by Tina Nolan
“I’m so sorry!” Annie said at last.
Eva nodded. “Me too,” she said as she left the room.
“We’re still friends, aren’t we?”
“Of course,” Eva assured her sadly. “I’ll see you, Annie. Bye.”
“The thing that gets me”, Eva told Karl as she sat beside him in Reception on Monday morning, “is that Mr Brooks thinks Rosie’s a problem, and she’s not!”
“Rosie the problem pony,” Karl muttered. He looked through old files for her details, ready to put them back on the site.
“Rosie the perfect pony!” Eva insisted. “Make her sound good, Karl. Tell everybody how cute she is.”
“Hold it, you two.” Jen came and looked over their shoulders. “Don’t say anything that isn’t true. We can’t afford to mislead anyone.”
“But what did she do wrong?” Eva refused to believe anything bad about the gorgeous Rosie.
“Nearly kicked the stable door down for a start,” Jen pointed out. “And she tried to escape at least twice, didn’t she? I’m not being unkind, Eva, but you must admit she didn’t settle in well at the Brookses’.”
“She did at first,” Eva muttered. “Everything was OK until this weekend.”
“Hmm, strange that.” Though Joel was busy admitting a new puppy, he joined in the conversation. “I wonder what went wrong all of a sudden. Anyway, Eva, let Karl get on with the website entry. Why don’t you come and help me with Freddie?”
Eva followed Joel into an examination room where he took a puppy out of a pet carrier and placed him gently on the table. “Here’s another unwanted Christmas present,” he explained. “But not the sort you can take back to the shop with the receipt for a refund.”
Eva tutted. “And he’s gorgeous. Aren’t you beautiful, Freddie?” She stroked the long-haired, cream-coloured puppy – a terrier type with big, pointed ears and a short tail.
Joel smiled. “He seems healthy, so I’ll get him chipped and vaccinated; then we can take him into the kennels, settle him down and give him a drink.”
“I’ll fill a water bowl,” Eva offered, glad to have her mind taken off Rosie. But as she made her way towards the kennels, she saw her grandad drive into the yard and she did a rapid detour. “Hi, Grandad. Guess who we’ve got back in our stables!”
“Hello, Eva. I’ve got no idea.” Jimmy Harrison grinned as he climbed out of his car. “But I’m sure I’m about to find out!”
“Rosie!” Eva declared. “Joel brought her back from the Brookses’ place early this morning – before Annie was up so she didn’t get too upset having to see Rosie leave. She’s in here. Come and look.”
Jimmy followed Eva into the clean, airy stables. They found Rosie in the nearest stall, her head poking over the door.
“Tell me honestly, Grandad, does Rosie look like a problem pony to you?”
Newly brushed, with her mane combed and her lively eyes shining, the little Shetland looked picture-book perfect.
Jimmy smiled. “No, she doesn’t. But it’s not what I think that counts. Now, Eva, come inside the house and share these lovely warm croissants with me. I bought them specially at the supermarket.”
“Yum!” If one thing could drag Eva away from the animals, it was food. The croissants smelt good as she put them on a plate and her grandfather made himself coffee. In the background the TV was on, showing Tina O’Neill interviewing another of her celebrity guests.
“Chat-chat-chitter-chat,” Jimmy groaned, turning the TV off.
But Eva didn’t hear him. She sat with her half-eaten croissant raised to her lips.
“What’s wrong?” her grandad asked.
“What? Erm, nothing. Grandad, do you mind if I go now? Joel asked me to help with Freddie the terrier. Bye!”
“No, I don’t mind.” Jimmy grinned as Eva sprinted off across the yard. Then he shook his head. “Funny, that. She doesn’t usually turn her nose up at warm croissants…”
“OK, everyone, I’m going now.” Joel popped his head around the kitchen door. It had been a busy day as usual, and Jen was cooking the evening meal of pasta with tomato sauce.
“Stay to eat,” Jen invited. “There’s plenty of food.”
Joel nodded. “If you’re sure.”
“Sure!” Jen insisted.
