‘The thing is—’
Mary cut her off. ‘If you don’t tell him, I will!’
‘No,’ cried Emily. She could imagine Mary calling Alex. Mark had lied to their son too, and Emily was complicit in that lie; she couldn’t deny hearingthatconversation. ‘Let me tell him. You know how he’s going to react.’
Seventeen
June 28th
Ellis bank balance: (£ 4,723.76) Overdrawn.
90-Day Rule Tally: Emily: 28 Mark: 14
Beneath Alex’s bare feet, the grass – much coarser than in England – felt spiky. It was like walking on a carpet of steel wool. Something stabbed his big toe. He lifted his foot and, hopping on one leg, ran a hand over it, brushing away a pine needle, the whole time scouring potential hiding places for a small dog. Eight weeks in Sagres had rekindled his fondness for the dogs.
‘I’ve got her,’ he called out, spying Tosca in a water gulley by the far end of the pool. ‘You little trouble monster,’ he said, approaching the dog, ‘you’ve had three of us out here searching for you.’ He picked his way into the gulley, treading carefully over fallen pinecones and baking hot rocks. ‘What you got there, girl?’
The dog’s snout was pointed at a large, flat, dark-coloured stone. Alex stepped closer. The stone moved. Tosca reared up and backwards and then pounced.
Alex shrieked, grabbing the dog. ‘Tosca, leave.’
He heard soft thuds behind him, then his mother’s voice. ‘What’s going on?’
‘Tosca’s playing with a toad,’ said Alex, pulling the dog away by the collar.
He scrambled out of the gulley, one-handed, the other arm straining to keep a grip on Tosca, the dog wrenching his arm muscles trying to return to the fun.
Jess reached down to help.
‘Ugh, that’s ginormous,’ she said, shuddering. ‘You don’t get toads like that in Barnstaple.’
His mother scooped up Tosca, cradling the dog in her arms.
‘Mum, do you think we should check with a vet?’ asked Alex. ‘Make sure Tosca didn’t catch anything from the toad?’
His mother’s mouth fell open. ‘Do you think Portuguese toads are poisonous?’ she gasped.
Suddenly, Jess’s phone was in her hands. Seconds later she looked up, a horrified expression on her face.
‘Vet, fast, Alex, this may be serious,’ she screeched, jumping down into the gulley. She yelled back up, ‘I’ll take some photos. Call the vet, tell them we’re on our way.’
Alex rescued the toad in a dustpan and pushed it into the safety of Tommy’s garden, and the three of them piled into the Bentley. Alex drove, listening to the two women cooing over Tosca, who was wrapped in a towel and positioned between the women on the back seat. His mother was crying. Alex accelerated. His mother loved that little dog. He could hear Jess whispering words of encouragement to his mother and the patient. She was a cat lover; he had not expected her to agree to spend her three-day mini break at Villa Anna but thought she must be mellowing. He wasn’t surprised – Tosca was an adorable little dog.
A bus pulled out, and Alex slowed down. He wriggled in his seat, leaned backwards, squinting around the exhaust fumes. ‘Mum, I can’t see. Is it safe to overtake?’
‘Go. Now!’ Jess shouted.
Feeling an inner stab of pride for his girlfriend’s decisiveness, Alex rammed the accelerator and pulled out. ‘Mum, you mustget rid of this car. It’s downright dangerous out here.’
Alex followed directions to the vet. Taking up two bays in the carpark, he yanked open the back door, took the dog from his mother’s arms, and sprinted inside.
He might’ve been walking into a spa clinic. The lights were dimmed, there was a smell of incense, and soft music was playing. Alex didn’t feel calmed by any of this. He shouted, ‘Emergency. She’s been playing with a poisonous toad.’
Jess was panting beside him. ‘I’ve brought pictures.’
They were ushered into a cubicle, and a woman in a white coat with a stethoscope round her neck followed them in. Alex placed the dog on the examination table, ruffled her ears, and stood back, hoping it wasn’t the last time he’d fondle her. His mother was still sobbing. Jess pushed past him and stroked the little dog’s side. She bent and kissed Tosca’s head, murmuring into her ear, ‘Good girl, Tosca, good girl. You’re doing so well, so brave.’
Alex pulled his girlfriend away from the dog. ‘Let the vet examine her.’
