Chapter 11
Later that week, Alex was still mulling over his conversation with Hannah. She had seemed pleased that he was staying on at the hotel for a few weeks. And he was too, he realised, now that he had been able to spend a bit of time with the family over the past couple of days.
So despite the pain in his foot, he was feeling in a far more positive mood when he sat down with the family for lunch.
However, he had just finished his sandwich when there was a collective groan around the table. He looked up and saw a somewhat familiar face alongside an even more recognisable black puppy.
‘Afternoon, all,’ said Dodgy Del, coming into the kitchen with a wide grin.
Hannah immediately leapt up to fuss over Tiny.
Her brother’s greeting wasn’t quite so eager. ‘Where have you been, Del?’ asked Ben, frowning. ‘I’ve been trying to call you on your mobile.’
‘No can do,’ replied Del, shaking his head. ‘Dropped the thing last week and it broke. Why? What did you want?’
‘Remember that paddleboard you dropped off as a prototype?’ said Ben. ‘It sank to the bottom of the lake as soon as I’d blown it up and placed it on the water.’
‘No refunds,’ said Del quickly. ‘Can’t think why it didn’t work.’
‘Because it had a great big hole in it,’ said Ben, rolling his eyes. ‘You can forget about us ordering any more from your so-called mate. I don’t want to see the guests ending up in the water unexpectedly.’
Ben had mentioned to Alex only the previous night about hiring out paddleboards to guests that summer as a trial.
‘Yeah, yeah,’ said Del, with a heavy sigh. ‘I’ll get round to it. Look, it’s been one of them weeks, OK?’
‘Tell me about it,’ said Alex in a pointed tone, glancing at his foot which was resting on a stool. Five days after the accident and the bruising was now a spectacular rainbow of colours.
Del looked at him with a start. ‘Oh, yeah. I heard you got hurt. Sorry and all that, mate.’ He gave Alex a shared grimace. ‘Same thing happened to me at school.’
‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen you run anywhere except away from disgruntled customers,’ said Walter.
‘It was the egg and spoon race, OK?’ replied Del. ‘I was only six but I tripped over my own feet. Kids can be cruel, yeah? So I know where you’re coming from, mate.’
Alex looked at him in bemusement. Dodgy Del obviously had the hide of a buffalo. ‘Thanks,’ he said. ‘I think.’
At least someone could find humour in the situation, he thought.
Del hopped from one foot to another, looking fidgety.
‘Is everything all right, Del?’ asked Dotty. ‘You look harassed.’
‘Only from his unhappy customers,’ said Ben, still looking disgruntled.
‘Nah, it’s not that,’ said Del. ‘It’s this little fella.
’ He gestured at the dog which Hannah was now stroking.
‘Nan can’t deal with him. She keeps forgetting that she’s ninety and lives in an upstairs flat!
Anyway, I had to take him off her hands two days ago.
She was that upset but she couldn’t handle him. I’ve not had a moment to myself since.’
‘Poor Tiny,’ cooed Hannah as the dog looked up adoringly at her face and then gave her a gentle lick. ‘What are you going to do with him, Del?’
‘Find him a good home,’ replied Del. He suddenly looked brighter, as if he had suddenly realised where he was. ‘Hey! I know! This place is big enough!’
‘No!’ said Ben and Walter in unison.
Del immediately turned his laser vision onto Alex. ‘Super things, dogs,’ he carried on, going into what appeared to be a very rehearsed sales pitch. ‘They’re very good for the mental health, aren’t they?’
‘Unless they break your foot,’ muttered Alex.
‘Tiny didn’t break it,’ said Hannah, frowning. ‘He just hadn’t been trained properly and ran out because he was excited.’
‘Exactly!’ said Del, leaping on her words. ‘Someone who’s used to a rigid training schedule sounds perfect as a dog owner, I reckon.’
‘How can I train him with a broken foot?’ asked Alex, hoping that was the end of the matter.
‘Well, he don’t need much walking at his age, does he?’ replied Del. ‘Think how good he’d be when you’re training for all those races.’
Alex shuffled in his seat, uncertain that he wanted the news that he had given up competitions to go any further than the family.
‘He’s so friendly,’ cooed Hannah, giving the dog a cuddle.
‘He’s a smashing lad,’ said Del, nodding and smiling at the appreciative audience. Lily, Faye and Dotty had all got up to fuss over him. ‘But then again Labradors always are. Such family dogs, ain’t they?’
‘What age is he?’ asked Faye, stroking the puppy’s head.
‘Nan didn’t know,’ replied Del. ‘He’s only a couple of months old, we reckon.’
‘But he’s enormous for three months! What are you feeding him?’ asked Walter. ‘Everything? He’s a right porker.’
‘Aww,’ said Lily. ‘Don’t say that! He’s cute.’
‘All Labrador puppies are cute,’ said Dotty with a frown. ‘Is he a flat-coated retriever because Labradors don’t normally have long fur like this?’
Del quickly nodded. ‘Nan got him from some chap she met at bingo but that’s what I thought, love.’ He looked across at Alex. ‘So? What do you think? Do you want him?’
‘I can’t, Del,’ said Alex, shaking his head. ‘I live in a flat in London. I’m only here for a week or two whilst I recover.’