Eva set an extra place at the table. She hummed a tune she’d been repeating all day as she went about her business in the kennels and the cattery, cleaning out the small animal cages and taking care of Rosie.
“There was one thing I wanted to do before I left,” Joel remembered suddenly. “I was going to check Rosie, so I’ll quickly do it now.”
“I’ll come!” Eva volunteered in a flash.
“Karl’s still in the surgery. Tell him supper will be ready in ten minutes,” Jen called after them.
“How’s Rosie’s leg?” Eva asked Joel as they hurried towards the stable.
Rosie whinnied a greeting. Her shaggy mane had fallen back over her twinkling eyes since Eva’s morning grooming session.
“The swelling’s going down nicely,” Joel reported. He picked up the pony’s feet one at a time to examine them closely. “No – nothing to worry about there.”
“What are you looking for?” Eva asked, stroking Rosie’s neck.
Joel frowned. “I’m not sure. Something – anything that would make Rosie kick her door and take off across the field.”
Eva nodded. “Yes, there must be a reason,” she agreed. “Rosie doesn’t normally act like that. She’s usually so well-behaved!”
“And it wasn’t anything to do with the way Linda and Annie treated her?”
“No.” Eva couldn’t fault her neighbours. “They mucked her out properly, brushed her every day, gave her plenty of food and water.”
“So why were you unhappy?” Joel asked quietly as he ran his hand along the pony’s broad back.
Rosie shifted sideways, away from Joel and Eva.
“Hmm. OK, we’ll leave you in peace,” Joel decided. “Come on, Eva, close the door behind you. We’d better not keep Jen waiting.”
The warm kitchen was full of delicious smells. Holly dozed on her bed in the corner.
“Did you remember to tell Karl food was ready?” Jen asked.
“Oops! I’ll go and get him,” Eva said.
“No need!” Karl announced, flinging open the door. He waved a sheet of paper under Eva’s nose. “Look what I found!”
Eva gasped as she tried to grab the paper from him. “You snoop!”
“Honestly, Eva – only you could think up something as crazy as this!”
“Karl, leave Eva alone,” Jen told him.
He laid the paper flat on the table. “I knew from your face that you were up to something,” he went on. “You’ve been doing it all day.”
“Doing what?” Eva retorted.
“Smiling and singing – all that stuff you do when you’ve got a secret. Now I know what it is.”
“So are you going to tell us?” Joel asked, carefully watching Eva’s face, which was half-embarrassed, half-stubborn.
She shook her head and picked Holly up. “Let Karl read it out, since he thinks he’s so clever.”
So Karl began to read. “‘Dear Tina’ – it’s an email,” he explained. “‘I know how much you love horses and ponies because you said it on your show on Saturday.’”
“Tina who?” Joel interrupted.
“Tina O’Neill, the chat show host,” Karl explained. “Listen to the rest. ‘My name is Eva Harrison and I live at an animal rescue centre called Animal Magic. Our motto is, “Matching the perfect pet with the perfect owner”. Well, we’ve got a pony called Rosie who needs a new home.’” Karl paused for breath.
“I don’t understand,” Jen muttered.
“She’s had one of her brilliant ideas,” Karl cut in. “Listen. ‘So I’d like you to have Rosie on your show so that lots of people can see her. Please say yes and help one poor pony find a brilliant new home. Thank you. From, Eva.’”
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As Karl finished reading, Jen stood in astonished silence.
Eva frowned and held Holly tight, ready to be teased again. OK, so perhaps she’d been a bit hasty. Maybe she should have talked to the others first before she’d emailed Tina. Probably the big TV star was way too busy to take any notice…
“Magnificent!” Joel declared, beaming at her. “That’s a totally brilliant idea, Eva. And I hope it works!”
Tuesday and Wednesday passed in another flurry of dog walks and animal admissions … and no reply from the famous chat show host.
At teatime a sad Annie came to visit Rosie.
“How’s your mum?” Karl asked as he wheeled a barrow out of the stable.
“She’s OK, but she’s bored,” Annie reported. “She can’t do anything with her leg in plaster. How’s Rosie?”
