Eventually, Opal took Winn-Dixie to the backyard and began to give him a bath, she was just happy to bond with the dog, and where the girls were more than happy to help.
"Splish-Splash, I was taking a bath~" Darla sang as they helped clean up Winn-Dixie.
Opal giggled as she began to style up Winn-Dixie's fur just for fun like she was giving him a makeover. Patch smiled as he was happy for both Opal and Winn-Dixie. The girls also felt very happy, even if no one in this town seemed to want to be her friend, but there was no better good company than having a pet around the house, especially someone as friendly and loyal as a dog.
"Okay, let's dry you off." Opal smiled.
Winn-Dixie soon began to run off from the backyard.
"Hey! Come back here, Winn-Dixie!" Opal pouted.
"He's making this into a challenge." Darla sighed.
They soon got Winn-Dixie to come back and they continued to clean him up, but the water seemed to spread to the ground which made some mud which attracted one of the neighbors, especially since they had a hose with them now.
"Little Miss... You think you're using up enough water?" An old man glared.
"Uh, we still gotta rinse." Opal replied.
"But we promise this won't be much longer." Atticus said as he made sure to keep Winn-Dixie from running again.
"And where did you get that hose?" The old man demanded.
"We didn't think you'd mind if we borrowed it." Opal replied softly.
"Well, I do mind!" The man glared sharply.
Opal then tossed the hose down and yelped as it accidentally got loose and sprayed water everywhere, including on the grumpy old man and his cat.
"We are so sorry!" Darla told him.
The cat soon began to run while Winn-Dixie tried to chase after it, but Atticus kept him from running off again.
"Nice try." Atticus told the wet dog.
The old man growled and shook his cane.
"Yeah, well, you're lucky you didn't fall on your back, you old man." Cherry said.
"Cherry!" Atticus gasped as that was a terrible thing to say.
"What? It's true." Cherry said.
"Just because something is true doesn't mean you have to say it like that." Atticus complained.
The old man soon came to Daniel to complain about Winn-Dixie which made Opal feel bad.
"Uh-oh, not good." Darla frowned.
The old man complained about a dog being around since he had signs, and Daniel tried to explain that they weren't keeping Winn-Dixie forever.
"Well, hurry it up, or I'm callin' the pound!" The old man glared.
Winn-Dixie and Patch growled slightly.
"Sir, that's a little drastic, isn't it?" Annabelle asked.
"Don't contradict me, little lady, keep that dog away from me!" The old man glared.
"Okay, okay." Annabelle said.
The old man grumbled as he walked off and the girls didn't say anything because that would be rude. Daniel soon came over to the girls and the dogs.
"Daddy...?" Opal frowned.
"Dry that dog off, Opal, and dry yourself off." Daniel muttered out as he went inside their home.
'Whew.' Darla thought to herself.
Later on, it was around dinner time which meant that it would be time for Opal and her father to eat dinner, and it seemed like the others had to go because of what had happened with Winn-Dixie and Mr. Alfred as they went back to the hotel that they were staying in.
"I hope Opal's not too upset about her mother... She talks about her a lot in her letters." Darla commented.
"Maybe I could take a little look-see into her memories of her mother to find out." Cherry said.
"You mean... Find out why she left?" Darla replied.
"Opal's mother left her?" Atticus asked as that sounded horrible.
"Yes, when Opal was only three." Darla nodded as she remembered that from the letters.
"Maybe I should go through her father's memories then." Cherry said.
"I guess..." Darla shrugged. "How powerful are you?"
"You'd be surprised." Cherry said mysteriously as they ate spaghetti.
"Alright." Darla said.
They continued to eat until they were full, and after they ate, it was about time for the girls to go to bed.
"Aw, Atticus, it's summer," Darla said. "Do we need a bedtime?"
"Sorry, Darla, but I promised Mom I'd be responsible." Atticus said as he washed their dishes.
"Dang it." Darla sighed.
"Good night, girls." Atticus said.
"Good night, Atticus." The girls replied as they went to bed to get some sleep.
Atticus looked over to his best friend. "Are you really gonna find out about Opal's mom?" he then asked.
