All at once, the object let out a bloodcurdling shriek, which made her heart pound so violently, for a moment she thought she was having a heart attack.
‘Oh my God! It’s a baby!’ she screamed, looking down at her feet, finally able to focus.
A round, red, scrunched-up, tear-stained face stared back at her, holding its chubby arms aloft as if it wanted to be picked up and comforted.
Stella’s heart turned into a buttery mess and she bent down, scooped up the infant and squished it into her bosom.
‘Shh, shh, I’m so sorry, sweetie,’ she said, rocking the baby in her arms and kissing the top of its soft head. ‘Are you all right?’
The baby was too young to reply but thankfully, it stopped shrieking and emitted a few sad little whimpers instead. Stella cast round desperately for April and asked the others to look for her as well.
Not before time, she appeared from the back of the shop and Stella quickly passed her the child, explaining what had happened with an uneasy sense of déjà vu. Stamping on April’s children seemed to be becoming a bit of a habit.
‘He’s all right, aren’t you, Nikos?’ April said, clutching him to her chest and stroking his mop of black hair. ‘I only left him behind the counter for a second, but he’s just started crawling, the little imp. I didn’t realise he could move so fast!’
She was in a strappy turquoise sundress with lots of tanned flesh on display. Nikos made a grab for one of her big gold hoop earrings, but she pulled back her head in the nick of time so the jewellery was out of reach.
At that moment, Meaty came bursting through the door, panting heavily. Everyone, even the baby, turned to stare.
‘It’s Zenobia!’ Meaty cried, looking panic-stricken. He bent over, hands on knees, while he tried to catch his breath. ‘He’s stolen her!’
‘Who’s stolen her?’ April asked, frowning. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘The shoe shop man! He’s tied her up with rope! He said he’s calling the police!’
Stella’s mouth dropped open. Poor Zenobia! She had no idea who she was or what she’d done, but no one deserved such appalling treatment.
‘You can’t tie people up,’ she blurted. ‘It’s illegal!’
April gave her a funny look. ‘Zenobia’s the dog, our dog,’ she said slowly, as if Stella was a bit slow.
Then, turning back to Meaty, she asked suspiciously: ‘Why did he tie her up? What’s she done? What didyoudo?’
Nikos, the baby, had forgotten all about his accident and was clawing at the top of his mother’s dress, wanting milk, but she ignored him.
When Meaty’s breathing finally went back to normal, he was able to fill them in properly.
‘She grabbed a whole cooked chicken from this lady’s bag outside his shop and ate it,’ he explained, very matter-of-fact. ‘I tried to stop her but she sank her teeth into it and growled so fiercely, I was scared. The lady had only been looking in the shop window, and soon there were bits of chicken and bones everywhere. Then another dog came along, a little one, and it tried to scoff the bits that were left and Zenobia snarled and the lady screamed and I thought there was going to be a fight.’
Stella’s and April’s eyes widened simultaneously. ‘Oh my lord,’ April said, putting a hand to her mouth.
A strange snuffling noise made Stella glance down, and another dog – an enormous black furry thing – had seemingly sprung from nowhere and was hovering at April’s side.
‘Basket, Violet!’ April said fiercely, but Violet remained resolutely still. Behind her was a pretty, dark-haired, dark-eyed girl of about ten, holding the hand of a younger girl of about three. They looked so alike, they were obviously sisters.
‘Take her upstairs,’ April commanded, and the older girl obediently grabbed the dog’s collar and dragged her off, still clutching on to her sibling.
April raised her heavily pencilled-in eyebrows. ‘Bloody hell!’
Stella didn’t know whether to laugh or commiserate.
‘Where’s Georgios when I need him?’ April added with a sigh.
It was true, her husband was nowhere to be seen, and Stella found herself thinking she’d definitely lose track of the kids and dogs if she had to manage all this on her own.
‘Can I help?’ It was Jon. Stella had temporarily forgotten about him. She quickly introduced him to April, who looked him up and down.
‘That’s very kind of you, I must say.’ She sounded rather doubtful. ‘That man, the one who owns the shoe shop, he can be a right pain in the arse. He’s dead proud of his store but it’s a shithole, if you ask me. Everything looks nice but it’s badly made and overpriced. I wouldn’t buy from there if you paid me.’
