She floated her fingers like chiffon shreds at the gray
dog breathing heavy in the backseat in front of her. Cool,
like the Go thing they do in The Sting with their noses. Go.
The dog took note and turned back to the driver peeling
out on green. People are less guarded when there’s a silly
old dog panting in their rearview, research shows—
a lot of research. We mistake panting for smiling.
So that’s the policy for now.