Page 96 of The Good Boy

“I forgot to mention,” he says. “I’m in love with you too.”

I’m walking on air, dancing on sunshine, living on the moon, so it takes me a moment to realize something when I return to the living room to see Rory standing there in his dog onesie.

“Genie,” he says. “You’ve completed the quest, and the quest-adjacent quest, and I am still not a dog. I’m never going to be a dog again, am I?”

Chapter Thirty-Seven

“I did everything you told me to,” I tell Nanna Maria.

It’s been approximately forty-five minutes since I kissed Miles, and it’s very hard to be this happy when your dog is this sad and despairing. So I bundled Rory into the car and went to see Nanna.

“And beautifully too,” Nanna says, glowing with pride. “Snow in August. It’s been a long time since we’ve had such a powerful soul in the family.”

“Yes, and it’s so cool, but what about Rory?”

Nana frowns deeply as Rory flings himself onto her pink velvet chaise longue and stares listlessly out the window. “I really thought that would do it.”

“So now what?” I ask her. “Rory is getting less doggy by the day. If we can’t fix him soon he’ll be stuck like this for the next forty years, and he is not keen, Nanna—I mean likereallynot keen.”

“I can see that,” Nanna Maria says. “He hasn’t even touched those custard creams.”

“So, what’s the plan now?” I ask her. “Is there a rare plant we can source, a coven we can dial up, maybe a wizard with a window?”

Nanna Maria takes me into her bedroom, where I half expecther to pull down one of her ornaments like a lever and reveal a wall tooled up with eye of newt, a variety of wands, and preloaded crystal balls. Instead she simply sits down on the edge of her bed, legs crossed at the ankles, hands folded neatly in her lap.

“And?” I ask her.

“Eugenie,” she says, “it’s time for me to be completely honest with you.”

“Okaaaay,” I say uncertainly.

“I have no idea what to do now.”

“But... but... but... but...” I’m getting déjà vu.

“I know,” Nanna Maria goes on, “I’m so sorry. But I think we have to tell Rory that he’s going to stay human.”

“But Nana, how can I?” I say. “How can I be so happy, when he will be so sad? I’ve failed him.”

“That’s not true, Genie,” Rory says, appearing in the doorway. I wonder how long he has been listening.

“You have always made me feel happy and safe, but this last week with you has been the best, despite everything. We’ve played and talked, and I did disco dancing and ate chocolate. Even though I am scared and confused, you’ve been there for me.”

I hold out my arms and Rory walks into my embrace. After a while Nanna Maria joins in too.

“I am sorry, my darling Rory,” Nanna Maria tells him.

“It’s not your fault,” Rory tells her. “I thought I wouldn’t be okay being human. But then I realized that Genie is my magic. She’s my wish come true. It will be hard, but I can make it as a man.”

“Oh, Rory!” I cry into his shoulder. “I’m so sorry I’m getting your onesie wet, and I’m supposed to be comforting you.”

“That’s okay,” Rory says. “Look, I won’t ever completely forgetabout being a dog. But I know that nearly all the dog bits of me have gone now. So before I have to get a job and a mortgage and figure out my sexuality now that Afghan hounds are off the table, can we have one more doggy day? On the beach tomorrow? Me, you, Miles, Granny Rita, Grandpa, and Nanna Maria?”

“Of course we can,” I say. “And you know what? You might be almost fully human now, but I have learned how to be more dog because of you. And I promise you that I won’t let either of us forget that.”

“You are my best friend, Genie,” Rory says. “That will never change.”

Chapter Thirty-Eight

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