The Chocolate Dog

by Holly Webb

  “Choc, no!” Amy hissed as he set off, tail wagging, and head held sideways in his trademark shy-but-starved-dog pose. She lunged for his collar and grabbed him back. “Look, it’s OK, you can have one of my iced rings. You have to stay here. You aren’t allowed in the playground. No dogs.”

  Choc gave her an affronted look – Amy didn’t usually grab at him like that. But he accepted an iced ring delicately, crunching it between his teeth, and then nosed hopefully at Amy for another.

  She handed it to him without really looking. She was peering out of the doorway, wondering if the two mums had spotted him. They would be just the kind of people who’d make a big fuss. She could sort of see why; he wasn’t supposed to be there. But he wasn’t doing any harm.

  “What are you doing?”

  Amy jumped, and almost hit her head on the wooden door frame. The boys with the skateboards were on the wobbly bridge that was the other way to her turret, staring down at her.

  “Nothing,” she stammered, trying not to look behind her at Choc, who was sniffing inside her rucksack. He could probably smell the cola bottles.

  “Give us a biscuit,” one of the boys demanded.

  Amy wanted to say no – those biscuits were her dinner. But she didn’t dare. She stood up and held up the packet to him, but he took the whole thing, passing them all round his mates and smirking at her. Then he threw the empty plastic tray back down. “Thanks!” he told her, and the rest of them snorted with laughter and went stomping off, jumping up and down across the rope bridge as though they were trying to shake one another off.

  Amy gulped. She could feel her eyes filling with tears, and she didn’t want them to see her crying. She ducked back inside the little turret, but it didn’t feel as safe any more. Maybe she should find somewhere else. She stuffed the empty tray back into her rucksack, and then gasped.

  Where was Choc?

  Amy burst out of her hiding place, scrabbling at her rucksack and sleeping bag. Where was he? He must have slipped out while those boys were nicking her biscuits. She stopped worrying about the two fussy mothers and ran out into the middle of the playground, shouting, “Choc! Choc!”

  The boys hooted with laughter at her, but then one of them dropped down from the metal rings and pointed. “Are you calling your dog? Was that him?”

  Amy whirled round and saw a small dark shape disappearing across the park, back towards the pond. “Yes! Thanks!” she called, waving to the boy as she scrambled up the sloping path after Choc. Her sleeping bag was coming out of its stuff-sack and trailing along the ground, but she couldn’t stop to sort it out. She couldn’t actually see Choc any more now. He must have vanished into the trees around the pond.

  But by the time she got there, breathless, the pond was deserted, apart from the ducks. Amy stared out across the water anxiously, waiting for the ducks to launch themselves off the water with a flurry of furious quacking. That was usually what they did when Choc got too close.

  The ducks were swimming calmly across the water – there wasn’t a dog in sight.

  Her heart thumping, Amy ran right round the pond, calling for Choc and peering into the clumps of reeds. What if he’d fallen in? He could have chased the ducks and gone in, easily. What if he’d drowned?

  Amy started to cry. She knew she was being silly, but the light was fading a bit now, and the trees were shadowed. The quiet, still water was making her feel shivery. It was the sort of place for fairy tales. Maybe a swan princess had lured Choc into the lake with bits of bread. He loved bread.

  “This is stupid!” Amy hissed at herself, and turned away from the water. If Choc wasn’t by the lake, it was because he was somewhere else in the park. She hurried back along the lake path, to where she could get a clear view of the park.

  It was so big, she realized anxiously, as she came out from between the trees. That was why it was Choc’s favourite walk. There was so much space to run. But then usually Dad was there, and Choc did what Dad said, even if he was off the lead. He didn’t get lost for Dad. Amy swallowed. She’d lost Choc.

  She sniffed, sinking down on the grass and staring out over the park. What was she going to do? Should she wait, and hope Choc would find her? Maybe he’d already gone back to the playground, looking for her. Probably those mums chased him away, she thought, brushing hot tears off her face. She wanted to go home and get Dad, but she couldn’t leave Choc. What if he got confused and went out of the park and just got even more lost? What if he got run over? Amy gasped and put her hands over her mouth.

