Having successfully scrounged a few scraps for breakfast, Rita returned to hang around the barge, hoping that Dodger would make an appearance. Eventually giving up, she headed out towards the pawn shop near which Fagin tended to park his scooter. It seemed her best chance of catching up with her friends who had left for the day. As for Dodger… Rita suspected that he'd be actively avoiding her, and with a million places he could be hiding, it didn't seem likely that she'd get the chance to try and talk to him about what had happened the night before. She was worried. To see Dodger in such a fragile emotional state was confronting, and she couldn't help but imagine all the trouble he could get into while his head was all over the place- it wasn't as if he wasn't reckless at the best of times.
A small, furry blur whizzed between Rita's legs as she came to the scooter. She looked down after it and felt something large crash hard into her head.
"Ouch- watch it!" Rita cried, briefly seeing stars.
Francis fell back onto his rear.
"Ah, there you are," said Francis, slightly dazed. "We had been quite curious as to where you and Dodger had been all night."
Tito came scuttling back underneath Rita. "You two have some fun last night, huh?" Tito asked and started to laugh. It seemed fairly obvious to him what had happened.
"What?" Rita exclaimed, "Tito, don't be stupid. I was with Scout all night, it's nothing to do with me what Dodger gets up to. You've not seen him at all?"
Not entirely convinced, Tito nonetheless stopped laughing. It appeared that Rita was in a foul mood and he thought it best to avoid antagonising her… that girl could pack a mean bite.
"We've not seen him since yesterday, when we all had lunch together," said Einstein, peering around the corner. "I hope he's not hurt."
Rita shrugged, trying to come across as unconcerned. "You know Dodge, he's fairly prone to staying out late. He was probably just having too much fun to come home."
It seemed that was all the explanation needed, and the attention of the dogs went back to finding loot for Fagin. With Dodger not around, Rita took the lead. She didn't really feel like taking care of everyone, not while her mind was elsewhere, but someone had to step up. The morning wasn't without its hiccups; at one point, Tito had been fiddling around with an electric wire and was shot backwards with a jolt. After a frantic few moments trying to ascertain that the little dog was okay, Rita, Francis and Einstein were bewildered to find Tito quickly back up on his feet. Apparently he'd been trying to turn a light off just by playing with the wiring. Rita was quite certain that the feisty pup would get himself in serious trouble someday with his boundless and fearless curiosity. Soon enough, Tito was running around again with the ever-cheerful Einstein. The Great Dane was glad to have finished work to the day and his attention was now on playing with his tiny friend, oblivious to the worry that Rita was still feeling.
Rita stared out into the foot-traffic that surrounded her, lost in thought. All day she'd been keeping an eye out, hoping that Dodger would make an appearance, but there was still no sign of him. She couldn't shake the image in her head of poor Dodger completely losing control, crying as though his whole world was collapsing. She wanted to snuggle close to him, to make it all better… or even to at least do something. Surely, he wasn't in a good state to be all on his own.
Dragging herself back to reality, Rita looked around for her friends. Tito and Einstein had disappeared, taking their game of chase away from their companions. Francis was sitting on the pavement, gazing up at a colourful poster.
Rita joined Francis to examine the poster that he was intently studying. "Can you read it?" she asked.
"To an extent," the bulldog said, his eyes scanning the paper, "Some of the words are familiar. It's 'Much Ado about Nothing'- Shakespeare. It says, I believe, that it is to be performed in the park. Sadly, I can't understand the dates they've written." He frowned, but kept looking at the poster all the same, just in case he might suddenly be able to decipher the numbers if he stared hard enough.
"It's later this month, I think." Rita squinted at the lettering. She was not particularly good at reading; it was all a load of human nonsense, but she could manage a small amount.
Francis turned to look at her, flabbergasted, "You can read?"
She nodded. "A little. I know what my own name looks like because it was on my tag. We've got a calendar back home, I can recognise the numbers and months on it. Otherwise I might miss my birthday. It's just a few days away… my first."
"I don't suppose you're expecting us to throw you a party? I didn't realise we were in the practice of celebrating birthdays." Francis said sniffily.
Rita laughed, pleased to have her mind taken away from Dodger. "I'm not angling for a party, I just want to know that I've got through a whole year," she suddenly looked a little embarrassed. "From what I've heard, a lot of puppies on the streets don't live to see their first birthday… I know I've had it easy, living with Fagin and all that, but it feels like a milestone. Like I'll have made it."
"I see," Francis said, turning his head to look back at the poster. "So, if I were to feel the urge to push you under a bus, you'd rather I waited until after your birthday?"
So he does have a sense of humour in there, thought Rita. "That would be great, thanks," She looked at the poster, curious about her companion's great interest in it. "What is this Shakespeare thing anyway?"
