Chapter 61
61
Daisy and the man took the last flight of stairs together, with the dogs walking alongside, matching their strides perfectly.
‘So you actually live here, with a dog?’ Daisy said, struggling to believe that he could keep the large Labrador a secret.
‘I know. I’m a rebel, right?’ the guy said with a wink and a smile that Daisy couldn’t help but reciprocate.
‘And no one knows?’
‘Well, the good thing about a larger dog is that they don’t yap away like smaller ones do.’
‘Still?’
The man cocked his head and offered Daisy another of his flirtatious smiles. ‘A lot of people know, and there was a bit of backlash at the beginning, but as soon as I told them Bruno’s story, they understood, didn’t they, buster?’
The dog cocked his head towards the pair of them. He had obviously heard his name, but there was something about the way he looked at his owner that made Daisy feel like he knew exactly what they were talking about.
‘What’s his story?’ she asked, already feeling invested in the life of this dog.
‘Well.’ The man let out a sigh. ‘A lot of it we don’t know. But he turned up at Battersea Dogs Home five years ago in an absolute state. Mites, fleas, practically no fur on him. He was a mess, apparently. I’ve seen a couple of photos, and honestly, it would bring you to tears. Poor guy.’
‘Was he not chipped?’ Daisy said, thinking of her own experience with finding Johnny. Dogs are meant to be chipped so the owners can be found if the animals became lost. Only Johnny wasn’t, and the way the man was shaking his head implied that was the same for Bruno.
‘Nope. Nothing on him.’
‘So you adopted him?’ Daisy asked, assuming this was the next logical step in the story. Only the man shook his head.
‘No, not that time. Someone else did. An elderly man. He’d just lost his own dog and his wife a couple of years before and needed someone to fill the house. And Bruno did that perfectly, didn’t you, boy?’
Daisy had a horrible feeling that she knew where the story was going and part of her wanted to tell the man to stop. She didn’t need to hear it. She didn’t want to. But she knew that wasn’t the way life worked. You didn’t get to fast forward the sad bits, just to skip to the happy ending.
‘So what happened?’ she said.
‘Well, they had a couple of good years together, and then one night, the man got sick. I’m not sure exactly what happened. I think it was a heart attack, but I could be wrong. That’s just me filling in blanks from what I’ve heard.’
‘And then?’ Daisy realised how impatient she sounded, but the story was coming in dribs and drabs, and while it obviously had a happy ending, she still wanted to hear how Bruno had ended up there in the stairwell with her, sniffing Johnny and wagging his tail.
‘Well, when the ambulance came, he was left in the flat. That’s what I know. They reckon it must have been a week or longer, but bless him, he didn’t make a sound. Not even a whimper. Just helped himself to food from the bag of biscuits, although that ran out too.’
‘So he was just alone in the house for a week?’
‘Yup, feeling like he’d been abandoned again.’
‘Oh God.’ Daisy’s heart ached for this poor animal. She had seen from Johnny how much love dogs had to give. How trusting and trusted they could be. Of course, she knew they weren’t all like that. They were like humans; they all had their own flaws and foibles, but she couldn’t imagine any animal ever deserving to suffer what Bruno had gone through, losing a home not once, but twice. ‘So who found him?’
‘The family, when they came to clear out the house. He didn’t have any children, so it was a niece and nephew who came to sort out all the belongings. They didn’t see him that often – it must have been a couple of years. They had no idea he’d even got Bruno. So he ended up back at Battersea Dogs Home. One of the volunteers knew exactly who she was looking at and wanted to find him a home where he would never be left again.’
‘Wow, and so what? You were just looking for a pet?’
‘No, I absolutely wasn’t. But the volunteer was my baby sister, and she did her best guilt trip on me. We’d always had dogs growing up and I’d said I’d get one as soon as I got a place of my own. Of course, I hadn’t anticipated being in an apartment. It wasn’t the building rules that worried me. I was just worried for him, you know, with me not having a garden or anything. But she promised he was used to such rubbish conditions and that as long as he was walked a fair distance each day, he wouldn’t mind it. And it’s not as if my apartment is small.’
It was a valid point, Daisy thought. Bex’s flat was bigger than the September Rose by quite some way.
‘How long ago was that?’ she asked.
‘Four years ago. Longest relationship I’ve ever had, right, Bruno?’ At this, the man let out a brief chuckle that faded as he looked at Daisy. A flood of embarrassment rushed to her cheeks, though she wasn’t entirely sure why. Her throat had also become inexplicably dry, and she was unusually aware of her heart drumming behind her ribs.
‘Well, we’re on the ground floor,’ she said. The comment probably wasn’t necessary given that the man could see just as well as she could, but she needed to break the silence she could feel forming. Yet despite the door to the foyer being right in front of them, neither Daisy nor the man moved.
‘I should?—’
‘You should?—’
‘Sorry.’
‘Sorry.’
Everything the pair said was simultaneous, as were the red hues that coloured their cheeks. Daisy waited, wondering if the man was going to speak again. When it didn’t look like he was, she started.
‘I was just going to say that I need to get this guy out to stretch his legs.’
‘Sure, and I was going to suggest that if it’s all right with you, you could join us. We have a pretty standard loop we do. It has nice parks and some good views of the river too.’
Daisy looked down at the pair of dogs and then at the man. Was walking her dog with a person wrong? She wouldn’t have batted an eyelid if it was a woman asking her to join them, so why did it matter if it was a young and attractive man?
‘You’re in running gear,’ she said, suddenly grateful she could say something that wasn’t outright turning him down. Because as little as she knew about him, that wasn’t something she wanted to do.
‘I am, but I really didn’t want to go for a run. In fact, Bruno had to drag me out the door. I was dreading this morning’s walk, but now I’m kind of looking forward to it. Assuming I have some company, that is.’
A smile followed. The type of smile that made Daisy’s stomach flutter, even though she really didn’t want it to.
‘Well, Johnny does need a walk,’ she said.
‘Great,’ the guy said, before stretching out his hand. ‘I’m Ezra, by the way.’
‘Daisy.’