Good afternoon. It is I Gigi the parti poodle here once again to entertain you with another chapter of my story. As you may know last week, I posted a before photo of myself prior to my grooming on Friday. And this week I am posting an after photo of my beautiful self although I must say I am always gorgeous regardless of the condition of my hair. Here it is:

My novelist asked if I would note that her final book in her Musicology series entitled Musicology: The Epiquad will be releasing on Friday, June 11^th. Eleven is an important number in the book series and so my novelist wants to release it on that date. I will continue to keep you updated on this event. In the meantime, relax, get cozy and enjoy the tenth chapter of my story What I Found in the Trunk. Cheers!

What I Found In the Trunk

By

Gigi the parti poodle

Chapter Ten

“I have to tell you, Gary,” Bennet said from the back seat. “For an old person’s car this Buick is pretty fly.”

“It’s not mine,” Gary said. “I left my car on the lot because I think Durwin and his buds put a tracker on it.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. We don’t even know if we’ll find Rune in Leavenworth. She could be staying at a relative’s or a friend’s house.”

“I’m betting she’s going to show her face,” Rusty said.

“What makes you say that?” Bennet asked.

“She took a train.”

“Doesn’t mean someone wasn’t there to meet her at the station.”

“True. But I’m betting she’s alone.”

“I hope you’re right,” Gary said. “She’ll be a lot easier to find if she’s a tourist. She’s more likely to wander around on Front Street.”

“I could totally go for a bratwurst and some spaetzle right now,” Bennet said. “I totally dig spaetzle.”

“I want a beer,” Rusty said.

“You’ve got to try something from the Icicle Brewing Company, bro. Especially the Tripple Dry Hopped IPA. That stuff rocks…”

“Let’s stay focused here,” Gary said. “We aren’t tourists. We’re going to Leavenworth to find Rune and whatever she took so I can get Durwin off my back.”

“I’m just saying, bro. There’s nothing like bratwurst and spaetzle with an Icicle brewski to wash it down.”

“Look, we’re going to be pulling into Leavenworth soon and I need to find a parking spot. And I seriously need some coffee. I haven’t slept all night.”

“Dude, just park the car and sleep in the back seat. Rusty and I will procure some morning java.”

“The Argonaut Espresso Bar doesn’t open until seven.”

“That’s not too long from now.”

“Okay, whatever.”

Because of the early hour parking was plentiful. Gary found a spot on one of the side streets and shut off the engine. Bennet opened the door and got out of the back seat as Gary got out of the driver’s seat and they traded places.

“You’ve got to try their Hipster Toast, Russ,” Bennet told Rusty. “It’s da bomb, man.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Rusty said.

“Did Gary tell you he and I were roommates in college?”

“The subject never came up.”

“We shared a dorm room in Haggett Hall, didn’t we bro?”

“I’m trying to sleep,” Gary said from the back seat.

“What did you major in?” Rusty asked.

“I double majored in Art and Math,” Bennet replied.

“Seriously?”

“Totally. I used to make Gary walk around with me and I’d show him all the artwork on campus.”

“I used to show him all the grotesques.”

“What’s a grotesque?”

“It’s like a gargoyle except it doesn’t expel water from its mouth. They’re a decorative end of a roof gutter.”

“Interesting.”

“But the two can look a lot alike.”

“You learn something new every day.”

“Yeah, they have a lot of them on the four buildings in the quad. In fact, for my final art project in the spring of my senior year I made like this wild grotesque costume and stood against Raitt Hall by the doorway. When people walked by, I’d like grunt and freak them out. It was totally cool, dude.”

“Wow.”

Rune woke up at seven in her room at the Obertal Inn. She had not slept well having had a nightmare involving a black bear she’d seen in Stehekin once when she lived there with her parents and younger brother. In the dream she was walking out to the area by the lake where church was held on the bank of Lake Chelan. The place was set up with permanent benches and a pulpit for the minister. It was a bright morning, and the sun was kissing the water leaving sparkles everywhere it touched. The benches that faced the lake were empty and inviting. Wearing her summer pajamas Rune sat down on one of the benches.

As she was sitting there looking out over the water a large black bear came lumbering by. It turned its head and looked at Rune. Black bears were common in Stehekin. But being alone in the outdoor chapel and seeing one sent a shock of terror through her. The bear got up on its hind legs and walked up to the pulpit. It was wearing a royal crown of some sort with an emerald shaped emerald in the front. It put its paws on the pulpit and looked straight at Rune.

“You’re confused,” the bear said.

Rune, surprised to hear the bear speak even though this was a dream said, “What?”

“You can’t decide if you like this place or not.”

“What makes you say that?”

“You find it both a paradise and a prison at the same time.”

“Perhaps.”

“What are you going to do about it?”

“I can’t do anything about it. I’m too young. It’s my parents who decide whether we live here or not.”

“There will come a time when you must choose.”

“Choose what?”

“Choose whether to leave or come back.”

“Once I leave, I’m not coming back. I had five bee stings last month.”

“The bees are bad up here,” the bear admitted. “But they should not determine your choice.”

“Well, I choose to leave.”

“There’s a fire coming.”

“When?”

“Soon.”

“Is my family in danger.”

“You are in danger.”

“Because of the fire?”

“I must go now.”

“Should I warn my family about the fire?”

“There will be a boat coming soon.”

“Should I get on it?”

“Pretzel.”

“What?”

“Pretzel.”

Rune woke up after the bear said “pretzel”. She blinked her eyes a couple of times. Dreams were weird. She threw the covers off and sat up. Then she looked at the coffee maker and decided to go downstairs and get brunch.

My Books

You can check out my books Chicane and the first four installments in my Musicology book series Musicology: Volume One, Baby!, Musicology: Volume Two, Kid!, Musicology: Volume Three, Twist! and Musicology: Volume Four, Sweetie! on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback editions. The fifth and final book of the Musicology series, Musicology: The Epiquad will be releasing next month on Friday, June 11, 2021. You can also check out Musicology’s web site at www.musicologyrocks.com and vote for who you think will win Musicology!!!

STREAM OF THE WEEK: BOWFINGER (1999)-HBO Max

In the continuing hunt for great summer movies to stream this one is hilarious. Written with great wit by Steve Martin who also plays the title role and directed by the wonderful Frank Oz this film makes me laugh every time I see it. Forty-nine-year-old B-movie producer and director Bobby Bowfinger (Steve Martin) is running out of time. His film company Bowfinger International Pictures has never produced a film. He has managed to scrape together a life savings of $2,184 and after reading a script written by his buddy Afrim (Adam Alexi-Mahl) he decides it’s finally time to cash in. With the help of his renegade cinematographer Dave (Jamie Kennedy) they realize they need a big name to play the lead and decide to film movie star Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy) without him knowing it. Using a couple of his in-house actors Slater (Kohl Sudduth) and theatrically trained Carol (Christine Baranski) and new hire Daisy (Heather Graham) they set out using guerrilla filmmaking tactics to shoot the project. All goes well until Kit’s Scientology…er…MindHead mentor Terry Strickter (Terrance Stamp) gets wind of the operation. All the actors are great here, but Murphy is a real standout. Look for Robert Downey Jr. as Universal Pictures executive Jerry Renfro.