Now, all they could do was wait. Pedro kept his phone close at all times, jumping whenever it buzzed. But each time, it was just a supplier, a delivery notification, or his wife checking in. No one had seen Lola. No one had called. The silence was beginning to gnaw at him.
That evening, after closing the shop, Pedro climbed into his old car and began driving slowly around the outer edges of campus. He kept his window down, calling her name softly. Once or twice, he spotted a flash of black and white fur and his heart leapt—only to fall again.