Chapter 10

When the four friends arrived at Taco Bell, Leah was surprised to see a huge sign advertising a burrito special.

Well, it wasn't really the sign that surprised her.

It surprised her that the sign was printed on a large sheet.

And that sheet was draped over the back of a huge chihuahua.

"Captain Bob," Leah blurted out. "It's our chihuahua!"

This caught Evan's attention. He looked at her with a confused look. "Why did you just call him Captain? And that's your chihuahua?" he asked.

Leah covered her mouth with her hand quickly when she realized what she did. Normally she'd make something up, but she didn't know what to say. She was starting to enjoy her new friendship with Evan and Justice. It didn't feel right to lie to them.

Bob must have felt the same way, because he didn't try to change the subject. He just smiled and said, "Yeah, sometimes she calls me Captain. It's a long story."

He didn't have to explain that the huge dog was his. It saw Bob and bounded up to him. Bob held out both hands and firmly told the large, excited pooch to sit. It stopped for a second, then decided to smother Leah with love instead.

"Calm down boy!" Leah said with a laugh. The chihuahua licked her with its big tongue. It soaked half her face and made a mess of her hair.

"I guess it is your dog," Justice said with a giggle.

"Yeah, it's ours," groaned Leah as she wiped her face with her sleeve.

"This is YOUR dog?" someone asked.

Leah and Bob turned around to see who it was. She saw a man standing by the door. He was wearing a Taco Bell shirt, a face mask and one of those headsets with a microphone.

"Yes, it's ours," said Bob confidently. "Why are you asking?"

The man looked a little nervous as he started to explain. "Well, I was hoping no one would claim him. He showed up earlier today. This giant chihuahua has already helped us sell more burritos than we did in a week. Did you see the line of cars?"

Leah hadn't noticed until he said it, but now she saw the line at the drive-thru was wrapped around the parking lot and going out into the road.

"Are you the manager of this Taco Bell?" Bob asked.

"Yes, I'm one of them," the man replied.

"I'd be glad to let you keep this dog if you would make a little deal with me and my friends," Bob said, as he motioned to Evan and Justice.

The man thought about it a second as he scratched his head. "I don't usually make deals with kids, but you have my attention," he said. "Tell me what you're thinking."

"You can have the dog if you let Evan and Justice stop in for a free meal whenever they want," Bob told him. Evan and Justice smiled when he said it. Everyone (even the chihuahua) looked at the man to see what he'd say.

"Whenever they want?" the man asked as he thought it over.

Justice couldn't keep her excitement in. "Oh, we wouldn't come more than a few times a week!" she blurted.

Evan tugged at her arm. "Shhhh," he whispered. "Let Bob take care of this."

Bob continued. "Yes, whenever they want. And they might come with their parents too."

"And they would get a free meal too?" the man asked.

"Only if you want to keep the dog," Bob said with a smirk. Leah was really proud of him.

The chihuahua sat down on the sidewalk and looked back and forth between Bob and the man.

"Well...," the man said as he thought it over. The dog and the four kids stared at his face, looking for a clue to what he might say. The man's eyes turned to the dog, then to the winding line of cars going out to the road.

Just to make sure the man would take the offer, Leah said, "Bob, if Taco Bell doesn't want him, we could ask the owner at the Hot Dog Hut. I saw it down the road." Bob looked where she was pointing.

Justice agreed. "Oh, yes! The dog would look so cute in a big Hot Dog Hut cap."

"And they have Mexican food too. I had nachos and cheese there once," added Evan.

"Wait!" said the man. "This giant dog is making us a fortune. I want to keep him. You've got yourself a deal!"

Evan and Justice jumped for joy. Leah was very happy for them. The man reached out and shook Bob's hand.

"We need you to sign a note for them, though," Bob told the man. "So everyone knows they get a free meal if they want it."

"Ah, you're pretty clever for a kid, aren't you?" The man laughed as he said it. "But that is no problem." He reached up to pet his new dog. "I'll bring it out to you right away."

The man went inside. Evan turned to Bob, "Thanks so much for giving away your giant dog just to make sure we'd have meals. I don't know how we could ever repay you!"

Bob reached up to pet the dog one last time. "It's really not a problem," he said. "This dog has given us more trouble than you know."

Leah laughed. "He's right about that!" she said, as she hugged the dog.

Justice wrapped her arms around the dog's front leg and gave it a big squeeze. Smiling, she said, "Evan, the other kids are never going to believe we get free Taco Bell whenever we want!"

Just then Leah looked at Bob. She must have been thinking the same thing. "How many other kids are at the shelter?" she asked Justice.

"Lots," Justice said.

"Probably about 15 right now," Evan chimed in. "But they're always coming and going."

Bob was surprised. "I didn't realize so many families were homeless here."

"Oh, there are a lot," said Evan. "With the virus, more people lost their jobs, so it's worse. They can't pay rent. And friends won't let them stay in their houses."

"Wow, I thought I had problems," Bob whispered.

"Hey Captain Bob," Justice said with a smile. "Can we talk about this after we order? I want my first free meal now!"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry," Bob said as he turned to the door and opened it for his friends.

Then he sent Leah a Mind Talk message, so only she would hear. "Leah, I'm starting to think this mission might be about helping a lot more people."

Leah just smiled as she stepped inside.

Continue to Chapter 11!