‘What?’ I gasped, staring at the paper. In his messy handwriting, it said,‘I’ve gone on an adventure to find Dorothy. Tell Rachel not to worry about me. Eric.’
I gazed up at the sky and the mass of swirling snowflakes and then down to the snow-covered ground. Grandpa was out walking in this weather. He had no idea where Dorothy lived and nor did I for that matter. At eighty years of age, he was unsteady on his feet. Suddenly gripped with panic, I turned to Layla. ‘I need to find Dorothy.’
Layla nodded. ‘I know her daughter Kay, but not Dorothy.’
‘I need to find Grandpa. Hold Humphrey and take him inside. I’ll get my car.’
After handing over Humphrey I trudged towards my car. Luckily my keys were in my back pocket. As I was wiping the snow off my windscreen I heard Layla shout. Turning around I saw Humphrey race away from her, his lead dragging along behind him. ‘Humphrey!’ I wailed at the dog who was bounding through the snow.
‘I’m sorry, Rachel,’ groaned Layla.
‘It’s fine, he’s a little nightmare. Get inside. I’ll be back with Grandpa and the dog.’
The second I started my car, the petrol light flashed. ‘Aghhh,’ I shouted, hitting the steering wheel. ‘Why do you have to do this now, car? Well, I am sure there will be enough fumes to get around town.’
After crawling down the winding driveway at a cautious snail’s pace I wondered whether Ben and his mum knew Dorothy. I parked up and he must have seen me getting out, as he came to his front door. ‘You okay?’
I shook my head. ‘Grandpa has gone off by himself to find Dorothy and I have no idea where she lives or where he is. Plus, Humphrey has run off.’
Ben grabbed his keys, and I heard the doors to his van unlock. ‘Jump in. We’ll take my van as the weather is going to get bad.’
‘I’m sorry to call on you, Ben.’
He smiled. ‘It’s nice to see you again.’
We climbed in beside each other. ‘Do you know Kay’s mother, Dorothy?’
‘Yes, and I know where her cottage is too. I did some work for her last year.’
I would never have found Dorothy’s cottage as it was down a tiny country lane. It hadn’t been gritted, even Ben’s van struggled.
He parked up and I leapt out. There was no answer at Dorothy’s which made me panic. In my head, I could see Mum shaking her head with disapproval at me from her sunbed and Aunty Karen pointing her to list of dos and don’ts when caring for Grandpa Eric on her phone. One of which was:Don’t let him out of your sight!
‘Oh God, where is he?’ I began to tremble. ‘What if Dorothy found him collapsed in her doorway and has taken him to hospital? My family didn’t trust me to look after him and this will have proved that they are right. I don’t know why they asked me…’
Ben placed a warm hand on my shoulder. ‘Calm down. Let’s not assume anything about Eric. We’ll find him. Let’s get in the van and head into town.’
He parked near the church, and it reminded me of the first day Grandpa and I ventured into Harp Brook to search for Humphrey. He’d been engrossed with reading the church’s social noticeboard and going over to the Nag’s Head for a drink. Kay’s shop caught my eye. I could ask Kay whether she’d seen her mother and Grandpa. It was then Ben called out to me and pointed at the window in the pub. There was a familiar face waving at me.
‘Grandpa,’ I snapped before marching across the road and into the pub.
As I entered Grandpa raised his pint glass to me and nudged Dorothy, who was sitting next to him. ‘My taxi home has arrived,’ he called out. ‘Hurray!’
‘Grandpa, I have been worried sick,’ I snapped. ‘Where have you been?’
He cast me a tipsy grin. ‘I went to find Dorothy but finding her cottage felt like too much hard work, so I came to the pub instead. Guess who was coming out of her daughter’s shop as I was about to enter.’ Leaning over he placed his arm around Dorothy. ‘My sweetheart.’
Ben came over and Grandpa put down his pint to shake his hand. ‘Nice to see you, Ben.’
‘Right, I think you’ve had enough to drink, Grandpa, let’s get you home.’
To my amazement, he nodded and rose from his seat. I helped him into his coat as he was unsteady on his feet. Dorothy planted a kiss on his cheek. ‘I’ll see you soon, Eric. Thanks for a lovely time this morning, I haven’t laughed so much in a long time.’
‘We will meet again, my love,’ Grandpa said. ‘Now I need to go home for forty winks.’
Ben helped Grandpa into the middle passenger seat in his van. I sat by the door and blocked him in. ‘Humphrey has gone missing again, Grandpa.’
Grandpa raised his hand. ‘I wouldn’t worry. That dog is like me, we know how to have a good time.’
