Serena

In park this morning, ask Serena if she knows of any cure for howling. She asks, Is it you, Dave, or Jenny who as the problem, ha ha. Jenny cavorts with Serena's Great Dane and a three-legged Standard Poodle. That one's a biter, says Serena, pointing at the poodle. Ask, Other dogs? No, Serena says, she bit the turkey sausage vendor at the farmer's market. She adds, Biting is much worse than howling. This is true and try to console self with fact while Jenny and I walk back to apartment building. Doorman, who evidentally has not heard or does not care about Jenny's howling, gives her a treat. Jenny wriggles around and receives another. Ask doorman if he's heard complaints about any howling dogs in the building. No, he says. Go upstairs feeling triumphant. Open door and Jenny runs into kitchen, trailing leash. Follow her, and too late, see that Dave has given her a treat too. Tell him what heard from doorman. He gets a funny look on face and points at kitchen table. There is a note. Pick it up. The (new) next door neighbor--his name is Steven--writes, Your dog howled twice yesterday and once the day before. I work at home and I'm afraid I'm going to have to complain to the management company if this keeps up. Do not care for his tone. Neither does Dave. We decide to ignore the note for now (howled twice? what does that even mean?) and to buckle down to find ourselves an apartment to buy.