Bridie had plucked the letter out of her hand and was about to wheel her case to the car when she stopped. ‘A solicitor? What would they want with me?’ She swallowed, thinking,Oh, god – the theatre is suing me for breach of contract. Can they do that even though I was fired?
‘Is something wrong?’ her dad asked.
Bridie let out a little laugh. ‘Nothing, nothing at all.’ Her dad had just retired, and she knew he and her mum were looking forward to spending time together now they were both retired. The last thing they needed was more problems in their life.
She had a thought as she loaded her suitcase into the back of her car. She’d seen the sign in Cobblers Yard for free legal advice, and Hannah had mentioned the drop-in centre. What had shesaid?A problem shared is a problem halved.The thing was, she wasn’t about to share it with her mum and dad. They’d only get upset and then offer her whatever money she needed to get out of the fix of her own making.
Her sister came to mind. The last thing she needed was to give Kate any more ammunition to use against her. She put a brave face on for the benefit of her parents, thinking that the letter must have been sent by mistake, to the wrong person. They followed her to her car. She got a hug from both parents and was told to promise to come straight back if things didn’t work out.
‘I’ll be fine.’ She put her suitcase in the boot of her car and slipped the letter into her coat pocket. She was about to get in the car when she remembered something. Her parents had retreated to the front door and were standing there waving. ‘Wait!’ She ran back to the front door.
They exchanged a glance. Her dad said, ‘Did you forget something?’
‘Yes. I need to say goodbye to Barney.’
Her dad grinned. ‘Let me go and fetch him.’
She saw her parents going in and out of the rooms downstairs. She heard her mum say, ‘Where did you see him last after you came in with him from the garden early this morning?’
‘I left him in his crate in the conservatory.’
‘With the conservatory door closed, I hope.’
‘Um … you know I don’t remember.’
‘Oh, Rufus. How many times. We can’t just have him wandering round willy nilly anywhere he wants.’
‘But it’s his home too.’
Is it?thought Bridie. Her mum was very, very houseproud. The last thing she’d ever wanted was an animal in the house. Unless she changed, which Bridie couldn’t imagine. Unfortunately, Bridie just could not see how having a puppy was going to work.
Bridie looked up the stairs. ‘Oh, no.’ She slipped off her shoes and ran up the stairs. Barney was just where she expected him to be, all Labrador cuteness, snuggled on her bed, chewing the end of her duvet. ‘Oh, Barney. You’re going to get us both in big trouble.’ She sat on the bed, and Barney came waddling over to sit on her lap and lick her nose. ‘I’ve got to leave today. Well, I don’t have to, but you see, this opportunity has come up, and … and I think it’s only fair on my parents.’
Barney cocked his head to one side, listening.
‘You understand, don’t you?’ Of course he didn’t. He was a dog.
She heard her mum storming up the stairs. She knew it was her, because she was saying to her husband, as his heavy footfall followed hers up the stairs, ‘If I find the dog upstairs again, I’m afraid I just can’t have it. In fact, he was a big mistake. Totally irresponsible of your work colleagues to buy you a puppy. I just don’t see how he’s going to fit into our lifestyle. We want to do some travelling, join clubs, go out with our friends. Have long coffee mornings. What are we going to do with him?’
‘I know, I know.’
‘Rufus, I’m afraid he’ll have to go to a shelter to be rehomed.’
She heard her dad sigh heavily. ‘I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep him. I just knew it.’
Bridie looked at the door, shocked. She looked at the cute pup, and thought,they can’t be serious.
Her dad said, ‘I really thought it wouldn’t come to that and we’d manage.’
‘I know, sweetheart, but you can see how impractical it is. We’re not the sort of retired people who are just going to potter in our garden and go for a bracing walk along the beach. We want todothings, and a dog is a commitment, and a tie, and it’s not going to work. And the longer he’s here, the more attached you’re going to become. I think today’s the day.’
The day for what?thought Bridie, hearing them walking along the hallway towards her bedroom.
Instinctively, she pulled the pup close just as her parents knocked on her door.
‘Go away!’ Bridie said, surprised that she sounded like a petulant teenager.
They walked in anyway, just like they’d always done when she was a teenager.