“Come and see,” Eva said from inside the stable.
So Annie took a deep breath and reminded herself not to mope. She put on a smile and stroked Rosie, gave her a carrot and told her she was pleased to see her. “How’s your poor leg?” she murmured.
“Much better,” Eva told her. “Joel says that it’ll be good as new in a day or two.”
Rosie crunched the carrot contentedly, then nuzzled Annie’s hand for more.
“All gone,” Annie said with a smile. “You’re so cheeky, Rosie!”
“Annie, I’ve got something to show you,” Eva confided, pulling a crumpled copy of the email to Tina O’Neill out of her pocket. “Read this.”
“Oh!” Annie gasped after she’d read it.
“We haven’t had a reply yet, but what do you think?” Eva hoped Annie would approve. And she was glad she’d let her in on the plan.
There was a long silence as Annie’s eyes filled with tears. “It’s a cool idea – totally cool!” she whispered, backing out of the stables and leaving the yard just as Joel came out of the surgery with a visitor.
The two men headed straight for the stables where Eva was busy spreading clean straw. “Eva, meet Simon Cooper,” Joel said. “Simon’s a friend from college.”
Eva looked up from her task. “Hi. Have you come to see Rosie?” she asked with a hopeful smile.
The visitor nodded. He was tall, like Joel, but heavier, with short, jet-black hair. He was wearing a shabby wax jacket, jeans and sturdy lace-up boots. “But I don’t want to adopt her,” he added quickly.
“Oh.” Eva’s face fell. She felt she was on a roller coaster of emotions – up, then down, up and down again.
“No. I’ve asked Simon to examine Rosie,” Joel explained. “He’s a horse osteopath and I want him to take a look at her back. Can you put her in a head collar and hold her steady while he looks her over?”
As Eva fastened the head collar, Simon gave the pony a quick stroke, then rolled up his sleeves. He began to lay his hands along Rosie’s spine, pressing gently and watching her reactions.
“Is there something wrong?” Eva asked Joel anxiously. She didn’t even know what the long word Joel had used meant.
“We’re not sure yet. But you know Rosie’s been acting oddly lately? Well, it occurred to me that there might be some hidden problem, and I noticed the other day she didn’t like me touching her back. That’s when I thought of asking Simon to have a look. As an osteopath, he knows all about bones and back problems.”
Eva nodded tensely. She held Rosie’s head collar while Simon examined her. The pony had all her attention on the visitor, with her ears flicked back and every nerve alert. Suddenly, as the osteopath’s fingers hit a tender spot, she winced and pulled away.
“Steady!” Eva whispered, holding her firmly.
Simon concentrated on the problem spot, deep in the curve of her spine. “Ah!” he said. “This explains everything.”
“So Simon massaged Rosie’s spine!” Eva told her mum on the phone. “He sort of kneaded it until everything clicked back into place!”
“Magic!” Heidi said. “And this explains why Rosie wanted to get out of her stable – why she was kicking at the door?”
“Yes. Her back was hurting, so she needed to get out and run, and jump whatever got in her way – Simon says that’s what horses do when they’re in pain.”
“And is she OK now?”
“She will be after another treatment.”
“That’s good news. And all thanks to Joel.”
“Yes,” Eva agreed. “We’ve found out what was wrong with Rosie and now all we have to do is get Tina O’Neill to find her a home!”
At nine o’clock that evening, Jen told Eva that it was time to shut down the computer. “Tina isn’t going to reply to your email at this time of night,” she insisted. “She’s probably already in bed, getting her beauty sleep, which is what you have to do too.”
“OK,” Eva grunted as she reluctantly signed out.
“Never mind, it was worth trying.” Even Karl had started being nice to her over her so-called crazy idea. “If it had worked out, it would have been cool to have Rosie on TV.”
Eva sighed. “There must be something else we can do.”
“Yes – get to bed!” Jen smiled as the phone began to ring. “Lay your head on that nice soft pillow and snooze.”
“I will,” Eva agreed, pausing to pick up the phone as she headed for the stairs.
“Hello. May I speak to Eva Harrison?” a woman’s voice asked.