‘Well, you can stay here a bit longer, can’t you?’ asked Del. ‘Best place I can think of to get yourself well.’
Ben looked at Alex. ‘You know, for the first time in history, Del might just be right. It’s been great having you here these past few days. Why don’t you stay on for the full six weeks?’
The family immediately burst into excited chatter.
‘Oh, that’s a great idea,’ said Faye. ‘You’ll be fighting fit by that time.’
‘Didn’t know he’d be having company though,’ added Walter, with a smile.
‘He needs cheering up, I reckon,’ said Del, gently taking the dog from Hannah to plonk him into Alex’s lap.
Suddenly Alex was holding a quite heavy puppy on his legs. Not that the dog seemed to mind. He merely looked up at him with big sorrowful dark eyes and panted, leaving a trail of drool across Alex’s arm.
‘He’s lovely,’ said Hannah, coming to crouch next to Alex to continue to fuss over the dog. ‘Ever so sweet.’
Alex was still thinking that he couldn’t possibly keep a dog but as he watched Hannah’s reaction, he wondered if perhaps the dog was a way of bringing them closer.
But he shook his head. That wasn’t the right reason to have the responsibility of getting a dog, he reminded himself.
Even though he had often pondered about getting one whenever he finally stopped competing.
Unfortunately, his hesitation was assumed by Del as an affirmation that he wanted the dog.
‘Great!’ declared Del. ‘Glad he’s going to a nice home. I’ll get his stuff out of the car.’
‘Wait a minute…’ began Alex.
But Del had already left the room.
As the family gathered around, Alex became even more aware of the heavy puppy in his lap. He looked up at Ben. ‘You could always keep the dog if I can’t, couldn’t you?’
‘Not really,’ said Ben, shaking his head. ‘We’ve got enough on our plates as it is.’
‘We would love to because he’s so cute,’ added Lily, reaching out to stroke the dog’s soft fur. ‘But like Ben said, we’re rushed off our feet most days.’
‘And what about the guests?’ added Ben. ‘What if someone’s got allergies?’
‘Besides, I’m not sure about this idea to stay here for the full six weeks,’ carried on Alex, feeling awkward. ‘It’s too much of an imposition.’
‘Rubbish,’ muttered Walter. ‘What’s one more person around here?’
‘Heartily agree, Grandad,’ said Ben, with a nod.
‘But what am I going to do about this puppy?’ asked Alex.
‘I wouldn’t fight the inevitable,’ Walter told him, coming over to also fuss over the dog. ‘Once Del’s got an idea in his thick head, there’s no budging him.’
Alex shook his head but the dog in his arms was reminding him that he was also a little bit helpless and he found he couldn’t help but want to protect the puppy.
Del came in, carrying a dog bed which was filled with a couple of feeding bowls, some squeaky toys and a lead.
‘What do I feed him?’ asked Alex, his mind racing as the full implication of taking on a puppy began to dawn on him.
‘He’s happy to eat whatever I like,’ said Del. ‘Last night he nicked half of my burger!’
‘Del!’ said Dotty, in a stern voice. ‘He shouldn’t be eating rubbish like that.’
‘He didn’t seem to mind,’ replied Del. ‘In fact, he really enjoyed it, I reckon.’ He looked at Alex. ‘Now, because you’re helping out my family, I won’t ask for payment for the lad. It’s worth it just to see his happy face in his new home.’
Alex looked at Del in amazement that he had actually thought about asking for money for an unwanted dog!
‘I haven’t said I’ll definitely have him yet,’ said Alex, quickly. ‘I mean, what about his medical records? Is he a pedigree?’
‘Ain’t got no papers,’ said Del. ‘But the man who gave it to Nan reckoned he’s sound. Might need the vet to check him out.’
Alex looked down at the dog. ‘He does seem awfully big for a retriever,’ he said.
‘Just puppy fat,’ said Del before grabbing his phone out of his pocket and looking at the screen. ‘Right. Gotta rush. I’ve got a text to pick up someone.’
‘Wait a minute,’ began Ben, rising up from the table. ‘Didn’t you say your phone wasn’t working?’
‘Must have suddenly fixed itself,’ said Del quickly. ‘Cheerio, everyone. Take care of Tiny for me!’
‘What about my sunken paddleboard?’ asked Ben.
But Del had already left the room.
Alex sighed and looked down at the dog in his arms who was beginning to fall asleep. This was a disaster, he thought. He couldn’t keep a dog. His life had always been orderly and planned.
And yet the truth was that for the first time in his life, he didn’t have a plan.
He had always been sensible with his choices, taking time to decide on important matters.
But Tiny wasn’t a sensible decision. It was a crazy choice to make.
But still Alex’s heart reminded him how lonely he was most evenings by himself in the flat.
He saw his friends and dated occasionally but it would perhaps be nice to have another living, breathing thing at home with him.
Anyway, he didn’t particularly like the flat so he could always rent somewhere bigger when he and Tiny left for London.
As he looked down at the puppy now asleep on his arm, Alex’s head reminded him that this was a ridiculous decision and that he should find a far more suitable owner as soon as he could.
But even with that thought, he couldn’t stop himself smiling as he reached down to gently stroke the dog’s silky head. Perhaps, he thought, just once, he might think with his heart instead.