"He howls when I leave him," Jesse said.

Jenn squatted in front of the dog. Given how tight Jenn wore her pants, Jesse thought it was no small thing. But she did it easily, though it made her pants pull tighter over the curve of her butt.

"Does he bite?"

"I don't know," Jesse said. "He's only been here a couple of hours."

Jenn put her hand out. Women, Jesse thought, squat much more gracefully than men.

"Clench your fist," Jesse said. "It makes it harder for him to bite your hand."

"Jesus," Jenn said and jerked her hand back.

The dog kept his head up, looking at her. She made a fist and put it toward the dog's nose very carefully. The dog sniffed at her fist carefully, and thumped the floor with his tail a couple of times.

"I think he likes me," Jenn said.

"Probably," Jesse said.

"If we take him with us, won't he howl when we leave him in the car?"

"We could eat in the car," Jesse said.

Jenn stared at him.

Finally she said, "Jesse, haven't you killed several people?"

Jesse nodded.

"And yet you can't leave a stray dog to have dinner with your ex-wife who, I guess, still loves you, and whom I believe you still love, for fear that the dog will be unhappy?"

Jesse nodded.

"What would we eat in the car?" Jenn said.

"Pizza?"

"Split three ways?" Jenn said.

"I guess."

"And maybe a six-pack?"

"Sure," Jesse said.

"Glad I dressed up," Jenn said.

Jesse stood. The dog stood as soon as Jesse did.

"We're glad, too," Jesse said.

In Jesse's car, the dog sat in the backseat. And in the parking lot of Paradise Pizza, the dog rested his head on the back of Jenn's seat while Jesse and Jenn ate a pizza with green peppers and mushrooms and drank beer from the can.

"Can I give him my pizza crust?" Jenn said.

"I think he likes those," Jesse said.