Fluffy’s apartment
Rent-controlled, on Park Avenue, in Grandpa’s name. Hallway, living, dining and kitchen; Fluffy’s room with its walk-in wardrobe (no bathroom); Grandpa’s room with its ensuite. Grandpa breaks it; the Super fixes it (“a few days”).
The story so far
Forty-three levels, one very bad week for a very good dog.
Before all of it: Charlie was born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, at Rustic Lace, where Tamara raised him. She flew with him to Newark, and Fluffy was waiting at arrivals with a sign. How Charlie came home
- Fluffy’s apartment, Park Avenue
7:00 AM Sharp
Friday, 7:00 AM: Charlie is curled up asleep in bed with Fluffy, and Grandpa is smoking in bed with the news on full blast. Then, on the dot, the Maid arrives with her nine-year-old daughter, speaking only Spanish, vacuuming at full volume and binning Charlie’s toys (her daughter only wants to play with him). Grandpa wants the AC off, Fluffy wants it at sixty, and by noon the groomer is at the door.
- Lexington Avenue
Pet Grooming Salon
Grooming day, and Fluffy forgot to make an appointment. The waiting room is packed with dogs and their owners, but the moment anyone sees Charlie he’s the Mini Aussie. Ring the bell, skip the line, and find his favorite groomer.
- Fluffy’s apartment
Grandpa’s Potatoes
Pills on the floor, teeth down the toilet, potatoes on fire, and a rent-controlled lease Grandpa won’t let anyone forget.
- Fluffy’s apartment
Fluffy Forgot Dinner
Fluffy’s temper meter fills. Well past halfway: Volcano Mode.
- Fluffy’s apartment
Aunty’s Happy Hour
Aunty comes over for “one drink” (NOT to see Fluffy, she says; he’s right there). Six drinks later she’s stumbling, spilling, and her phone won’t stop buzzing, and Grandpa wants to know who she is.
- Paola’s Osteria
Lemon Chicken at Paola’s
Dinner out, and Charlie only wants one thing: the Lemon Chicken feast with a side of mashed potatoes. Paola adores him. The waiters are flying, the espresso machine hisses, and a toddler is armed with meatballs.
- Aunty’s penthouse
The Ex Drops By
Aunty’s ex-husband is chasing her again: she was the only one who ever passed his MNPI, so everyone else has to take it, starting with Charlie. She just wants to know if he has a property to list. The first time Fluffy goes full Devil Mode.
- Aunty’s penthouse, UES
Aunty’s Penthouse
A playdate with Puppy. Fluffy is hiding in Aunty’s bedroom, and he has never met Pepe the cat. The first time he does, Pepe goes for Charlie, Fluffy throws himself in the way, and Animal Control takes Pepe away for good.
- The Mini Cooper
Road Trip to Southampton
Aunty cancelled dinner for a showing in Southampton. Three hours of her driving, and the check engine light is on: rats in the engine bay, eating the wiring.
- Montauk Highway
Tailgated by an F-150
A road-rager in a pickup tries to run the Mini off the road, until the police pull him over.
- Southampton
Southampton Beach House
Sand to dig in, waves, seagulls, Puppy, and Aunty and Fluffy sneaking around.
- The listing, Southampton
Hamptons Discount Realty
The real reason for the trip: a condemned Southampton estate, “make your best offer” (the seller thinks it’s worth millions; nobody else does), five years on the market, a crazy seller, and Aunty’s $30,000 commission. Charlie is the only reason anyone visits.
- Aunty’s penthouse
The Commission Party
The dump sold, and Aunty is celebrating. Fluffy wasn’t invited. The guests are popping champagne, and the cat’s cushion is empty. Nobody mentions it. Nobody apologizes.
- The lobby, Park Avenue
No Dogs in the Lobby
The Super, his flashlight and his violation notices. The doormen and their treat drawer.
- Fluffy’s apartment, at night
Devil Night
Fluffy, Grandpa, Aunty and the Super, in the dark. Fluffy has been at Paola’s. Nobody is OK.
- Fluffy’s apartment, Sunday
Pepe’s Revenge
Pepe is back, as a ghost: see-through, wailing, and haunting Fluffy’s apartment. Charlie has his toys to rescue, and Grandpa has finally found a pet he can see.