  She had almost forgotten about running away. It didn’t really matter. She couldn’t care less if Lara was in her room, as long as Choc was at home with them too.

  If she ever found him, that was. Amy buried her face in her arms, tears soaking through to her T-shirt. She was so upset that she didn’t hear the thudding of approaching paws, so she was completely unprepared when Choc leaped at her. He knocked her over backwards and landed on her stomach. Then he licked her ears lovingly.

  “Choc! Where did you go? I thought I’d lost you. Stop licking! Oh! Dad!”

  She hadn’t noticed at first that Choc had his extending lead on, and Dad was on the other end of it, running towards them.

  “Get off her, Choc.” Dad pulled gently, and Choc hopped off Amy and ran around her in circles. He was obviously very proud that he’d found her.

  “Did you come looking for us?” Amy asked hesitantly.

  Dad shook his head. “Mum and I had just worked out that you weren’t sulking in the garden somewhere when Choc dashed in through the back gate. He wouldn’t stop barking, and he kept running up and down the side path round the house. In the end I got his lead and followed him.” He stared down at Amy, still sitting on the grass. “Mum said I was being stupid. She reckoned you were still hiding in the garden. She said you wouldn’t have done anything as silly as run off with Choc.”

  “Sorry…” Amy whispered. “I shouldn’t have done it. I don’t mind sharing with Lara really. I mean, I do mind. But I know I have to. I won’t argue about it. I ran away because I was so cross, but then I thought I’d lost Choc, and it just didn’t matter.”

  Dad pulled her up. “I can understand you don’t want to share.” He sighed. “I used to share a room with Uncle Matt, you know. I could have killed him half the time. But there were good bits too. It can be fun, having someone else to share a room with.”

  Amy nodded. “I suppose.”

  “It’s hard for Lara too,” Dad pointed out.

  Amy scrunched up her nose. She didn’t think so. It wasn’t the same.

  “And she was really upset that you said you hated her. She thinks you’re so big and clever, Amy. She just wants to be like you.”

  “But I don’t want her to be like me! I’m me!” Amy said.

  “Mmm. Anyway. She says she’s not sharing a room with you any more.”

  Amy frowned. “Where’s she going to go, then?”

  Dad sighed. “Wait and see.”

  “How long has she been under there for?” Amy whispered.

  “Pretty much since you left,” Mum said quietly. She was still looking upset, and Amy felt really guilty.

  The kitchen table was covered in a spotted oilcloth, which made it easier for wiping things up. The cloth was quite long, so it hung down all around, like a tent.

  Amy crouched down in front of it. “Lara…”

  There was only silence in answer, but it was a listening sort of silence. Amy wondered whether to lift up the cloth. “Can I come in?”

  There was a pause as Lara considered her answer, and then she said, “No. This is my room now.”

  Amy felt surprisingly hurt. Usually Lara loved it if she joined in one of her games.

  Choc came over from his water bowl and stuck his head under the table, looking at Lara interestedly. Most of the time, under the table was his place, and he
did well out of what the girls dropped – accidentally or on purpose. He was a very useful way to get rid of vegetables.

  He scooted in, wagging his tail happily, and Amy ducked under the cloth to watch him. Choc sat down next to Lara, and then eased his front paws down straight so that he was lying flat. Lara had the cushions off the sofa under the table with her, and it looked quite comfortable. She had some books, and a couple of dolls, and an apple, and her toy first-aid kit. She seemed prepared to live under the table for a while.

  “I’m going to unpack,” Amy said. She took a deep breath and then added, in her nicest voice, “Do you want to come and show me where things are in our room?”

  “It isn’t all that big,” Lara said, rather coldly. “You’ll find everything.”

  “Oh. All right.” Amy straightened up, feeling as though she’d done her best. Choc didn’t come with her. He was snoozing comfortably next to Lara instead, and Amy went upstairs feeling quite lonely.

  Once she’d put all her stuff away and changed out of her Brownie uniform, she sat down on her bed, looking around the room. She still didn’t like it. But maybe it wasn’t as bad as she’d thought. It was big enough that there was a definite Lara side and an Amy side. Their stuff wouldn’t have to be all mixed up.

