Once safely in the kitchen, Lottie set off the coffee maker, tied on Dave’s skipping rope and ventured into the garden for him to have a wee. It was cold and blustery outside. Dave did a lot of sniffing about and then decided to relieve himself against Nana’s statue of Buddha. Lottie wondered if that would bring more bad luck but surely they’d already had more than their fair share?
Dave sniffed about some more and squatted down. Lottie sighed. She wasn’t sure there could be any more poo in the little dog. And of course it was bound to happen when Zach was passed out upstairs sleeping off his brandy excesses. She certainly wasn’t going to check through it for the engagement ring. Dave made a big show of scraping up the grass around his deposit until he was finally happy he’d done a good job.
She shut him in the kitchen, grabbed a plastic ziplock bag and steeled herself for the task. She covered her hand with the bag and reached down, only half looking to check she was on target. What she saw stopped her in her tracks,and she ran back inside with her hand still inside the plastic bag.
She rushed into the drawing room, halting herself just in time as she remembered the robovac’s handiwork. The door swung open and Joe sprang awake. Looking disorientated, he tried to stand up and achieved it on the third attempt.
‘Stop!’ She held out her plastic bag-covered hand in a stop sign. ‘Don’t move a muscle.’
His eyes widened in alarm. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘There’s a problem with Dave.’
‘So I can see,’ said Joe, scanning the room and shaking his head.
‘No. Not here, in the garden. I think he’s bleeding. Could it be that the present’s got stuck?’
‘I’ll come and check.’ He tiptoed his way carefully across the room like a scantily cladCrystal Mazecontestant, carrying his clothes with him. ‘Great, you’ll be needing this,’ said Lottie, passing him the plastic bag gleefully. Then she remembered poor Dave and the joviality passed.
In the kitchen, Dave was sitting by the back door. His tail began wagging at the sight of them. ‘Oh, you poor thing,’ she said, picking him up and hugging him gently. She’d very quickly become attached to Dave, almost without noticing. It had only been a couple of days and he had slotted into the family so easily. Everyone seemed to love him – with the obvious exception of the Duchess. Lottie really didn’t want there to be something wrong with the little chap. She wondered if this was why someone had dumped him. Sadly, some people didn’t care enough and even for those who did, vet bills were expensive.
‘Let’s take a look at him.’ Joe took Dave and placed himon a kitchen chair. He had a cursory look around his nether regions. ‘No sign of blood there.’
‘It’s in his poo. And there’s loads. It’s all red.’ She knew that could only be a bad thing for poor Dave. She picked him back up and hugged him some more.
‘Where is it?’ asked Joe, pulling his jumper over his head and opening the back door.
‘About three strides past Buddha and to the right. You’ll need to bag it because Zach will need to check it for Emily’s present.’
‘Right.’ Joe disappeared. Lottie hugged Dave to her and wondered at how far he’d come since Christmas Eve. The once-manic little dog was now more sedate and he seemed to enjoy the cuddle. He still tried to lick her face, but not in a frenzied way like before. There had been a change in him. She felt bad that she’d not noticed that he was calming down.
Joe came back in with a twist of a smile on his face.
‘What?’ she asked still feeling apprehensive. ‘What’s wrong with him?’
‘Serviette,’ said Joe.
Lottie barely registered what he said. ‘Is it serious?’ She hugged the dog a little tighter.
Joe broke into a broad smile. ‘No, it’s not serious. He’s eaten one of the red serviettes from dinner. Someone must have dropped one on the floor. It probably smelled of gravy or meat so he’s gobbled it down.’
‘A paper serviette?’
‘Yep.’
Lottie held the dog up to her face. ‘You total numpty,’ admonished Lottie. ‘You really had me worried there.’ She put Dave down and turned to Joe. ‘So he’ll definitely be all right? Now it’s out?’
‘It’s unlikely there’ll be any lasting effects. I’ve left the bag on the back step if Zach wants to play lucky dip.’
‘Thanks Joe. Coffee?’
‘Yes, please. We put away quite a bit of brandy last night.’
‘I didn’t have anywhere near as much as you and Zach, but I’m tired.’ She flopped into a kitchen chair, she felt drained and it was still early.
‘Any news on Bernard?’
‘He’s doing okay. Thanks for asking. It wasn’t a heart attack, it was a spasm.’
