As I watched them playing together that day, I realised with a start that they both were growing up. Eddie was seven and a half now, and Mia was nearly six and a half. The half-year that we’d now been in Furzewell had made a huge difference to her, and it must be the same for Eddie. They weren’t the frightened, upset children they’d been when they first met. Surely, now, they were better prepared for this new challenge? I could only hope so.
CHAPTER 29
Smartie had had his stitches removed now, and Mum had been taking him for short walks again while I was away. He seemed fine, thank goodness, and I took him out to meet the dog walkers on that first Sunday when I arrived home. Mia was busy building a den in the garden, so I left her with Mum. I was excited at the thought of meeting up with Craig again, but when I arrived at the park gate, Sara was the only one waiting.
‘Simon’s messaged me to say he’s seeing a potential client,’ she said as we set off. ‘And Craig can’t make it either.’
She didn’t say why. She was looking a bit fed up. I supposed she was sorry to be missing another opportunity to flirt with him.
‘No Amber?’ I said. I hadn’t seen her for what seemed like ages. Not since we’d had that argument, in fact.
‘No.’ She shrugged. ‘I’ve no idea why. She’s been walking Benji again since last week – his skin’s much better now. Maybe she’s just busy today.’
Well, at least it gave me the opportunity to have a talk to Sara on her own. But now it had finally come to it, I felt nervous about actually announcing to her that Craig and I were seeing each other. After all, it was still only early days. We’d only had three dates, but he did seem really keen – didn’t he? I walked beside Sara in silence, battling with my uncertainties. If he was that keen, wouldn’t he have called me as soon as I got home yesterday? Wouldn’t he have made the effort to turn up here this morning? Wouldn’t he, in fact, have been texting and calling me during the week I was away in Cornwall? I hadn’t thought too much about this until now. I’d been off the dating scene for so long – in fact, I’d never really been on it, as Josh and I started going out while we were still at school – that I suppose I’d just assumed this was how it worked in the early stages of a relationship. What did I know?
But as I was mulling over these thoughts, and trying to pluck up the courage to start the conversation with Sara, she suddenly nudged me and said:
‘Isn’t that Amber? Over there?’
I looked where she was pointing. A little way off, where some of the gardens of the new estate backed onto the park, I could see someone bending down, holding something. I couldn’t see what it was, but the person was bending down, talking to … what looked like … yes, it definitely was – a cat.
‘Yes. I think it is Amber.’ I frowned. Amber, talking to a cat?
‘She doesn’t like cats,’ Sara said, sounding equally puzzled.
‘No.’ I laughed. ‘Perhaps she’s changed her mind.’
Sara gave me a look.
‘Well, let’s go and say hello,’ she suggested. ‘No, don’t call her,’ she added quickly, just as I’d opened my mouth to shout. ‘Let’s surprise her.’
I had my doubts whether Smartie and Babette would be quiet enough to give her much of a surprise, but I shrugged agreement and we walked slowly across the grass towards Amber. As we got closer, it became clearer that she definitely was talking to the cat – a small black moggy – and it looked as if the object in her hand was a plate of something.
‘It looks like she’s feeding it,’ Sara hissed to me. ‘Good grief, Nic. She’s trying to entice that cat. She’s trying to catch it.’
I felt my heart skip a beat. No! I couldn’t believe it, I wasn’t going to believe it. Sara had never trusted Amber, she’d always been suspicious about her not liking cats, but I refused to accept what she was insinuating. I’d known Amber for too long. However much we might both have changed over the years, she couldn’t have become that kind of person.
‘Amber!’ I called, before Sara could stop me. ‘What are you doing?’
She looked round, surprised, dropping the plate of … what looked suspiciously like cat treats … and the cat ran off, meowing, grabbing something off the ground in its mouth as it went. Amber stood up, shaking her head, sighing, as she watched the cat disappear through a gap in the hedge.
‘Damn,’ she said. ‘It’s gone now.’
‘What were you doing, Amber?’ Sara demanded, staring at her. ‘Were they cat treats you had there?’
