She looked at me. "Don't you want to hear this, Bern?"

"Sorry."

"The thing is, when she came in with the dog I figured they were a natural combination. She's a tall stern blonde out of a masochist's dream. Wears designer dresses. Cheekbones straight out of the Social Register. Yards of class, you know?"

"Uh-huh."

"And the Bouvier's a very classy dog. Very trendy these days. It's only been an AKC recognized breed for a couple of years now. They're expensive dogs, and they look pretty classy even if you don't happen to know how much they cost, and here's this leggy blonde in a leather coat with this jet-black Bouvier at her side, and they looked right for each other."

"So?"

"She picked the dog because of its name."

"What was his name?"

"Her name, not his name. The dog's a bitch."

"That's pretty trendy, too. Being a bitch."

"Oh, it never goes out of style. No, the dog's name is Astrid, as a matter of fact, but that's the name Wanda gave her. What made her pick the dog was the name of the breed."

"Why?"

"Because Wanda's maiden name is Flanders."

"Jackie Kennedy's maiden name is Bouvier," I said, "and I don't know what kind of a dog she has, and I'm not sure I care. You lost me somewhere. What does Flanders have to do with Bouvier?"

"Oh, I thought you knew. The Bouvier originated in Belgium. The full name of the breed is Bouvier des Flandres."

"Oh."

"So that's what got her interested in the breed, and she wound up buying a puppy a couple of years ago, and it turned out to be the perfect choice. She's crazy about Astrid, and the dog's incredibly devoted to her, and in addition to being a classy animal Astrid's also extremely intelligent and a great watchdog."

"I'm really happy for them," I said.

"I think you should be. I've been grooming her dog for about a year now. She'll bring her in for routine bathing and grooming every couple of months, and then she'll get the full treatment before shows. They don't show Astrid all that often but now and then they'll hit a show, and she's picked up a couple of ribbons along the way, including a blue or two."