Nate heard a familiar yippy squeal and turned to see a little tail sticking out of a white dress disappear over the ledge of the pool. He was on the other side of the stage and into the pool before Karla knew he was gone. He surfaced with a drenched rat, white dress clinging, licking his face.
Someone whispered, “Isn’t that why babies aren’t supposed to shift until they’re older?”
Elsewhere in the crowd, a hand shot up and Lael’s voice rang out. “Sorry about that. My bad. We’ll talk later.”
A dripping Nate handed over a dripping, lolling, wide-eye, tail-wagging happy camper to her nanny. The little girl yipped, making everyone in the crowd say, “Ahhhh, how cute.” A man and a lady brought the other two tail-waggers over. The chef stomped past with a half-chewed steak in hand.
* * *
Aft