‘What do you think I was doing?’ she retorted, evidently miffed that we’d interrupted her. ‘Trying to tempt it away from that poor blackbird. I could have saved it, but the cat will finish it off now. Yes,’ she added, glaring at Sara, ‘I keep a box of cat treats on my kitchen windowsill. I overlook the park.’ She pointed to one of the houses behind us, evidently hers. I felt bad, realising I hadn’t even been to her house since I’d reconnected with her here in Furzewell. ‘I try to do my bit, saving as many birds as I can.’
‘So you say,’ Sara replied. ‘So where’s the blackbird? In your imagination?’
‘No, Sara,’ I said quickly. ‘I saw the cat pick it up. It’s taken it off into the hedge.’
‘Well, of course, you would defend her,’ she said. ‘Are you sure those cat treats aren’t poisoned?’
I gasped, but Amber didn’t flinch. She just stared back at Sara, her hands on her hips.
‘I might not be a cat lover,’ she said in a level voice, ‘but I’d never hurt one. Never. I’d never hurt any living creature. I just try to rescue birds, that’s all.’
‘Funny how you’ve never mentioned it before,’ Sara said, sounding slightly less certain now.
‘Because I knew you’d be like this about it,’ Amber replied. ‘I knew right from the start that you were suspicious about me, just because I said I wasn’t particularly a cat lover. That’s why I kept right out of all the discussions about the missing cats. I’m as upset about it as everyone else, Sara! I feel really sorry for those people who’ve lost their cats. I just wouldn’t want one myself, because I don’t like what they do to the bird population. That doesn’t mean I’m not sympathetic to people who do like them.’
There was silence for a moment, Sara and Amber staring at each other. The two dogs were running around our legs, their leads getting tangled, panting with excitement to get on with the walk. Then, suddenly, Sara’s shoulders slumped, and she shook her head.
‘OK. I’m sorry,’ she admitted finally. ‘I’ve got it all wrong, haven’t I? I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions.’
‘No, you shouldn’t have. But you didn’t really know me that well, did you. I suppose you’d have no idea what kind of person I’ve become since we left school.. Whereas you were my best friend since we were kids,’ she added, giving me a hurt look.
‘Yes, and I never believed for a minute that you were involved in this thing,’ I said.
‘No, she didn’t,’ Sara agreed – and I glanced back at her gratefully. ‘Nic has been trying to talk me out of my suspicions all along. She did say you’d never do anything like that. I should have listened. I’m sorry,’ she said again.
‘OK. Let’s just forget it,’ Amber said brusquely.
‘We’ll wait for you, if you want to go and get Benji and join us for the walk,’ I suggested.
‘No, you go on. Smartie and Babette are getting impatient.’ She forced a smile. ‘Perhaps I’ll join you tonight.’
Sara and I were quiet for a while as we walked on through the park and out into the lane leading to Cuckoo Copse.
‘I should have listened to you,’ she said eventually, shaking her head. ‘I’ve been an idiot.’
‘Well, you don’t know her as well as I do,’ I said. I don’t know why I felt sorry for her. I suppose it was just that I’d never actually heard her sounding humble and contrite before. ‘And it’s true, that did look odd just now, until we understood what she was actually doing.’
‘Do you thin
k she’ll forgive me? I don’t want any bad feeling in the group, especially while we’ve got our first big event coming up.’
‘I’m sure she will,’ I said, although, in fact, I had no idea. I might have known Amber since we were children, but if I was honest, I didn’t really know her so well these days. I wasn’t going to tell Sara that Amber and I hadn’t spoken to each other properly since we’d had an argument ourselves – over Craig.
Craig.
I sighed. I didn’t feel in the least like bringing that subject up now. Sara was right: we needed to work together as a group now, more than ever. The pet show was only a week away, and if I started talking to Sara about her flirting with Craig – making it sound like he was now my property so she should keep her hands off – it could well end up with us falling out with each other too.
After all, I thought to myself miserably, mulling it all over again when I finally got home and let Smartie off his lead to run into the kitchen and slurp water from his bowl – after all, Craig wasn’t my property, in any sense. I wasn’t sure I could even think of myself as his girlfriend. He still hadn’t called me. I pulled my phone out of my pocket now, filled with a new determination. I needed to know where I stood. This wasn’t the 1950s; women didn’t have to sit at home waiting to be called. I dialled his number. Voicemail. I left a message. And later in the evening, I left another one. Nothing. I was beginning to think it was over, almost as soon as it had begun.
