Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
‘Ah, Frankie, there you are,’ said her father, who was clearly leading the expedition. He looked pale, and his hair was dishevelled this morning, sticking up at all angles, but then the donkeys did tend to have that effect.
‘I’m here,’ she said. ‘What’s going on?’
‘One guess,’ said Jake, rolling his eyes.
‘Donkeys,’ said Frankie.
‘Got it in one,’ said Charlie, already opening a packet of ginger nut biscuits in preparation.
Wow, thought Frankie, this is serious. The ginger nuts were the donkeys’ absolute favourite and therefore only ever came out in emergencies. ‘Where are they?’ she said.
Her dad grimaced. ‘It’ll be easier to show you.’
‘Uh-oh,’ said Frankie.
‘Yup,’ said Jake.
‘Lead the way.’ She shrugged, and the group fell into step easily behind her as if they’d been waiting for her to show up.
That wasn’t a great sign. Derek and Dave the donkeys were notoriously difficult but they seemed to like Frankie more than other humans, so it usually fell to her to do the donkey wrestling if any was required.
‘Were you waiting for me?’ she said to Brian as they headed up the hill into the centre of the island. He didn’t reply straight away. ‘Dad? Are you okay?’
He was breathing heavily and was it her imagination or did he look a little grey in the face?
‘What, love? Oh, yeah, I’m okay. Where were you?’
‘Sorry, I hopped on the boat to Guernsey. Needed to do some shopping. I did leave you a note.’
‘That’s fine, that’s fine,’ said Brian, still puffing. ‘I was panicking. We thought maybe you’d gone off chasing that boy.’
‘What boy?’ said Frankie as innocently as she could.
This time her dad didn’t even bother to respond.
He simply raised his bushy eyebrows and she flushed a deep shade of tomato.
Dammit. As if she would have gone off chasing that boy.
It was preposterous, and yet even hearing her dad say the words had given her a little frisson of excitement down her spine.
Frankie stopped to listen as they reached the top of the hill, but could hear no sign of donkey mayhem yet.
There was a bit of shouting going on, which she had assumed was someone playing ball games on Belvoir beach nearby but no, when they turned right towards the campsite, it immediately became clear why.
Seagulls was the campsite that Frankie’s mum and dad ran alongside their holiday cottage business.
The tents were permanently set up in the field so visitors didn’t have to bring their own gear.
And they were usually pretty sturdy in normal circumstances.
However, they were definitely not donkey proof.
Two of the large safari tents appeared to have developed an extremely unhealthy lean, and one more was in pieces on the floor.
Campers were standing around everywhere, scratching their heads at the chaos, except for the children who were standing in a circle, practically giddy with delight.
For there, right in the middle of the scene, were two little brown donkeys, otherwise known as Derek and Dave, looking across at her all innocent, even though Dave somehow had a beach towel draped over his shoulders and Derek was standing with his front two feet on a low stool like he was performing a circus trick.
But what really did it for Frankie was the moment she realised Sally was also in the middle of the scene.
She’d managed to get a headcollar onto Dave but he had planted his feet and was point blank refusing to move, much to the amusement of all the onlookers.
Her face was purple with fury as she yanked at the rope.
‘It’s not funny, Frankie,’ said her dad as she burst out laughing. ‘Those bloody donkeys are a total menace.’
‘Come on, Dad. Lighten up. Look at their little faces.’
‘Don’t give me that, they’re more trouble than their worth. They’ve made a bloody mess of the site. These tents aren’t cheap, you know.’
‘It’s traditional,’ said Frankie. ‘Donkeys and Herm go together like cheese and wine.’
‘Both leave you with terrible regrets in the morning if that’s what you mean.’
Frankie glanced over her shoulder. Sure enough, the other members of the ‘rescue party’ were lingering back, not quite sure what to do.
‘Jake, follow me and do what I do,’ she said, leaving the others where they were.
He followed a little shyly, hat in hand. ‘I’ve never been great with donkeys,’ he said, glancing at her. ‘I prefer oysters. You know where you are with oysters.’
‘Pfft. These guys are the best. You’ll see,’ she said, briskly, trying not to look at her watch or think about her phone and whether a certain someone might be replying to her message RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE. ‘Let’s go.’
‘Help,’ wailed Sally as they approached, heaving on the lead rope to no avail. ‘Dave is a bloody menace.’
‘That’s what Brian said.’ Jake laughed.
‘Don’t yank him like that. No wonder he’s not moving,’ said Frankie.
‘What the heck am I supposed to do, genius?’ said Sally.
‘Appreciate those little faces,’ said Frankie as two sets of large brown eyes turned her way.
She gave Dave a little cuddle, deftly untangling the towel from around his neck as she did so.
His ears were drooping on either side of his head and she gave them a rub and the donkey responded immediately, lifting his head so she could scratch under his chin.
‘And what exactly are you doing there, young man?’ she said, turning to Derek, still balancing proudly on his stool.
Derek blinked at her as though he understood every word.
She was convinced he did. Donkeys had been on the island for decades, at least until the tenants decided they were a menace and evicted them back to the mainland.
When Frankie’s family arrived on Herm, they petitioned for their return but it honestly was a case of be careful what you wish for.
