Not interrupting again proves to be a very smart choice. Dixie is an intelligent cat, and she’s also in very high demand. There’s a lot resting on her shoulders – more than Laddie Boy knows, in that moment. More than any of the other Presidential Pets know.
As soon as it’s clear the excitable dog isn’t going to start talking again, Dixie resumes her explanation. “This is a very important paper. It must be signed, to ensure that the rest of our timelines play out the way that they should. Unfortunately, it’s deviated from the path.”
Laddie Boy shifts from paw to paw. He just barely resists asking, how?
Instead, he gives a low whine. The sound scratches at the back of his throat.
Cornwallis snorts and mutters, “what a pup.”
The words make Laddie Boy’s ears droop. His skin feels hot beneath his fur as embarrassment washes over him.
Dixie carries on, either unknowing or unconcerned with the small exchange. She says, “the secretary in charge of getting the paper from one desk to another, she’s going to make a mistake. The paper is going to slip out of her stack and be lost in the White House. It’s your job to find this paper, and make sure it gets where it needs to go. Do you think you can handle that?”
Laddie Boy doesn’t say anything.
Cornwallis sighs. “You can talk, now.”
“Oh, right,” yelps Laddie Boy. “Right! Well, of course. I can take care of that. It’s going to help everyone else, right?”
“More than you know,” says Dixie, with a coy smile.
After the conversation with Dixie and Cornwallis, Laddie Boy returns to the White House in his time period. He’s excited at the prospect of having a personal job for the group of Presidential Pets. This is such an amazing chance, and one that he’s never had before!
Eagerly, Laddie Boy slips back out into the halls of the White House. Now, he just has to figure out where the paper is. His owner has a favorite secretary, a young blond man named David.
Maybe David is charged with the paper?
It seems like a good place to start, if nothing else. And so, Laddie Boy sets about trying to track down David. In a building as busy as the White House, it proves to be something of a challenge, even for a dog! There are a lot of people in the prestigious building, more than the modern family might expect.
Not just that, but men and women come to visit the White House on a daily basis. There’s a spider web of scents that Laddie Boy has to work through. It takes a lot more time than he’s expecting.
Katelynn E Koontz – Author