It was probably fortunate that, for the next few days, I was kept fairly busy. Mornings were spent supervising Mia and Eddie. Sometimes I took them out for the day, but mostly they were happy enough running around in the garden at Eagle House, making up their own games, occupying themselves in the mysterious little world of six- and seven-year-olds. In the afternoons, when Mum was back from work, I left the kids in her care while I went to the park to help with anything that still needed doing for the pet show. On the Wednesday evening, the oppressive heat we’d been experiencing during the last few weeks suddenly exploded with another massive thunderstorm, following which it rained heavily for most of the night. In the morning, the air felt much fresher. Walking through the village to the park that afternoon, trying to avoid the puddles, I noticed everyone was smiling and expressing relief at the change in the weather.
‘We needed the rain,’ old Tommy Burrows said, leaning on his gate, nodding with satisfaction.
‘Yes,’ I agreed. I looked up at the sky. ‘I hope it doesn’t keep on raining now, though. We don’t want the ground waterlogged for Monday’s show.’
‘Ah, it’ll be fine, you’ll see, my lovely. Better like this, than too hot for those animals. People wouldn’t bring them along for the show else, thee knows.’
It was a good point. Although we’d hired a big marquee, to provide shelter from either the sun or rain, I knew from my own experience with Smartie that pets had been getting exhausted during the worst of the heatwave.
That Thursday evening, I finally caught up with Craig for the first time since my holiday. He’d joined the rest of the group halfway through the dog walk, and was deep in conversation with Simon about making sure the gates at both park entrances were secure, and manned, on Monday. I walked with Sara, trying not to look at him, wondering how on earth I was going to cope with these walks if he really didn’t want to see me anymore. Sara didn’t look any happier, either, and when – finally – Craig turned and gave me a grin and a wink, she stared at me with open hostility. This was ridiculous! Sooner or later we’d have to sort it out. But for now, I was just relieved that he wasn’t completely ignoring me. And a little later, as we were all saying goodbye at the end of the walk, he leaned close to me and whispered:
‘Sorry I didn’t return your calls. Work has been manic again.’
‘Oh, that’s OK,’ I whispered back, although really, I wasn’t sure if it was OK. I had a horrible feeling I was getting myself into another situation exactly like the one I’d escaped from with Josh, where his work took priority over anything to do with me.
‘I’ll make it up to you,’ he whispered now, his breath so hot against my ear that I couldn’t help shivering. ‘What about Tuesday night? I’ll make sure I get away from work early.’
‘Great.’ I smiled. Well, I had to give him another chance, didn’t I? We could have a conversation about the work thing then. ‘It’s a date.’
When I looked back at Sara, she was glowering again. What on earth was wrong with her? Was she really that jealous? Or was it simply that she was such a workaholic, she was irritated by other people having fun? Well, perhaps once I’d finally managed to tell her that Craig and I were actually dating, and not just indulging in a bit of flirtation, she’d stop the disapproving looks and be more understanding.
CHAPTER 30
To everyone’s relief, Bank Holiday Monday was a sunny, breezy day – perfect weather. The pet show was opening at twelve o’clock, with a stall manned by the ladies from Smiths café, selling cold drinks and sandwiches, and an area reserved for picnics so that people could enjoy lunch before the serious part of the day began. There would be a pet-picnic stall, selling food for hungry dogs and cats, and providing bowls of drinking water throughout the day. We were also having a stall provided by a pet shop in a nearby town, selling all sorts of pet foods and accessories, and a face-painting stall where kids could have themselves decorated to look like a cat, dog or rabbit. A local photographer would be on hand too, to take pet portraits for people. The main events would kick off with a display by the dog-training class I’d taken Smartie to, when he was very little. And then, finally, the various classes of the pet show. Most of these were for different classes of dogs and cats, but there were also categories for the best rabbit, the best hamster, guinea-pig, gerbil or mouse, and the best caged bird.
