They felt relieved and revived by this explanation, so the subject was quickly dropped. It was hot and they were dying to go for a swim, so they started to make plans for an excursion to a faraway beach. Jacopo volunteered to write up a description of the dog and post it on the island’s Facebook page. Just in case.
* * *
In the following days Hermes came along everywhere they went. On the beach he didn’t mind his new red leash and sat under the shade of a tree while they went swimming. He quickly learned how to wait outside a shop if dogs were not allowed. He seemed to have been trained to obey any rule in exchange for a bit of attention and was democratic in his preferences: at night he invariably left his makeshift bedding and randomly chose which bedroom to join, so that the two couples didn’t compete but joked about the co-parenting scenario. Everywhere they went, people stopped to cuddle Hermes and children wanted to hold him; everyone agreed he was the sweetest dog they had ever seen. Each time someone stopped to fondle him, the four of them always made sure to tell how they had found him late at night on a deserted road, but nobody seemed to know whether the dog belonged to anyone. They also kept checking the Facebook page where Jacopo had posted a blurry photo, but nobody claimed him. As days went by and half the island was now aware of the existence of the lost puppy, they felt encouraged to treat Hermes as their own.
* * *
Carlos was tickling Hermes’s pink belly, driving him crazy with pleasure. He had just woken up and the dog had immediately come to greet him with a lick on the nose. Jacopo was looking at the scene from his twin bed with half a smile.
“What are we going to do with him if nobody shows up?” Jacopo asked. “We can’t leave him here, can we?”
“I’m not going to leave him here. I was thinking I should take him back to Rome with me.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
“Are you sure? You travel so much, Carlos.”
“He’s a small dog. I could take him on the plane wherever I go.”
“You don’t know—he might grow into a giant.”
“He won’t. He’s definitely a lapdog.”
“Anyway, a dog needs to go out at least three times a day, and you’re too busy at the office.”
“Whatever. I’ll find a way. I can hire a dog walker to do that.”
Jacopo was pensive for a moment. Then he made a dismissive gesture with his hand.
“We don’t need that. I can look after him when you’re gone and I can take him to the park. It would be good for me. I need a reason to move more.”
Carlos noticed the “we” and couldn’t help but smile.
“Really? Would you be happy to take care of him every now and then?”
“Yes, of course. Actually, I’m a little jealous that he’s going to be living with you.”
“No need to be jealous. He can stay with you whenever you want. In any case, we live so close, it would be easy to share him.”
“Exactly. We’ll find a way,” Jacopo said, and they both looked at each other, almost surprised, as if they had just made a big decision without even knowing it.
* * *
The vacation was coming to an end; in less than a week they would be taking the ferry back to Athens and then fly home from there.
The four of them were having dinner beneath a string of tiny lights in the chora, the quaint whitewashed village on top of the hill. Traditional sirtaki music was playing in the background and whiffs of fried calamari floated in the air. Hermes, as usual, was sprawled under the table, dozing. Gabriel and Clara seemed more at ease with each other than when they had arrived, as though they had found a balance. She seemed less insecure around him and he was warmer, more present. Carlos and Jacopo had decided they had misjudged him at first, by thinking him pretentious and a snob: most likely he was probably intimidated by them. In fact, since Hermes’s arrival, he had been much friendlier, as though the dog’s rescue night had consolidated some kind of kinship among them.
Carlos made a swift move and announced he had decided to adopt Hermes. He had looked online, and there was no problem taking him back on the plane; he could travel in a carrier bag, and all that was needed were a few shots, which he could get from the local vet.
Clara remained silent. So did Gabriel. They were looking down, then they exchanged a meaningful glance.
“What?” Carlos asked.
“Nothing,” Clara said.
“Come on. Speak up,” Carlos urged her.
“Nothing, it’s just that…”
“Yes?”
“I was also thinking I could, that’s all.”
Now it was Jacopo and Carlos’s turn to look at each other with a certain apprehension.
“You travel all the time,” Clara said. “Did you think about that?”
“Jacopo and I made a plan. It’s going to be a sort of joint-custody thing. He’ll take Hermes when I’m away.”
“Oh. Okay, then,” Clara said, in a disappointed, girlish tone.
Carlos glanced at Jacopo nervously, urging him to step in.
“We had no idea you would want to keep him,” Jacopo said.
“You’ve never had a dog,” Carlos added. “I mean, I never thought of you as an animal person.”
“What do you mean?” Clara snapped back at him. “That’s totally ridiculous. I was the one who didn’t want to leave him behind, remember? And, by the way, what makes a person an animal person? Does one need to present a CV? I grew up with two cats and adored them, just so you know.”
“Please, Clara, don’t get upset. Nothing’s set in stone here. We’re just talking—no final decision has been made.”
Clara dismissed Carlos with a flick of her hand.
“It’s fine if you take him. I was just thinking that I work in my studio all day long and I spend so much time on my own, it would be so nice to have him around. I get quite lonely in there, you know.”
Gabriel shot a glance at her, as though this statement had something to do with him. Instinctively he placed a hand on her knee.
“Clara, we could all take turns,” Jacopo offered. “We see one another all the time anyway. Hermes can be our family dog. Right, Carlos?”
“Yes. Exactly. We should just continue with our shared custody. I don’t see a problem. It’s actually a great solution.”