"I might as well make myself useful." Cherry shrugged.
"Alright then." Atticus said.
"Isn't there a football game on or something?" Cherry asked him.
Atticus soon went to the living room to watch TV on the couch since he finished the dishes and the girls were now in bed.
"Here I go." Cherry said.
Atticus nodded as she soon left.
Cherry entered the Dreamscape, walking down the hallway to look for something else, and after searching for a while, she soon found what she was looking for. She came into a door which said 'MEMORIES', and it seemed to be like an office building with file cabinets. She took a look around and came to the B cabinet and opened it up, letting her fingers dance over the many files and took the one out that was for Opal's father.
"Alright, now this should give me the information I need." Cherry said.
When she opened up the file, there seemed to be several bubbles that appeared which showed Mr. Buloni through the years from childhood, to adolescence, and early adulthood.
"Now his memory of his wife should be here somewhere." Cherry said. She looked among the many bubbles and found the man down on one knee in front of a woman with an engagement ring and she popped it.
"Opal DiCamillo, will you marry me?" Daniel asked hopefully.
"Oh... Danny... Of course I will!" A woman's voice beamed as she stood in front of him.
"This must be the moment where he proposed to her." Cherry said.
The couple hugged each other as they were very happy and excited about getting married. Cherry looked to another bubble which had the couple buying a home together, and eventually getting married, and eventually, Opal came out from the doctor's office, and was revealed to be pregnant.
"Okay, looking good so far." Cherry said.
It seemed to be very happy for the couple and they soon welcomed their bundle of joy into the world who they had named India Opal. However, it seemed to get a bit dark and depressing, at one point, Daniel was bankrupt, and this led to his wife getting into something which was dangerous.
"Opal, are you drinking?!" Daniel asked his wife.
"What of it?" The woman muttered as she sounded drunk.
"Oh, boy, here we go." Cherry sighed.
There was eventually an argument and it ended when they heard the sound of a baby crying.
"Aw, India, don't cry..." Daniel frowned. "Why is she crying?"
"Because her father's a no good preacher!" Opal spat out, speaking out of her alcoholism mixed with her moodiness.
"I highly doubt that." Cherry said.
The argument was very harsh among the man and woman who seemed so happy before.
"People talk about me, Daniel..." Opal said after a while as it was now morning and her head was on the table. "I can't live here anymore."
"Here it comes." Cherry said.
"What are you saying?" Daniel asked. "It'll get better, Opal... Our daughter will be going to school soon... You don't have to worry about others... Maybe it would help if you stopped drinking..."
"I'm sorry... I can't live like this anymore..." Opal told him as she soon left the room.
Daniel looked heartbroken, and when his wife came back downstairs, she seemed to slide off her wedding ring and put it in his hands as she had a suitcase in her other hand and began to go out the door, as if to move out.
"Okay, that was just heartless." Cherry said, referring to the wife.
Three-year-old Opal stared out the window as her mother soon went to her car and drove off, seeming to never be seen again.
Cherry wiped her eyes as that was heartbreaking, she actually seemed to have tears in her eyes. "Stupid dust must've gotten in my eyes..." she then muttered to herself.
"Are you sure it's dust?" Princess Luna's voice asked.
"Gah!" Cherry yelped. "Luna, you scared the crap out of me!"
"I'm sorry; anyway, are you sure it was dust in your eyes?" Princess Luna asked.
Cherry looked to her.
"It's okay to cry, Cherry." Princess Luna replied.
"Why would I cry?" Cherry defended. "I don't even know those people."
"No, but it's alright cry even if you don't know them." Princess Luna said.
Cherry rolled her eyes even though she was crying.
"I saw the memory as well, and even I couldn't believe how heartless the mother was." Princess Luna said.
"Yeah... It's a bit... Depressing..." Cherry replied. "No wonder Dimples' friend is so lonely before we showed up for a visit."
"Please be sure that they keep the dog." Princess Luna said.
"Um... I'll try, but that might be a challenge with that crank next door." Cherry replied.
"Ah, yes, he is quite a challenge." Princess Luna said.
"Tell me about it..." Cherry muttered. "And I thought Eustace Bagge hated dogs, and he owned one."
