thought for a moment. “I’ve only encountered a few cases, but as far as I know it tends to wear off eventually. Whether it does this time remains to be seen, but she’s sure to figure things out eventually. Until then, I suggest you watch from a distance and let her get through his on her own.”

           Toby couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You’re asking me to leave Luna on her own?”

           “No, I’m telling you to do what you can to make sure it doesn’t get worse, and let Luna’s head heal itself.”

           “Dad, do you have any idea how hard that is?”

           “Admittedly, no. But if you have any better ideas, I’d be happy to help.”

           Toby sagged. “No, I guess it’s you’re plan or nothing.”

           Rex smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry. When the time comes to step in, you’ll know.”

           Toby nodded. “Thanks, dad. I think I’ll go home now.”

           Rex smiled. “Godspeed, son.”

           Luna awoke the next morning with bleary eyes. All night she had dreamed about Toby. First when they were puppies-she remembered him knocking a pile of crates on top of her and sending her to the hospital. Then she remembered a time she had seen him yelling at a wolf cub about…what? She couldn’t remember. And then there was the time when he had run off without even bothering to say goodbye to her, just because the sled team wanted him… ‘Wait a minute,’ she thought. ‘How could that have bothered me if we were never friends? Maybe I’m still dazed from that blow to the head.’

           She shook herself and headed downstairs. ‘Maybe he turned his back on me and that’s when I became friends with Pete?’ she wondered. ‘Or it could all just be a dream.’

           Toby did as Rex had suggested and followed Luna and Pete around that day. Several times he was almost caught, but each time he managed to avoid detection. It wasn’t easy, though. There was Pete, escorting Luna all over town, copying virtually every step of Toby and Luna’s first date! ‘If he even tries for the storage lot, I’m going to hurl,’ thought Toby. It was then that he realized that there was only one way Pete could have such a complete memory of that day. ‘He was spying on us!’ Toby thought with a snarl. ‘I’ll bet he was the reason things kept going out of whack!’

           The imitations were weak at best. Even though the places were the same (ignoring the fact that Pete missed half the places), Toby could tell from a distance that Luna was uneasy with Pete’s egotistical air and pushy attitude. It was all Toby could do not to intervene, and by the time the two of them split for lunch, he was at the end of his patience. He watched as Pete “escorted” Luna to her front door.

           “Mind if I come in for lunch?” he asked.

           ‘He’d better not…’ thought Toby.

           Much to Toby’s relief, Luna shook her head. “No, my owners might not appreciate a strange dog.”

           ‘Yes!’ Toby silently cheered. ‘Way to go, Luna!’

           “Oh, don’t be silly,” smiled Pete beguilingly. “Your owners know me like I was their own dog.”

           Toby started to panic. ‘Don’t, Luna,’ he begged. ‘Don’t listen to him.’

           “No, Pete,” answered Luna. “Frankly, I’d like a little space right now.”

           “Oh, Luna, I’m hurt. I‘d let you come in if it were my house.”

           “No.” Luna entered through the pet flap. Pete tried to follow, but only got as far as his head. As best Toby could figure, Luna whacked the dog door down on top of Pete’s nose. Whatever happened, Pete yelped and quickly backed up. Luna stuck her head out, wearing “that” look- the kind that told you with all the subtlety of a grizzly bear that you were in treacherous waters and had better change course. “Pete,” she growled, “If this is how you are when someone says no, consider yourself dumped.”

           Toby was practically dancing. ‘She finally came around!’ he thought. ‘Dad was right!’

           Pete’s tail tucked itself between his legs, and his chin and ears drooped until they touched the ground. “Aw, I’m sorry, Luna,” he said in his most apologetic tone. “I didn’t mean to be a jerk, honest. It’s just hard having someone who means so much to me not remember who I am.”

           Toby’s heart sank as he saw Luna’s expression soften. ‘Looks like Pete’s acting has improved,’ he thought.

           “Tell you what,” Pete went on. “Let me make it up to you. How about you meet me in the boiler room tonight at eight. I’ll have dinner all set up.”

           Toby knew what was coming. If Luna had one fault, it was her willingness to forgive a friend. The very thing that had enabled them to stay friends so long was now pulling them apart. “All right,” Luna conceded. “Tonight at eight.”

           “Great,” grinned Pete. “See you then.”

           “Oh, by the way,” Luna called as Pete turned away.

           “Yes, sugar bowl?”

           Luna grimaced. “First of all, don’t call me that. Second of all, last

chance.”

           Toby decided that now might be his last chance to talk some sense into Luna. As soon as Pete was out of sight, he crept up to Luna’s front door and scratched at it.

           “Pete,” grumbled Luna’s voice, “I said I’d see you to-” she stoped short as she stuck her head out and saw Toby. “Oh, it’s you.”

           “Luna, please listen. Did any of that date seem at all familiar?”

           Luna kept up her stony glare. “As a matter of fact it did. Why?”

           “Pete was copying your first date with me. About three months ago, when we first went out, Pete was following us, trying to mess everything up. Like the ice cave? He tried to scare us by howling at the cave mouth while we were inside. And when we went to the beach, he tripped me with a rope to make me knock you into the water. You pulled e in after you when I tried to help you out. We finished the date at the storage lot where we first met. That‘s when we had our fist kiss.”

           Luna’s head was spinning. Part of her mind was struggling to remember, and indeed it was so close she could hardly take the strain until Toby mentioned the strage lot and brought back the previous night’s dream. “Now that you mention the storage lot,” she said, “I do remember you knocking those boxes on me when I was a puppy.”

           “Luna, please, that was an accident. You’ve got to believe me.”

           Luna turned her back to him. “Just go away, Toby.”

           Toby sighed in defeat. “All right, but only on one condition.”

           “What?”

           “At dinner tonight, mention spaghetti and meatballs if he doesn’t bring any.”

           “Why?”

           “Just trust me,” pleaded Toby. “If you won’t do it for me, do it for yourself to test Pete.”

           Luna nodded. “Alright, I will. But only if you go away right now.”

           Toby sighed. Luna was the world to him, so having her tell him to go away was like a punch in the stomach. “Alright,” he agreed.

           Luna went back inside. Something inside her felt wrong. The facts-or at least the facts she remembered- all seemed to add up, and yet nothing made sense. ‘What on earth is happening to me?’

           Toby waited for Luna to leave her house, then followed her at a distance. He tried to remind himself that, for the moment, he was not dealing with his girlfriend. He was dealing with a girl who had lost her whole grip on reality. Moreover, he was dealing with a girl who was part wolf, which would be very dangerous if she got mad at him.

           Luna went into the boiler room, where she found Pete sitting at a crate