“Chester, Chester, you come back here,” Lottie called out to her spirited Golden Retriever as he twisted himself  through the hole in the fence.  Oh no, now I’m in trouble, Lottie thought.  With a sigh of frustration, she watched as he bounded to the park at the end of the block.    

“Now, look what you’ve done.”  Lottie turned to see Tia standing on the top step with the leash
in hand.  “Don’t  I tell you over and over to keep that dog in the back yard where the fence is
good?  Do you have wax in your ears, Nina?”  Tia held onto the rail as she slowly crept down the steps.   Tia’s knees were really stiff because it had rained that morning.  Lottie didn’t have a clue how rain could cause her knees to stiffen, especially since she had been in the house during the entire downpour, but rather than get Tia all worked up, she avoided the question..

Tia was Lottie’s great Aunt, and she took care of her while her mom was at work.  Even though
Tia Maria seemed like a grandmother in many ways,  Lottie wished, almost every day, that her
real grandmother, still living in Bolivia, could come to the United States.  “Maybe someday, if I
work really hard,” her mother would say.

Lottie ran up the steps, “Here Tia, let me help you.”  Tia handed her the leash.  “Just get that dog and get the wax out of your ears.”  Lottie picked up her skates from the sidewalk and pushed through the gate.   Tia shook her finger, “I’ll wait here.  Get right back and don’t put your nose where it doesn’t belong.  Your mom will be home soon.”

Lottie paused at the mail box and looked down the street.  Still no sign of the postman.  “Please
get here with that letter before Mama gets home,” Lottie prayed, once in English and then in
Spanish, just to cover all the bases.  Then, like a shooting star, she raced towards the park,
calling, “Chester, Chester!”

The ducks were honking, and Chester was standing with his head cocked to the side exactly
where Lottie knew he would be, at the edge of the pond.  Chester wasn’t the most obedient dog
in the world, but there was one thing he’d never do.  He’d never jump into a pond or lake without
permission.  Now he’d hop on the couch even though he wasn’t supposed to, and he’d drink out
of the commode right after you’d tell him not to, but he’d never go swimming without Lottie or
her mom giving the okay. Lottie’s mom had explained, “That just goes to show that dogs like people have their good points and their not-so-good points.”   

Lottie hooked the leash to Chester’s collar while he whined and danced around.  Please let me go after those ducks with their silly quackings, he pleaded with her.  Lottie could understood
Chester better than she could some of her regular talking human friends.

Lottie tried to comfort him.  “I know, I know, they do make awful noise; it gets on my nerves too.
But we’ve got to get back home before the postman comes.  I’ve had enough trouble for one
day.”  Lottie sat down on the ground and put on her skates.  Chester started jumping around. 
“Why, of course, you can pull me,” she told him. 

As soon as she was up, he broke into a gallop, pulling her at such speeds that her long, red curls flew straight up towards the tree limbs.   Instead of taking the short route home, Chester decided to go the long way.  He probably figured he needed the exercise.  Lottie was having such fun that she didn’t realize this change until it was too late. 

Across the pond from Lottie’s neighborhood were the big homes with the giant yards and long
driveways.   Over here people didn’t hang across the fences talking with one another, and there
were no dogs or cats out roaming around or roosters crowing or music playing. 

“You darn dog,” Lottie exclaimed as she saw May Beth playing hopscotch in front of her
family’s three car garage.  As luck would have it, May Beth saw Lottie and came running
towards her.  Lottie remembered what her mom had said about being nice to everyone, so she
turned her skates to the grass and yanked on Chester’s leach.  “Stop, Chester.”

Lottie looked down at her cut-off jeans and worn tank top and felt a little embarrassed.  It’s
what’s on the inside that’s important, she could hear Tia Maria’s voice in her head.  May Beth’s
smile was almost as broad as the silly bow pasted on her head which, by the way, perfectly
matched her perfect shorts, blouse, and socks.  Her tennis shoes were so white they almost hurt Lottie’s eyes. 

“Guess what, Lottie?” May Beth called.  “We’re going to Disneyland in California. What are you
doing this summer?”  But before Lottie could answer, she went on, “Then we’re going to our
cabin in Oregon.  Mom says it’s too hot to stay in Austin during the summer.  We have our own
lake there with a boat.  I’m going to learn how to water ski this summer.” 

Lottie didn’t know what to say.  She could tell May Beth that she’d be going swimming in Barton
Springs and having picnics every Sunday afternoon with her mom and all their friends and their
families.  The kids would have contests to see who could spit watermelon seeds the farthest
while the old grandmothers sat on fold-up chairs under the trees and waved their paper fans
almost as fast as their mouths were moving in Spanish.

Then towards sunset, the men would get out their fiddles and guitars and everyone would sing
and dance.  A fruit jar of Tequila, something the children couldn’t touch, would be passed around and before long, everyone would be laughing more than usual.   After awhile the kids would go to sleep on their blankets and wake up the next morning in their beds.  But all that would just bore May Beth. 

Chester came and sat right beside Lottie’s leg and licked her hand.  He didn’t like May Beth
either, and he was ready to go.  But May Beth wouldn’t leave well enough alone.  “My report
card just came in, and I made all A’s again.  My dad says I get to take riding lessons this fall
because I’m so smart.”   Lottie had to get out of there before she did something really mean like
yank that stupid bow right off May Beth’s head.  “Well, we got to go.”

May Beth looked disappointed.  “Come over tomorrow.  We can go swimming.  We don’t leave
till the next day.”  Lottie was back on the sidewalk, and Chester was starting to pull her away. 
“Sorry, May Beth, I have to go to the hospital tomorrow.”

“What?” May Beth asked horrified.  “Why?”

“To have my ears filled with wax, so I won’t have to listen to all your bragging.”  Lottie’s voice
trailed off as she sped away.  Not to be outdone, May Beth screeched, “You’re nothing but  a old tomboy. “

Lottie was feeling so jealous as the yards sped past her.  Why couldn’t she go someplace
exciting?  Why couldn’t she have an adventure?  Why couldn’t her mom make enough money so
they could go someplace besides San Antonio for the day?  She knew the answer to these
questions.  May Beth had a dad, and she didn’t.  Lottie’s face started to burn with anger.  Life
just wasn’t fair. 

When Chester turned onto her street, Lottie’s mouth flew open, and once again she turned onto
the grass and commanded Chester to stop.  Now fear mixed in with the jealousy and anger and
made her insides churn like boiling water.  As if in slow motion, she watched her mom’s VW
Bug pull up just as the postman got to their mail box.  Her mom stopped and talked with him.
Then two letters went from the mail pouch to her mom’s hands.  Lottie’s stomach turned
somersaults.