The older neighbor sighed.

“Dogs like me,” she said. “I’ve never had a problem before.”

Are you sure? That’s what I wanted to say. They like you?

I could see the necklace she wore underneath her husband’s old oxford shirt, the blue one she did yard work in. There, behind the collar. Yeah, there it was, if only for a brief moment. Small and pearly, but not iridescent like real pearls, but polished. The shine of her necklace reminded me of my teeth’s enamel after I got a whitening treatment.

She saw me looking at her neck, so she fidgeted to move her collar back down, and she mussed with her necklace. She smiled and looked at my dogs. I smiled, but took a step back. My Akita’s missing tooth began to make sense.

No wonder my dogs didn’t like her.

“Girls,” I said. “It’s time to go in.”

“You’re not going to let them stay outside?” my old neighbor asked. “You always let them stay outside.”

“Not today. I need to run some errands,” I said backing away.