  In fact, they could each have their own tiny little room… There was a thudding of paws on the stairs, and Choc nosed the door open. He nudged Amy with his nose as he padded past and then flumped down on her sleeping bag, which was still in a pile at the bottom of her bed.

  Amy pursed her lips thoughtfully, remembering her Brownie holiday and those damp tents out on the field, and thinking hard.

  Then she picked up the mermaid box as a peace offering, and went back downstairs.

  She lay down on the floor and pushed the box under the table with the end of a wooden spoon – so Lara couldn’t even say she’d put a finger into her room.

  “What’s that for?” Lara asked suspiciously. But Amy could see that she was itching to pick it up. Choc sniffed at it and Lara twitched, as though she was worried he might hurt the box.

  “It’s for you. To say sorry for being mean. I thought you’d like it. It’s a mermaid. I made it. I was going to save it for your birthday, but…”

  “It’s nice,” Lara admitted, touching the glittery paint with one finger. Amy had made it very carefully, so the mermaid had reddish-streaked hair, like the seaweed.

  “Can I come in?” Amy asked again, politely.

  “All right,” Lara said after a pause. “For a bit.”

  Amy crawled in and sat on one of the cushions. It was cosy. Much nicer than the climbing frame. “I like it,” she told Lara.

  “Me too. But I can’t fit all my mermaids in, that’s all. And I might get more of them for my birthday.” She scowled. “I can’t have my party under the table.”

  Lara’s birthday was in a couple of days’ time, and she had been counting down the days. Ten of her friends from nursery were coming, and Mum and Dad’s bedroom was a weird mixture of party stuff and baby stuff, piled on top of the wardrobe and spilling out from under the bed.

  Amy nodded. “I did have an idea, about our bedroom. A way it might be better.”

  “What?” Lara sounded suspicious again.

  “I’d have to show you.”

  Lara scowled. “That means I have to come out. Mum’s making you.”

  Amy shook her head. “I promise she isn’t. If you don’t like it, you can go straight back under the table.” She crawled out, holding the cloth up for Lara, and led her upstairs past Mum, who was pretending to straighten the picture frames in the hall.

  They stopped at the airing cupboard on the landing, and Amy opened it, looking hopefully at the shelves. There was a pile of old flowery sheets that Mum never used but didn’t want to get rid of, just in case. Just in case of what, she never said, but they were just the thing.

  “What are you doing?” Lara asked, as Amy hurried into their room and climbed up on to the window sill, trailing a sheet behind her. “You’re going to fall off!”

  Amy snorted. Sometimes Lara sounded exactly like Mum. She tied one corner of the first sheet round the curtain pole, then scrambled down again. “Pass me that hair ribbon.” She held out a hand for it and tied on another sheet. “Now we just have to find somewhere to tie the other end. The door’s going to be in my half, but you’re allowed in my tent to go in and out, I don’t mind. OK?”

  Lara nodded. She could see what was happening now. “Use the hooks! Those hooks Dad put up on the wall for your dressing gown and stuff. The ones Mum said were stupid, because you’d never reach them!”

  Amy glanced at her admiringly. She hadn’t thought of that. “That might work,” she agreed in a considering tone of voice.

  “I’m getting you the bathroom step, wait.” Lara raced out and came back carrying the step she’d always used to get to the basin. “There! And my hair ribbons this time.” She handed them to Amy. “It’s almost as good as under the table,” she told her seriously, looking up as Amy tied the end of the sheet to one of the hooks, dividing the big room in half. The evening sun was coming straight through the window, and they were wrapped in a soft yellowish-pink light as it streamed through the patterned sheets.

  Amy nodded. “I know. And it’s a lot drier than a real tent, honestly.”

  Amy woke up, and blinked in surprise at the flowery tent hanging around her bed. Then she remembered what it was for, and smiled to herself.

  “Amy…”

  “Mmm?”

  “When it’s my party tomorrow, can all my friends come into my tent? Are they allowed in the door?”