Francis' eyes popped- surely even a common street waif should have heard of Shakespeare. "The Bard of Avon!" he exclaimed, "William Shakespeare was a genius, writer of the greatest plays in the English language! 'Much Ado About Nothing' is one of his finest comedies. You are not familiar with any of his work?"
"Nope. Doesn't mean nothing to me."
Francis muttered to himself, something about uncultured youth, but was interrupted.
"Do you want to go see this? If it's in the park I could probably sneak you in, shouldn't be too hard. The theatre's near the castle, right?" Rita asked. She'd been feeling downright miserable all day, and an opportunity to make someone happy was welcome. Considering the ordeal of coming to terms with his new lifestyle, Francis was deserving of something to make him smile himself.
"You could do that? You would…?" the bulldog's eyes were wide, but no longer in disappointed astonishment. "I-I- I don't know what to say!" The very thought of spending an evening enjoying the very delights that he had so missed left him almost overwhelmed. "Thank you, you have my most sincere gratitude." It suddenly occurred to Francis that he had been far too quick in his initial assessment of Rita as a filthy and unsavoury character.
Rita smiled, to see the usually huffy Francis lit up like this lifted her own spirits. She realised that they were friends now, no longer associating just out of necessity. "Anytime. Does this mean you're not going to have to shove me under any buses?"
"No; no, I would think not." Francis chuckled.
"Come on, we'd better get back to the others." Rita started off towards the street where they'd left Einstein and Tito, with a backward glance to Francis.
Several hours later, Dodger finally made an appearance, strutting around and humming as he went, looking for all the world like he hadn't a care. He knew very well that Rita would not be convinced, but was sure that the others would be oblivious to anything being amiss.
As expected, Rita came over quickly, a look of concern on her face. "Hey, Dodgie, where've you been all day?"
Tito ran over, and danced wildly under Dodger's feet. "Where ya been, man?
Taking a little while to respond to give the impression of being happily caught up in his own little world, Dodger looked over his friends with an apparently self-satisfied grin. Not wanting to give away that underneath the mask he was an emotional mess, he could do little to prevent Rita from raising suspicions. As much as he hoped she'd just keep it to herself and eventually forget about it, the worry on her face was not encouraging.
"Whoa, guys- can't I take a day to have some fun on my own anymore?" Dodger asked casually.
Einstein wagged his tail merrily, pleased to see his good friend. "That's okay, just as long as you come back to us. Do you want to play, Dodger?"
Satisfied that he'd convinced most of his friends, Dodger relaxed a little in spite of his inner turmoil.
Suddenly, Francis was startled by the appearance of a lanky brown hound with a mess of long fur on his head. The newcomer had approached quietly and seemingly come out of nowhere. Oddly, Dodger and Einstein barely batted an eyelid at the presence of some strange, scruffy dog, and Rita's face had lit up.
"Dad!" Rita exclaimed, and she moved in to nuzzle her father.
"Hi, Rita," Storm said, "you doin' okay?"
For a moment, Rita wanted to tell him about everything that was troubling her… but she certainly couldn't with Francis and Dodger there, and even if it were just the two of them it would be a breach of Dodger's trust and not worth it. "I'm fine," she said, "pretty busy, but I'm fine."
Dodger noticed the wary look on Francis' face. "You've not met Rita's old man yet, I take it?"
Francis shook his head. The resemblance between the two hounds was certainly there; the father had the same air of toughness about him that the bulldog found so intimidating in Rita. He didn't imagine that this dog would be someone to get on the wrong side of any more than his daughter was.
Tito charged up, growling and bouncing on his feet. Whoever this big stranger was would by no means intimidate him.
"Dad, this is Francis, and that little pain in the butt is Tito," said Rita, "they're the new guys."
Storm bowed his head in a low key greeting, and then turned his attention back to his daughter. To his eye, she looked stressed, as though something was troubling her. "You want to come hang out with me for a while? It's about time we caught up properly."
Rita smiled. Even if she couldn't really talk about her concerns for Dodger, it would only do her good to spend time with someone who was supportive regardless. "Yeah, that'd be nice. I've brought a few things back for Fagin, so there's no real need to stick around here."
"Best I have a quick word with all of you first," Storm said, his eyes lingering over Dodger, whom he knew to be reckless. "I've been hearing a lot of rumours of disappearances; dogs in their prime just vanishing without a trace. I know they could've just been run over or something like that, but it seems to be happening a lot. Just make sure you keep your wits about you."
Dodger smirked. "Hey, you know me- always careful."
Storm was not daft enough to miss when he wasn't being taken seriously. "Watch yourself, kid. You're gonna wind up in trouble one of these days. Humour me, okay? Just be that bit more cautious."
