they’re there.
    Suddenly I feel really weird.
    When I lived in Manhattan with my mom, I got to go lots of places with her. I’ve traveled to other countries. Been to fancy restaurants, the theater, and the ballet. Mom would even take meto the set of her soap. She liked to brag that for a kid my age, I could talk to just about anyone, even grown-ups.
    But I’ve never been in the hospital. Never even visited anybody—especially sick kids.
    I try to ignore the strange feeling in the pit of my stomach. I put on a smile and walk through the automatic doors into the main lobby. Everything looks cheerful, but in a forced kind of way. Like we’re all trying hard to pretend that nobody’s sick, as if nothing’s wrong.
    Jane leads me down a long hallway. The children’s cancer ward is on the first floor, through some swinging doors.
    It looks just like the hospital from the soap my mom was on, except the doctors and nurses don’t all look like gorgeous models and movie stars. They