- Paola’s Osteria, Sunday
Fluffy’s Birthday
Nobody remembered Fluffy’s birthday except Charlie: a cake from Paola, a candle, a balloon, and one surprise guest.
- Central Park, Monday
The Face of Hamptons Discount Realty
Golden hour in Central Park: Aunty is shooting Hamptons Discount Realty’s new ad on her phone, and the face of the campaign is Charlie. Fluffy is the lighting. Unpaid.
- Park Avenue, Tuesday
Who’s Walking Who?
Fluffy finally remembered Charlie’s walk. He hasn’t looked up from his phone since the lobby, so Charlie, an Aussie, does the walking: soup from Paola’s, the pet store, a little grass, and home.
- Southampton, Wednesday
Oh, Deer
Dusk at the beach house, and the deer are out on the lawn. Every time Charlie has seen them, he ran at them, and they ran. Tonight he holds very still and says hello.
- The lobby, Thursday
The Regular Elevator
Thursday evening in the lobby. The Super says dogs ride the SERVICE elevator, and he’d like a word with Fluffy about it. Charlie keeps the two of them apart until the regular one comes down.
- The firehouse, Saturday
Stop, Drop and Sniff
Open house at Engine 22. Fluffy took off everything for one selfie in the bunker gear, and now his things are all over the firehouse. Charlie follows the cologne, past the chili, the drills and a real call.
- East Meadow, Sunday
Good Boy School
East Meadow has a board now, and the board says Charlie graduates from obedience class or he’s out. Sit, come, speak and look, right on the beat, while the frisbees fly and Nichole films everything.
- The nursing home, Sunday
Visiting Hours
Grandpa is at the nice nursing home this week, and Charlie’s brand-new diploma makes him a therapy dog. Everyone wants a visit, the dinner trolleys wait for nobody, and Grandpa has just woken up jealous.
- East Meadow, Monday
Catch of the Week
East Meadow’s Disc Dog Cup, for Engine 22’s toy drive: graduates only. Fluffy throws without looking up, Aunty throws curveballs, the nursing home brought a minibus of fans, and the firehouse brought the hose.
- The nursing home, Tuesday
Aunty’s Listing Hunt
In the nursing home’s dining hall, Aunty forages for listings worth millions: a clipboard, a bag of gummies, no commission since spring and a referral split Barry never paid. Fluffy brought Charlie and fell asleep on the couch. The residents take the gummies. They prefer Charlie.
- The hospital, then home, Wednesday
Grandpa’s Great Escape
Grandpa is held on Med-Surg, against his will, and calls it a jail. Twice he heads for the “gift shop”, and twice a nurse fetches him back; then he strolls out for good, barefoot, in his gown. At home it all goes wrong at once.
- Fabio, on Madison, Thursday
The Emperor’s New Haircut
Aunty’s hairdresser charges $500 for a simple cut, and every client is his dearest friend. Fluffy finally comes to see what the fuss is about. Fabio takes up his scissors. Charlie gets in the way. It’s a LOOK, babe.
- Candid Camera Medical, Thursday
The Money Train
The Ex-Husband owns Candid Camera Medical, and it’s all about the money: platinum and cash get him, past a velvet rope; Medicare and Medicaid get the intern. Fluffy, on a bronze plan, gets a plastic chair. Charlie leads every patient the Ex won’t see to the intern’s door.
- The pet store, Friday
Anything He Sniffs
Fluffy came to the pet store for one bag of dog food. Charlie has a list of his own, and whatever Charlie sniffs, Fluffy buys. Shoppers want photos of the Border Collie (he isn’t one), Grandpa calls from the hospital, and the receipt never ends.
- Paola’s Osteria, Friday
Nichole’s Going-Away Party
Nichole only turns up when Fluffy’s paying, and tonight he is. Too many edibles later she quits her job by phone and announces she’s moving to Chicago to eat deep-dish pizza all day. Paola has to sit down.
