Pauline Wayne’s first thought would be that the necklace was lost, and Sunny had to return it. But that seems like it would be too easy of a solution. It feels like there’s something more going on here.
After all, the Door hasn’t shown up.
Sunny looks at her, all wide eyes and wondering. “Now what?”
Pauline Wayne looks around. She’s never been out here before. Nothing pops out as obviously out of place. After a moment of thought, the cow suggests, “why don’t you take a good sniff around? See if you can find anything else from your family.”
“Okay!” Sunny is, if nothing else, very eager to please and good at taking direction. The dog wags her tail twice, shoves her nose against the necklace, and breathes in deep. Her eyes are bright. Her ears prick up.
Then the Portuguese water dog spins about and takes off into the brush. Pauline Wayne chases after Sunny, but the fact is she’s much larger than the dog, and much slower. Before long, Sunny is out of sight.
Pauline Wayne calls out, “come find me when you figure things out!”
The dog yips her agreement, and then Pauline Wayne is alone.
Sunny is a quick thing, all long legs and youth. She races through the brush with her mouth open to take in the scents, and her tail held up high. She is quick, and fast, and cheerful even in the face of this. But why wouldn’t she be?
Sunny and Bo are the newest Presidential Pets, so they aren’t picked to solve problems half as often as the older, more experienced pets. That doesn’t mean this isn’t an important thing, though! Every part of a Presidential Pet’s job is important.
Even the one’s they don’t think about!
It’s the Presidential Pet’s that keep the world running, after all. When the humans mess up, the animals fix the problem. And this means that Sunny’s job, whatever it ends up being, is important.
Sunny’s heart skips a beat when she catches her momma’s scent. She runs that much faster, chasing after it and nearly tripping over the prize when it’s found. It’s the First Lady’s jacket!
“I found it,” yelps Sunny. “I found it!”
She grabs the jacket in her mouth and spins around, racing back to Pauline Wayne. It’s only luck that keeps the papers in her jacket until she plops it down in front of the cow. Three photographs fall out of it; they’re family pictures!
Sunny, eagerly, says, “this must be what we’re here for!”
Pauline Wayne squints at the pictures. “No, I think we’re here for that.”
And she nods at a shadow in the back of one picture, where it looks like a young red-haired girl is running through the trees in the far distance.
Katelynn E Koontz – Author
