made her happy. My mom tossed her a ten-pound family-size tube of ground beef,

which disappeared down her gullet. Paul poured lemonade for the rest of us while

I explained about our visit to Connecticut.

 

"So it's true." Paul stared at me like he'd never seen me before. He was wearing

his white bathrobe, now covered in hellhound fur, and his salt-and-pepper hair

was sticking up in every direction. "All the talk about monsters, and being a

demigod . . . it's really true."

 

I nodded. Last fall I'd explained to Paul who I was. My mom had backed me up.

But until this moment, I don't think he really believed us.

 

"Sorry about Mrs. O'Leary," I said, "destroying the living room and all."

 

Paul laughed like he was delighted. "Are you kidding? This is awesome! I mean,

when I saw the hoofprints on the Prius, I thought maybe. But this!"

 

He patted Mrs. O'Leary's snout. The living room shook — BOOM, BOOM, BOOM — which

either meant a SWAT team was breaking down the door or Mrs. O'Leary was wagging

her tail.

 

I couldn't help but smile. Paul was a pretty cool guy, even if he was my English

teacher as well as my stepdad.

 

'Tha nk s for not freaking out," I said.