"Anyone tries to take me, I'll give 'em a fight they won't forget!" shouted Tito, once again bristled up and bouncing, as if raring for an epic battle with some invisible foe. "I'll get 'em good, man!"
Rita ignored the display of bravado and gave her father a solemn nod, apparently more inclined to take advice on board than Dodger and Tito. "We'll be careful. If something's goin' on, we'll try and stay well clear of anything weird," she said. While Dodger might be streetwise enough to stay out of trouble, she knew that Francis and Tito certainly were not, and she wouldn't put blundering into harm's way past Einstein either.
Satisfied that at least someone was listening, Storm relaxed a little and started to head onwards. He looked over his shoulder to Rita, inviting her to follow.
Together, Storm and Rita headed toward the park, a place where they'd spent many long days during the winter in which they'd lived side by side. Things had changed somewhat since then; Rita was all but grown up and no longer really needed the guidance of her father to get by, but the enjoyment they found playing in the park with one another was still the same. With the sun shining brightly, it was a beautiful afternoon for such frolicking, and for just a little while, Rita could forget about her worries.
Keeping a watchful eye out for dogcatchers, they trotted over to an ornate water fountain. Soon both dogs were lapping at the cool water and appreciating the refreshment it provided. Finding good places to drink could be a challenge in the city, but the park provided plenty. Rita looked over to her father as she leaned over the fountain. As always, he was giving off an aura of calm confidence, and it somehow left her feeling more content herself.
Storm looked up and smiled gently, sensing that Rita was feeling better. "So are you going to tell me what's been going on? You're not yourself, squirt; there's no point trying to hide it."
Rita started to stare at the water, as though avoiding eye contact with her father. She still couldn't say what had been troubling her, it just wouldn't be right. "I- I can't say. I'm worried about someone, but I can't tell you who or why. I want to help, but they won't let me. And Scout's been making life hard for me as well; he wants me to be his mate- like properly, leaving home and everything. I don't want it, Dad, but he always makes me feel beautiful, you know? I don't want to lose that either, not after I spent so long when I was a kid desperate for someone to love me. But that's not really a reason to stay with someone, is it? It's so confusing. And then I'm trying to take care of the new guys as well. They're great and all, like suddenly I've got these new brothers, but I'm just tired of having to be the mature one all the time. I'm real tired."
Storm listened sympathetically. He wasn't in the practice of giving advice, not being used to having much in the way of company to give advice to. All the same, he made every effort to be helpful to his daughter wherever he could, even if she wasn't giving him a lot to go on. "Sounds like you're pretty much drained. I think an afternoon off from all your worries would do you a lot of good- and you can take time off being the grown-up as well, I'll take care of that role for you."
Looking back to meet her father's gaze, Rita smiled appreciatively. "Thanks, Dad," she said quietly.
"It'll be easier for you to know the way forward if your head's not all over the place," said Storm, "I'll try and cheer you up a bit, and then hopefully you'll be in a good space to work the rest out. And if there's anything I can do for you, I'll be hanging around your neck of the woods for a while; don't be afraid to come for help."
"I hope you're right," Rita said, "I've actually been avoiding Scout since I missed a date we were supposed to have yesterday; something came up that was more important. I know he's gonna give me a hard time, but I just can't face it right now. Guess I'm a real coward."
Storm nuzzled her shoulder. "Not a coward, just a kid who's a bit overwhelmed. You're doing fine, Rita." He took one last drink before licking the remaining droplets from his whiskers and beginning his walk further into the park. "Come on, it sounds like you're overdue a bit of fun."
The little bit of reassurance her father had given Rita went a long way. In his company, it was easy to forget all her troubles- almost as though she was back in the days when it was just the two of them; no responsibilities, no clingy boyfriend, and the happy assumption that Dodger was perfectly fine. Soon, she was merrily rolling in the grass, laughing at Storm as he squirmed around on his back, his legs kicking in the air. In the secluded spot they'd found, there was little threat from humans, and the sun shone through the trees, warming their exposed bellies. When the evening chill set in and sunbathing was not so much of a pleasure, Rita got to her feet and invited Storm to chase her. For over an hour they raced around the park, taking wild leaps over benches and near tripping up anyone who crossed their erratic paths. The time seemed to fly, and Rita was surprised to see the sky darkening. Again she'd missed meeting up with Scout, but it was hard to worry about that when her spirits had been lifted. As Dodger and the others were a higher priority, she'd just have to deal with Scout when everything settled back down a bit. She certainly didn't need him to get her all strung out again after all the effort Storm had made to achieve the opposite. While her concerns for Dodger still lingered, it seemed she was in a better place within herself to deal with it, and for that she was very thankful to Storm.