By the morning of the event, most of the work had been done. The marquee had been erected the previous day, and once it was up, we’d taken it in turns to make regular checks in the park to make sure there had been no vandalism or damage to it. All the helpers were in their allotted places by the time we opened the gates. I was helping Louise at the main gate to begin with, as there was, happily, already a queue and we wanted to move people through quickly to avoid anyone getting impatient. Sara was walking around the park with a clipboard, looking important, and Simon, over the public address system, began his commentary by welcoming everyone to the first fundraising event for the Friends of Furzewell Park.
‘There are drinks and snacks available for both you and your pets,’ his voice boomed through the loudspeakers. ‘Enjoy your picnics, but please don’t forget to use the waste bins provided, or alternatively take your litter home with you. Please do keep your dogs on their leads, your cats and other small animals in their cages or baskets, and your children under control. We want you all to have a good time here today and what we really don’t want is for anyone, two-legged or four-legged, to run off and get lost.’
I was enjoying myself, watching all the people arrive with excited dogs wagging their tails, anxious cats meowing in baskets, and children carrying an assortment of scampering little creatures in cages. I really didn’t have time to worry too much about Sara, or Amber, or even about Craig. It wasn’t until the rush at the gate calmed down a little, and I left Louise to manage on her own until another helper would take a turn later, that I noticed him. We’d both come into the marquee to watch the dog-training display. He was in the crowd on the far side of the arena, chatting to a girl I didn’t recognise. What I did recognise, though, were the looks he was giving her, the way he was leaning close to her to speak into her ear, and the way she was smiling and simpering and hanging onto his arm, as if she just couldn’t keep her hands off him. Even from across the arena, this was all too familiar. I felt my mood beginning to darken.
‘For God’s sake,’ muttered a voice from behind me. ‘He’s at it again.’
Sara.
I turned to face her. ‘Who is?’ I asked, trying to sound innocent. ‘At what?’
‘Don’t pretend you weren’t watching,’ she snapped. ‘Craig. Looks like he’s seeing someone else. Cheating on me – again.’
I felt my head begin to swim.
‘Cheating on you?’ I repeated. A lady with two small children and a budgie in a cage by her feet gave me a look, and I lowered my voice. ‘What do you mean?’
‘As if you didn’t know,’ she said, in the same cross tone. She turned away, sighing. ‘I’m going to go and make sure Babette is OK,’ she said, walking away from me.
I didn’t know who was looking after Babette, or where, but it was almost time for the contests to begin, and I needed to make sure Mum and Mia had Smartie ready, brushed and looking his best for his moment in the arena, so with difficulty I put both Craig and Sara to the back of my mind again.
Once the contests started, all of us helpers were needed in the marquee, with Craig in charge, directing operations, and Simon continuing to make announcements and talking the spectators through a running commentary as each pet in turn was paraded, or displayed, in the centre of the arena.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys,’ he announced, ‘please take your places now in the marquee as we start today’s show with the first category in the dog section: “Cutest Puppy”. Put your hands together, please, for all today’s loveable furry contestants, and may the best pet win!’
Mia was entering Smartie in two categories, the maximum allowed: Best Children’s Pet, and this first one, Cutest Puppy. He was the third puppy called into the arena, and Mia brought him in, looking shy but proud, slowly walked him around the edge of the arena and then stood with him while the judges made notes. Mum was close by in case Mia needed help, but Smartie was as good as gold, wagging his tail at the judges and regarding them playfully with his big black eyes.
The show continued, with four more dog categories: Best Pedigree, Best Crossbreed, Best Senior Dog and Waggiest Tail, followed by four categories for cats, and finally the various smaller pets. The whole thing was very good-natured, with lots of laughs from the audience as puppies stopped to poo or chase their tails in the middle of their turn in the arena, and one nervous little Chihuahua stood stock still in the middle of the ring and refused to move. Cat owners were warned by Simon to hold tight to their charges as they walked around the arena with them, after one kitten jumped out of his owner’s arms and tried to make a dash for it. Calamity was avoided when Amber, in defiance of her reputation with cats, swooped down to catch the escapee and cradled him tenderly as she returned him to his ‘mummy’.
The Lonely Hearts Dog Walkers Page 24