  Amy grinned. “If they’re good,” she said, very seriously.

  Choc rolled over on to his back with his paws in the air and yawned. Mum had tried to say that him sleeping on Amy’s bed was a holiday treat, but Amy and Lara had both begged, and Mum wasn’t in a mood to argue.

  “Maybe we can go to the woods with Choc today,” Amy suggested. If it was Lara’s birthday tomorrow, that meant it was almost the end of the holidays. They were going back to school on Wednesday – it was Lara’s first day in Reception. It would be nice to have an expedition to the woods before they went back. Maybe even a picnic.

  Then she sighed. Except of course Dad would be back at work today, and Mum wouldn’t be up for a long walk. She wasn’t sure whether to want the three weeks till the baby came to go fast or slow. She wanted Mum back to normal – but from now on normal was going to mean with added baby.

  The bedroom door creaked open, and her dad peered round. “Oh, you’re awake.”

  “I thought you were going back to work today?” Amy asked, looking at her clock. It was half-past seven – usually Dad was on a train into London by now.

  “I was. But your mum thinks the baby might be coming early, so I’m staying home to go with her to the hospital.”

  There was a scuffling sound, and Lara suddenly appeared out of her flowery tent. “The baby’s coming now? But it can’t!”

  Dad looked puzzled. “Why?”

  “It’s my birthday tomorrow!” Lara wailed. “No one’s ever going to remember my birthday if the baby has today!”

  “I promise we will.” Dad gave her a quick hug. “Anyway, I’m going to go and ring Kate. Mum said she had a feeling this might happen, and she spoke to Kate last night. Mum’s arranged for you two to go and stay with her while Mum and I are at the hospital, remember?”

  Amy nodded. That was OK. She liked Kate – she was an old school friend of Mum’s and she didn’t have any children, which meant she didn’t understand the rules, and believed in large bags of sweets all at once. She worked from home, drawing pictures for cards, and she had beautiful pencils and paper that she let Amy borrow. She showed her how to draw things too, sometimes. Until Kate helped, Amy had never been able to get Choc’s legs right when she drew
pictures of him. Kate only lived a few streets away, and she came round for coffee with Mum quite often.

  “So can you pack your pyjamas, and some clothes for tomorrow maybe, in case we’re not back? And some books…” Dad suggested vaguely, as he hurried out again.

  “I don’t want to go to Kate’s! We can’t take clothes for tomorrow, we have to be back,” Lara told Amy urgently. “Tomorrow’s my party, Amy! My party’s here!”

  “Oh…” Amy chewed her bottom lip. Mum wasn’t going to be up for a party straight after the baby came, was she? Wouldn’t she have to stay in hospital for a bit?

  Dad could do it. Except … Dad wasn’t great at that kind of thing. Like he was useless at packing. He hadn’t even mentioned toothbrushes.

  Amy sighed. The new baby was doing even better than Lara had. She’d been upset when Mum hadn’t been able to take her to school on her first day. But cancelling Lara’s birthday party would be awful.

  Lara turned round, marched back into her tent, and came out again carrying the pink plastic basket that usually had her dirty washing in. It was full of mermaids, and all the other things she’d taken under the table the day before. Plus a sparkly wand and a cardigan. She looked determined. “I knew I’d have to get back under there. Tell Dad I’m not going,” she said to Amy as she stomped past.

  Amy stared after her admiringly. It was actually a better plan than running away. Staying put…

  “Dave!” It was Mum, sounding worried. Amy got out of bed and went out on to the landing. “Are you OK, Mum?”

  “Oh, Amy. It’s all right. Don’t worry, but can you tell Dad we need to go soon?”

  Amy swallowed nervously and hurried downstairs to find Dad. Choc galloped after her. His tail was wagging very slightly, the way it did when he wasn’t sure what was going on and he hoped everything was all right. No one had put his food down yet, so he went to sit by the bowl, sniffing at it hopefully.

  Dad was checking a list from the hospital that was up on the kitchen notice board while he was on the phone to Kate. When he saw Amy he rolled his eyes at the table, and she nodded.