Maxine Morrey - Coming Home to Wishington Bay

‘Bryan.’

‘Yes, with a Y.’

‘Of course. Is he drunk?’

‘What?’

‘He’s kind of wobbly.’

‘Oh! No, he had a little operation today, so he’s still a bit dozy from the anaesthetic. It’ll wear off soon and he’ll be back to normal.’

‘He’s all right though?’ I said, bending down and stroking the dog who was now sat slightly haphazardly in front of me.

‘Yes, he’s fine. Just a bit tired. He’ll be right as rain tomorrow.’

Carrie had been head veterinary nurse at the local practice for years now. It had an excellent reputation and people travelled miles to bring their animals to the village practice, thanks to the expertise and care it offered. I knelt on the floor and tickled the dog’s chin and he wobbled up closer, put his front paws on my knee and looked up at me, expectantly. I took the bait and lifted him gently onto my lap where he curled up and promptly fell asleep. Ned looked over from where he was preparing dessert and laughed.

‘You’re such a sucker.’

My brother’s compliments were almost as big a draw for my visits as his incredible cooking.

‘To be fair, he’s pretty good at emotional manipulation.’ A deep, accented voice drifted in from the back door to the kitchen.

‘Gabe!’ Carrie waddled over and got swept up in a big hug.

‘How are you both?’ he asked, gently touching the bump. I watched from the corner of my eye, seeing immediately how at ease he would put his patients. Yes, OK. So maybe he was a doctor after all.

‘We’re fine. Really good actually.’ Carrie beamed. Being pregnant suited her. She looked all glowy and serene. I was pretty sure that wasn’t a look I could pull off. I’d probably just end up sweaty and agitated.

‘I’m fine too!’ Ned called in a mock huff from the other side of the kitchen. Gabe did that way-too-good laugh again and walked across to where my brother was now opening two bottles of beer. Gabe wrapped an arm around his shoulders and gave a big squeeze.

‘Aww, no need to get jealous, mate. I still love you too!’

Ned pulled a face and thrust a beer at his mate. They clinked bottles and downed a good proportion each.

Gabe put his bottle on the worktop and walked over to where I was sat. Crouching down, he smiled at me. ‘Hello again.’

‘Oh, you’ve met then?’ Carrie asked. ‘We weren’t sure if you’d have bumped into one another yet or not.’

‘Yeah. There was definitely some bumping going on.’ Gabe laughed. Then stopped as three pairs of eyes looked at him, mine wider than the rest, and he suddenly realised how his statement had sounded. ‘Not like that! I fell off a ladder when Holly pulled the blind of the window I was painting. We … kind of made each other jump. And then she spent the rest of the day accusing me of being a burglar.’ He grinned at me and I pulled a face.

‘Oh God, Holly. You’re not still freaking about that break-in, are you?’ Ned asked.

I looked up at my brother and opened my mouth to respond, glancing at Carrie as I did so. She just rolled her eyes and shook her head. I took her advice, not wanting to sour the evening by bickering with him. I knew it was hard for him to understand the feeling of violation and insecurity the burglary had left me with. Something that Gabe had seemed to understand straight away. Ned had always been the most laid-back of the two of us. He’d made his life down here, rather than up in London as I had, and sometimes I wondered if that hadn’t been a major factor in the way we dealt with things.

I turned my attention back to Gabe. ‘Hot date fall through?’ I teased.

‘Unfortunately. Luckily, I had this as backup.’ He grinned.

‘If that’s true, and we are merely “backup” I will be hiding whole chillies in your pudding,’ Carrie informed him, the sweetest of smiles on her face. ‘Just so you know.’

Gabe laughed and leant over to stroke the little dog with the back of his hand. As he did, I got a waft of an aftershave that smelled delicious.

‘Is the little bloke all right, then?’ he asked, his brow creasing slightly as he studied the sleeping dog.

Carrie took a seat at the table and watched us. ‘Yes. Everything went well. Probably best if he doesn’t go charging through any meadows for a bit though.’

‘What was it? In his ear, I mean?’

‘Oh, just a grass seed. Not huge but enough to cause him discomfort. He’s fine now. He was a bit wobbly from the sedation before he found a new bed on Holly’s lap, so he just needs to sleep it off.’

‘Thanks for taking care of it all, Carrie. I really appreciate it.’

‘You’re welcome.’

‘Dinner will be ready in a minute,’ Ned called.

‘Can I bring his bed in here?’ Gabe looked at Carrie.

‘Of course, it’s just in the living room.’

He quickly rose and hurried out, returning a moment later with a soft bed in one hand and an oversized stuffed toy prawn sporting a slightly surprised expression in the other. He put the bed down against the wall, in sight of the table, and then crouched down in front of me.

‘Do you mind if I …’

‘No, of course not.’ As awkward as I suddenly felt at Gabe’s hands brushing my thighs during the action of scooping up the little pup, I was as disinclined as he was to wake the patient. I quickly dismissed what else I felt at the touch and concentrated instead on watching as Gabe moved and laid Bryan gently in the bed. The dog dozily opened his eyes and looked at his master. A tired little tongue poked out of the side of his mouth and gave a lick to Gabe’s hand before the dog drifted off again. Gabe rubbed his pet’s head gently before tucking the prawn in next to his paws.

‘Here’s Petey, mate,’ he said quietly.

Bryan stretched and put one paw over the toy, dragging it closer. I smiled at the scene.

‘He loves that prawn.’

‘So I see.’

‘My parents sent it over from home when I first showed them a picture of Bryan.’

‘Gabe rescued Bryan last winter,’ Carrie said, waddling over. ‘He found him wandering the streets in the city, shivering with cold, and brought him back to the practice for us to check him over. He wasn’t in good shape but Gabe said if we could save him, he’d give him a home.’

I glanced over to where Gabe was now intent on not looking at us.

‘Need any help over there, Ned?’ he asked and headed off, his long legs crossing the room in a few strides. Within moments, the expression that had clouded his face cleared as he laughed with my brother.

Carrie lowered her voice. ‘We didn’t have a lot of hope for Bryan when he was brought in. He’d obviously been out on the streets for some time, fending for himself. We don’t know his history but he had a nasty wound on his neck that wasn’t healing, possibly from a collar or rope that had cut in. He’s the sweetest-natured dog too, poor little thing. It was difficult to know what to do for the best. His fur was gone in places with a skin infection and he had an abscess in his mouth. He was only young and in such a state, it was heartbreaking.’

I looked at the dog sleeping peacefully with his cuddle companion, surrounded by love and comfort, and my eyes filled with tears.

Carrie saw and gave me a squeeze.

‘Stupid,’ I said, quietly.

‘Not at all,’ she reassured me. ‘Believe me, we were all in tears.’ She surreptitiously nodded at the big, macho guy now lounging against her worktop.

‘Really?’ I whispered.

‘Really. He walked in with this mangy little dog wrapped in a jumper and stuffed down the front of his bike suit and begged us to save him. We told him that even if we could, it might be expensive, depending on what we found, but he just waved it away. I mean, I know he’s a doctor so he’s not short of a few bob, but still. He’d just picked this dog off the street and he was prepared to do anything to save him.’