“That’s me,” Eva stammered. She stared wide-eyed at Karl and Jen.
“Eva, this is Francesca Wood. I’m sorry to call so late; I’m a researcher on the Tina O’Neill Show.”
Eva almost dropped the phone. What should she say? What should she do?
“Hello?” the voice said. “Eva, are you still there?”
“Yes. It’s me. I’m here.”
“We got your recent email about the pony. I talked to Tina about it and we think your idea sounds interesting.”
“Cool!” Eva gasped, as Karl and Jen moved closer to the phone and Holly ran between everyone’s legs.
“So I looked Rosie up on your website and now I just want to check a few things with you,” Francesca Wood said. “I need to ask you a few practical questions – is that OK?”
“Fine,” Eva stammered.
“First, does the adult in charge of your rescue centre know that you sent us the e-mail?”
Eva nodded, then realized Francesca couldn’t see her. “I mean, yes. Jen’s here right now.”
“Good. I’ll speak to her later. Second, has anyone else come forward to offer Rosie a home?”
“No. We haven’t had a single enquiry.”
“Excellent. Third, is Animal Magic down a narrow lane where our film crew would have difficulty with their large vans?”
“No. We’re on Main Street in Okeham.” Eva grew breathless as she tried to answer the quick-fire questions.
“And lastly, Tina wants us to be sure that there’s nothing wrong with Rosie before we commit ourselves to giving her a slot on the Saturday show.”
“How do you mean?” The question flustered Eva, then she remembered what Jen had said about not misleading people. She had to tell the truth. “Well, actually, Rosie did have a problem at her previous owners.”
“Oh.” Francesca’s voice fell flat. “I’m sorry, Eva – that might put a stop to our featuring her on the show as we’d hoped.”
“No, wait!” Eva cried. “The problem was to do with Rosie kicking her stable door and trying to run away, but we’ve just found out why she did it.”
Standing close by, Jen was beginning to shake her head. Karl, too, looked disappointed.
“Rosie hurt her back,” Eva explained to Tina O’Neill’s researcher. “The horse osti – ostepa…”
“Oste-o-path!” Karl hissed.
“The horse osteopath came and fixed her. Now she’s OK!” Gripping the phone and holding her breath, Eva waited for Francesca to speak again.
“Hmm. You’re sure about this?”
“Totally! Rosie’s cured. She’s not a problem any
more.”
There was another pause, then Francesca made up her mind. “That sounds like a great story, Eva. And Rosie certainly looks cute in her photo. I think this is something we could do after all.”
“Really?” Eva gasped.
“Yes, really,” Francesca confirmed, her voice relaxing at last. “We’d definitely like to give Rosie a slot on our Saturday morning show.”
“Tina O’Neill said yes!” Early next morning Eva rushed next door to Annie’s house. She blurted out her conversation with Francesca Wood, then cycled up to her grandfather’s garden centre. “Grandad, Rosie’s going to be on the Tina O’Neill Show!”
Meanwhile, Karl dashed off to tell his friend George Stevens who lived on Earlswood Avenue, and Miss Eliot at Swallow Court. By nine o’clock, word had spread round the whole of Okeham.
Eva was cycling back to Animal Magic as a car marked with a film company’s name drove up Main Street. “This way!” she yelled, standing at the gate.
Two men jumped out of the car, followed by a small, fair-haired woman. “Hi – Eva?” she asked. “I’m Francesca. Pleased to meet you.”
As the men started to take a look around the yard, Karl showed up too. He and Eva proudly showed Francesca Wood around the centre.
“We’ve been open for less than two years,” Karl explained. “Dad built the stables last year. This is where we keep Rosie.”
“I think Simon’s in here with Joel,” Eva announced as she opened the door and led the visitor in. “Simon’s the horse osteopath.”
“Hi, Eva. I’ve finished Rosie’s second treatment.” Simon stroked the little pony’s nose, then introduced himself to Francesca. “Joel has told me all about the slot on Tina’s show. You can take it from me that this little pony won’t have any more back problems. She’s fit to go to a nice new home.”