‘Finn at school says his mum has got her eye on my dad.’
‘Ignore Finn, he’s winding you up.’
She frowns. ‘He’s serious. Dadcan’tdate his mother.’
‘Is she the one who fights outside pubs?’
Amber nods. ‘I hope a nice woman finds the balloon, bursts it, finds the message and becomes Dad’s new girlfriend.’
‘I think it would be safer if no one found the balloon or read your message.’
She rolls her eyes. ‘I must go, Nelly. I will keep you updated.’
I watch her leave and pray the balloon never gets found. Ben has experienced enough heartbreak in his life with Kate’s passing; he doesn’t need any more.
Miranda asks me to go to the till.
‘Can I pay for this?’ A man hands me a book about dogs.
‘Certainly,’ I say, taking it from him and scanning the barcode. ‘Are you a dog fan?’
The man appears older, with short dark hair touched with grey, and pale-blue eyes. The light in his face dims. ‘I never wanted a dog. I didn’t like them. All the dogs I knew were always barking and were a handful for their owners. But Sandy… well, Sandy the Labrador stole my heart from the moment I held her as a pup.’
I pop his book into a paper bag and wonder what happened to Sandy, the Labrador. The man’s pale-blue eyes are full of sadness, and he’s clenching his jaw. I sense he’s grieving Sandy’s loss. If anything ever happened to my cat Lenny, I would be a mess and would be buying books about cats to try to fill the gap. I recall Oliver telling me about Figgy Pudding dying of old age. I could see from his face that he had found it hard.
‘I miss Sandy terribly.’
I nod and place the bag on the counter. ‘How old was Sandy when she passed?’
The man frowns. ‘Sandy is alive and well in Scotland. Well, that’s what my ex-wife says, but I stopped believing anything she said years ago.’
‘Oh, I am sorry.’
He gestures to the book. ‘This is my way of coping. When we got divorced, my ex-wife took Sandy away. They now live in Scotland with my ex-wife’s new fancy man. The one she was having an affair with while we were still married.’ His voice cracks.
This is a helpful reminder for me about love. When someone breaks your heart, they can stick the knife in further by taking away your beloved pet.
‘The book has a big section on Labradors, and I can sit and think about Sandy,’ he continues.
In my mind, I picture this poor broken-hearted man sitting in an armchair reading a book and longing for his beloved dog. He’s probably surrounded by photos of Sandy and him on walks, on wind-swept beaches, and perhaps Sandy sitting by his armchair. ‘That’s nice,’ I croak as my eyes start to fill up.
He takes the book and hugs it. ‘I miss Sandy every day. I’ll never forgive my ex-wife for taking her.’
‘Love can be so cruel.’
‘I’ll never fall in love again,’ says the man, shaking his head.
‘Avoid love at all costs,’ I say to him before he walks away clutching his book.
When I arrive home, Oliver is sitting on the sofa with a bag of frozen peas on his foot. He still looks annoyingly handsome, with broad shoulders, dark eyes housed under thick lashes, and messy hair, despite being slumped with a bag of peas on his abused toe. He casts me a sorrowful, war-hero-type expression that is probably meant to inspire sympathy, but it makes me want to smile.
‘Sorry about waking you last night.’
‘It’s okay,’ I say, trying not to get too distracted with those buttons on his shirt, which have come undone again. I head for my chair. ‘What happened to your toe?’
He groans. ‘Nelly, I was pissed off about something and kicked the kerb.’
‘What were you angry about?’