"I know, right?" Princess Luna asked.
"Wait, you know Eustace?" Cherry replied.
"I know what you know." Princess Luna teased.
"Very funny." Cherry rolled her eyes then.
"Anyway, good luck." Princess Luna said.
"I'm sure I'll need it..." Cherry replied. "Um... What is this place called again? In case I need to visit it again?"
"The Memory Bank." Princess Luna informed.
"Right... Right... I'll be sure to visit here again in the future when I don't need to worry about my friends and their dreams." Cherry said.
"I'm sure as well." Princess Luna replied.
Cherry soon went to put the file back and began to leave the Memory Bank while Princess Luna walked off after her student did what she had to do. She began to wonder on what to do now. Atticus was seen asleep on the couch with the TV on. Cherry waved her hand in front of his face and then turned off the TV and gave him a pillow and a blanket.
The next day...
Opal was trying to brush Winn-Dixie's teeth.
"Opal, you ready to head out and put up those signs?" Daniel called.
"Yes, sir!" Opal replied. "Hold on."
The girls and Patch were seen waiting outside.
Opal and Winn-Dixie began to walk together.
"Leave him here." Daniel told his daughter.
"Stay here..." Opal sighed to Winn-Dixie as she didn't want to leave him, but she had to. "Stay!"
"Do as she says." Patch whispered to Winn-Dixie.
Winn-Dixie pouted, but he did stay put.
"I'll keep you company." Patch smiled.
"Really, new best friend forever and ever?" Winn-Dixie smiled back.
"Yeah." Patch nodded with a smile.
"Okay!" Winn-Dixie said. "I can't wait to spend more time with Opal later."
"I hope you can, Winn-Dixie, I hope you can." Patch replied with a small sigh since it didn't seem like he would stay with Opal and her father very long.
Opal soon went with her father, Darla, Amber, and Annabelle as they put flyers all around since they couldn't keep Winn-Dixie.
'I have a feeling that no one owns Winn-Dixie before Opal found him.' Amber thought to herself.
"You girls wanna make this interesting?" Darla asked Amber and Annabelle. "Like a bet?"
"Is that legal?" Annabelle gasped.
"Relax, no money will be involved," Darla said. "I bet Winn-Dixie is found by his owner, and the owner lets Opal keep him."
"Well, I bet that Winn-Dixie doesn't have an owner at all." Amber suggested.
"Alright, then deal." Darla said.
"What about you, Annabelle?" Amber asked.
"Uh... I think I might agree with you, Amber," Annabelle said. "I'm not sure myself."
"Fair enough." Darla nodded as they all shook hands on it.
The girls began to put up flyers with Winn-Dixie's picture on it. Opal sighed as this felt hard on her as they posted flyers around until they went back home.
"Now all we have to do is wait." Darla said.
When they came in the house, there seemed to be a bit of a mess.
"When I said let's play a game, this was not what I had in mind." Patch told Winn-Dixie as the others came back.
"What happened here?!" Darla panicked.
"Winn-Dixie happened..." Patch sighed.
"Yay! You're back! You're back!" Winn-Dixie barked happily as he shook himself dry.
"The joys of having a pet." Darla sighed.
Of course, because of this, Winn-Dixie would have to be put outside for the night.
"Winn-Dixie must have been used to making a mess." Cherry said.
"He did..." Darla sighed as she bowed her head in depression. "I hope that Opal's dad doesn't make Winn-Dixie go away."
Cherry gave a small frown before looking away. "Hey, kid... You don't need to worry..." she then said, lifting the girl's head up as they talked about this. "It'll be all right."
"You sure?" Darla asked.
"Yeah, he wouldn't do anything to upset his daughter, Opal." Cherry said.
"Do you really think so, Cherry?" Darla asked.
"Call it a hunch, but I know so." Cherry told her.
"Okay, I trust your hunch." Darla said.
"That's a good Dimples." Cherry replied.
Darla smiled as she knew to trust Cherry's hunch. Little did Daniel also know that Opal took down certain flyers so that no one would claim Winn-Dixie to take him away because she really loved him like her very own pet.