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Sitting at the table, Flora stroked Dougal, who had curled up on her lap, his front legs dangling over her knees. He looked as exhausted as he had earlier, even after a bite to eat.
‘Thank you, but, no, it’s my fault for taking him to the wrong one. Trestow Veterinary Surgery.’
‘Trestow? That’s the one we normally go to. I’ll call them, get it sorted. There must have been a misunderstanding.’ Leaning across the table, Flora rubbed Poppy’s arm.
‘Oh, really? I told the receptionist I was from Wagging Tails, and I spoke to the vet too, and although he was very apologetic, he just said he doesn’t have deals, discounts or tabs with anyone.’
‘That’s odd. May have been a locum, though. I’m sure we’ll get to the bottom of it. I’ll transfer the money as soon as we’ve settled this one in his kennel.’
‘There’s no need. I should have explained myself better to them or something.’ She picked at her nail varnish, the pale blue flaking to the floor. ‘Besides, they’ll probably give me a refund when you explain, anyway.’
‘True, they will. Still, I’ll transfer it as it sometimes takes a bit of time. Are you still having to pay half of the bills? Or has Ben taken that over now you’ve moved out?’
Poppy grimaced. ‘After this month, I’ll just be paying my half of the mortgage.’
It was a good thing really, being as two days ago had been her last day of supply teaching until after the school Christmas holidays.
Flora looked up at the kitchen door as someone walked through. ‘Ah, here’s Alex. Alex, this is my niece, Poppy.’
‘Hey, Poppy. Great to put a face to the voice on the phone.’ Alex strode in and grinned before looking down at Dougal. ‘Oh, this must be our new addition. How much does he look like Bella and Tiger?’
Flora chuckled. ‘That he does. Poppy, we had two little cockapoos in this summer. Real characters they were. Though the poor things were thrown over the fence. But they have a new forever home now.’
Kneeling down next to Flora, Alex began to fuss the small dog. ‘Have you heard from their new family recently?’
‘I have. They sent me an email just yesterday evening, actually. I’ve popped some photos they sent to us on the fridge.’ Flora nodded towards the under-the-counter fridge, where two A4 photographs were clamped with little dog magnets to the door.
Turning around in her chair, Poppy looked at the photos. One showed two small cockapoos running through some woodland whilst the other depicted a nose, a huge, black shiny nose aimed straight at the camera. She laughed.
‘That picture is great, isn’t it? Bella and Tiger’s new mum said she’d just got the camera out and Tiger must have thought it was a treat, the attention he gave it.’ Flora chuckled.
‘Aw, they do look happy, don’t they?’ Alex turned the tap on, filling a glass before leaning back against the counter and drinking it in one go.
‘Yes, they seem to be getting on really well. It’s always such a relief when we can rehome a pair who come in together.’
‘Absolutely,’ Alex said, kneeling down again in front of Flora and fussing Dougal behind the ears. ‘What’s happening with this little one, then?’
‘We won’t know what’s wrong with him until tomorrow when the results of his blood test are back.’ Poppy frowned.
‘We’ve enticed him with a little chicken. He only ate a morsel though, and it was obvious that was difficult for him.’ Flora sighed. ‘We’ll have a bit of a move around and pop him in the kennel closest to the reception and leave one empty next to him. Just in case. I know the others are all up to date with their vaccinations but until we know what’s wrong with him, I’d rather take all the precautions we can, so washing hands after handling him and making sure we wash his bowls separately.’
‘Good idea. We can never be too careful.’ Giving Dougal a final fuss, Alex stood up and went to back the sink. ‘I’m assuming it was another false alarm with Mr Thomas then? He wouldn’t allow you and Ginny to take any of his dogs into our care?’
‘Nope, not one.’
‘Maybe next time?’
‘We can only hope.’ Flora shook her head sadly. ‘Right, I’d better get a wriggle on, too. Can I give you this little one?’ Flora nodded down at Dougal.
‘Yes, of course.’ Poppy pushed her chair back away from the table as Flora transferred him to her lap. ‘Do you want me to do any admin whilst I’m sitting here with him? I made a start on writing up Fluffles’ details for her adoption advert. I can carry on with that if you like?’
‘Oh yes, please. I’m terrible at writing those. I’ll bring the notebook through.’
Poppy stroked Dougal’s back. He hadn’t seemed to notice being moved at all. His eyes were still as lacklustre as they had been earlier. She stroked his nose and swallowed. Poor little thing.
* * *
Poppy pushed the notebook away from her and pinched the bridge of her nose. She could feel one of her headaches coming on again. The funny thing was she’d never suffered from headaches, not until she and Ben had separated, so they were definitely stress related.
