Ryan was glad he lived here too, he thought to himself as he passed Grace’s house further along the street and recalled how they’d met the evening before thanks to the stray dog he was now in charge of looking after for the day.
Conversation with his grandmother continued all the way to the high street, and Stanley proved himself to be well-behaved on the lead. Ryan wondered if some passer-by might recognise the dog and help solve the puzzle of who the animal belonged to, but although plenty of the people they passed returned Stanley’s canine smiles with grins of their own, no one stopped in theirtracks to declare that they knew the dog and also knew the rightful owner who was searching for it.
Once they reached the high street, Ryan led his grandmother to the butcher’s shop, where they bought a cut of beef for the casserole Miriam planned to cook, along with other provisions prepared in-store by the prize-winning team who worked there. They stopped off at the mini-market for other supplies, at the bakery for some lunchtime goodies, and at the speciality wine shop where Miriam took her time choosing the perfect burgundy for the beef bourguignon recipe.
Eventually, they made it to the pet shop, where Stanley was treated to a gravy bone from the staff behind the counter and fussed over, much to his obvious enjoyment. Ryan explained about the dog’s status as a stray and asked if any of the staff recognised the animal from previous visits, but none did.
He felt an odd sense of relief when they failed to identify him as belonging to any of their regular customers. Although he knew it was only fair that the dog should be returned to its rightful owner, should one happen to be looking for him, he also couldn’t stop thinking about the look he’d seen on Grace’s face whenever she interacted with the little dog. She was already smitten with the creature, Ryan was sure of it, and if his inquiries at the pet shop had unexpectedly solved the mystery of who Stanley’s owner was, then telling Grace about it would’ve left him feeling conflicted.
On the one hand, Grace probablydidwant to get the dog back to its owner. She was a good person who only wanted what was best for the animal.
But on the other hand, he felt sure that if she was being honest with herself, she was almost certainly also in two minds about relinquishing the dog that she’d come to care for.
Selecting dog food from the brands on offer at the pet shop, Ryan shook his head at this insight, if it even was an insight, andnot simply the strange internal rantings of someone who was as charmed with the woman who’d barrelled into his life last night as that woman herself was charmed with the stray dog that had set all this in motion to begin with.
At the counter, Ryan paid for his purchases while the assistant loaded the dog food, pet bowls, and toys into a bag. He’d also bought a comfortable plush bed for Stanley, and watching as the shop assistant squeezed the item into the already overstuffed bag, he was glad that Stanley was only a little dog who required a little bed instead of one of the enormous sizes designed for large breeds, and which looked more like life rafts rather than pet beds.
By the time they left the pet shop, Ryan reckoned he ought to have brought the car for this excursion, considering all the shopping bags now in his possession. Refusing to let his grandmother carry anything heavier than the soft bread rolls and dainty cakes she’d selected at the bakery, they set off for home once more, with Stanley leading the way as they retraced their steps along the high street.
While his grandmother chatted about this and that, and paused to admire the displays in the shop windows that lined the street, Ryan realised that this wasn’t quite how he’d imagined spending this precious time with his grandmother. He’d planned on whisking her to the seaside for a day trip, and treating her to a fancy lunch in a posh restaurant, and taking her on a tour around the New Forest to see the ponies and soak up the lush countryside, and any number of other fun things besides. Those were the sorts of activities she’d expressed an interest in doing when they’d arranged this time together, and Ryan had been ready for a busy few days chauffeuring his grandmother around the area.
Meandering along his local high street after doing a bit of shopping hadn’t been part of his plans. And yet thequiet simplicity of the everyday shopping task shared with his grandmother was far more enjoyable than he’d imagined it could be.
“I must say, I’m having fun, Ryan,” Miriam said, as if she’d read his thoughts. “This is nice, isn’t it? Just taking things easy together and sorting out a bit of shopping and having a nice wander up and down this lovely high street.”
Ryan smiled. “Itisnice, Grandma. I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.”
Trotting between the two of them, Stanley let out a soft bark and wagged his tail.
“And I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself too, Stanley,” Ryan said, which earned him a warm rumble of laughter from his grandmother as she slipped her hand inside his arm.
“I’m looking forward to pottering in the kitchen once we get home and making my famous beef bourguignon,” she said, and then gave him a thoughtful look. “There will be plenty in the pot, I should imagine. Perhaps you ought to invite your new friend, Grace, to join us for dinner when she comes round to pick up Stanley later?”
“Hmm,” Ryan responded, mulling it over.
Now,therewas a thought.