Now the Jacks family were seen as the donkeys’ custodians by the other islanders and they took great delight in passing the buck to them – well, Frankie, whenever there was an issue.
Which was all the time. Much like Blondie, they loved to roam all over the island and despite the humans’ best and most inventive efforts to keep them in a field or stable, they simply would not be contained.
At least once a week her father threatened to send them back where they came from.
Frankie ran her fingers through Derek’s thick coat, scratching his ears as he lowered his head at her touch, eyes closing.
‘Come on, boys,’ she said after a few minutes of this, taking off her jumper and wrapping it around his neck as a makeshift headcollar.
Once Derek was semi secure, she waved the children over and they came close, touching the donkeys with gentle fingers.
They were not the only ones. Jake had come forward tentatively at first but before long he was scratching donkey ears and touching soft donkey noses with the best of them. ‘I see what you mean,’ he said, looking up at her and beaming.
‘Told you,’ she replied with a wink, which she instantly regretted as his beam went off the scale.
‘Right, time’s up,’ she said hastily. ‘Let’s get these boys back where they belong.’
Ignoring the groans from the children – and Jake – Frankie encouraged them all to stand well back, as she took the end of the rope gently from Sally and began walking away, Derek and Dave following obediently behind her.
She waved and muttered apologies to the bemused campers as they picked their way through the crowd.
‘How the bloody hell did you do that?’ said Sally when they’d put a bit of distance between them and the children. ‘I’ve been trying for half an hour.’
Frankie kept walking, not looking behind her, keeping Dave’s rope loose. ‘Just don’t pressure them. Donkeys like to be asked, not told.’
Brian rolled his eyes as they approached. ‘You and those bloody donkeys.’
‘I think you mean, “Well done, Frankie”,’ she said.
‘Hmmmph,’ was all her dad said.
‘Well, I thought it was bloody impressive,’ said Jake. Frankie’s face heated but she didn’t look at him.
Someone in the group behind him passed forward a headcollar and Frankie slid it over Derek’s head.
‘Can they have a ginger biscuit?’ asked Jake, still keeping a little distance.
Frankie smiled at him. ‘Course they can.’
‘Oh that’s right, just reward them for being a pair of absolute little buggers,’ said Sally under her breath.
‘They were only playing,’ said Frankie, stopping to hand them each a ginger biscuit, watching as the donkeys held them in their mouths, delighted, savouring the taste.
‘I’ll get them back to their field. Sal, why don’t you come with me? Jake, Dad, can you sort the campsite? Show’s over, everyone. So sorry about that.’
She was still being watched, the children trailing along behind them.
Frankie waved goodbye to the campers, who seemed more amused than anything else, now it was over.
She led the donkeys through the gate and out onto the track, Sally following behind.
Frankie’s palms were sweating and she wiped them as successfully as she could on her jeans as they walked.
‘Well, that was an adventure,’ said Sally. ‘Nice work, by the way.’
‘Oh, thanks. I love these little dudes.’
Sally glanced across at her. ‘Speaking of adventures, where did you go this morning? Jake said he saw you running – actually running – down the hill earlier?’
Frankie didn’t look at her but she could hear from her voice that her eyebrows were on top of her forehead, they were so high. ‘Um. Here’s the thing.’
‘What?’
‘Don’t be mad…’
‘What did you do, Frankie?’
‘I nipped to St Peter Port. I may have accidentally dropped your phone last night, Sal. I’m so sorry, I think I fell asleep holding it and when I woke up it was all cracked.’
She braced for impact, but none came.
‘That’s amazing,’ said Sally. ‘I’ve been meaning to get a new one for ages. How much do I owe you?’
‘Nothing. It was my fault. So you’re not mad?’ said Frankie, cautiously.
‘Course not. Love a new phone. That’s quite exciting. Give us a look… or, do you still need to borrow it? You know, for stalking purposes?’
She swallowed. ‘Actually, no. You can have it. I bought myself one, too.’
Sally made a sort of strangled sound.
‘What?’ said Frankie.
‘You spent money on technology, willingly?’
‘It’s only a phone.’ Frankie glanced over to find Sally’s eyes as narrow as she’d ever seen them.
‘Hold on. This is you we’re talking about,’ said Sally. ‘You never spend money on anything, let alone new tech.’
Frankie didn’t respond. They’d reached the field where the donkeys were supposed to live, in theory at least. She led them through the gate, which was now hanging off its hinges, gave them one last tickle and let them off their headcollars.
This, as it turned out, was a mistake, as Derek and Dave headed straight back to the gate to try and slip back through the gap, and Frankie had to quickly shoo them away before turning her attention to tying it up as securely as she could with the ropes, all the while trying desperately not to make eye contact with Sally.
But it still didn’t take her friend long.
‘Oh my God. He’s messaged you, hasn’t he?’
There it was.
‘Hasn’t he?’ said Sally. ‘Spill. The. Goddamn. Beans.’
‘He might have,’ said Frankie quietly, breathing heavily as she tugged on the rope to make sure it was tight.
Sally squealed and ran up and down the lane a little way, waving her arms in excitement. Frankie stood up and wiped her forehead, waiting for her friend to calm down.
‘Tell me everything,’ said Sally eventually.
And so, she did.