- The airport and Chicago, Friday
First Class to Chicago
Fluffy and Charlie fly first class to see Nichole, and Charlie has his own seat. Shady Pines Capital runs her ragged; Leakview Towers drips. Then Fluffy asks to use her spotless toilet. She says no. Her carpet pays for it, and they’re on the next flight home.
- The Townhouse, Sunday
Nothing to See Here
Aunty’s listing of a lifetime, $890,000 or best offer, off Lexington: a hole in the ceiling, pigeons in the chandelier, mold, a boiler from 1911 and a smell nobody can find. The buyers notice everything. Charlie makes sure they notice him instead.
- Annie’s dorm, Alabama, Friday
Mom, You Said You’d Pack
Annie is thirty, done with college, and moving home, and she hasn’t packed a thing. Aunty packs, Annie bosses, Fluffy naps on the futon. Then out on the campus lawn a big dog off the leash goes for Puppy, and Charlie gets between them.
- The Haul Mary truck, the interstate
Charlie Gets Carsick
Fluffy promised to drive. At the counter: “Charlie gets carsick. I have to hold him. It’s a medical thing.” So Aunty drives the truck a thousand miles, Annie runs the radio, the snacks and her mother, and Charlie keeps the peace into the night.
- Upper East Stash, Saturday
Charlie Needs His Walk
The roll-up door goes up on unit 4D, and the boxes come out. Fluffy carries none of them. Charlie leads the movers through the corridors until Joseph arrives with a hand truck and a plan, Sam turns up for the pizza, and Fluffy remembers Charlie needs his walk.
- Federico’s residence, East Hampton, Thursday
A Summit in Socks
Federico (he works at NATO, he’ll tell you) is giving a diplomatic reception. Fluffy slips off his loafers, bows to an ambassador, and Federico’s four dogs each take something: two gloves, two loafers, hidden their own ways in the woods. Charlie has until the photo.
- Michael’s parents’ house, Miami, Tuesday
He Isn’t Home
Michael’s parents swear he isn’t home. His car is in the driveway and he’s behind the water heater. Charlie walks him round the yard, says hello to the “delivery man” (it’s the process server Federico sends with the divorce papers, again), and keeps Fluffy from mentioning the party. Then a flying saucer takes Michael, talking all the way up, and Charlie fetches the sunglasses he dropped.
- The airport in Ohio, then Dad’s house, Wednesday
Nobody Picked Us Up
Lubna promised to pick them up at the airport. She didn’t. A long cab round the lake later, she tells Dad that Fluffy is late because he doesn’t care, shows everyone the plans for her gold-plated house back home, and turns up wherever Fluffy gets five minutes with his father.
- Aunty’s penthouse, Wednesday
Holding Space
Annie has a seating chart, index cards, a printed agenda and a safe word: it’s an intervention, for her mother. Joseph labeled the chairs, Sam leaves early for a thing, and Fluffy, there for the catering, swears Aunty has never touched a drop. Charlie sniffs out the bottles she hid and drops each one at Annie’s feet.
- Hudson Yards Bathhouse, Monday
Guest Pass
Fluffy has no membership and no pass, so he walks into Hudson Yards Bathhouse like he owns it: six eucalyptus towels, a smoothie on somebody else’s tab, the free sauna. Out on the plaza a skater’s board gets away from her, and Charlie runs it down. That’s Samantha. Up on the pool deck nobody swims, until Charlie does.
- Samantha’s house, West Hollywood, Sunday
Bad Juju
Samantha moved into an old house in West Hollywood with cheap rent, and now she knows why. Doors slam, her board rolls away by itself, she hasn’t slept or landed a trick all week, and she keeps calling Fluffy. Charlie follows the cold: the Starlet wants her close-up, the Butler wants one sock put away, the Roller Ghost wants a real roll.
- Anjali’s, across Aunty’s landing, Wednesday
Strictly Business
Across the private landing at the top of Aunty’s building lives Anjali, a painter, who keeps asking Aunty over to review her artwork: six portraits of Aunty, from memory. Aunty brings comps. Fluffy brings an appetite. Anjali brings candles, oysters and one move after another, and Charlie keeps the evening strictly business: up on the sofa between them, the oysters first, a bark at the outfit change, and the doorway down the hall before anyone gets there.