Page 20 of Happy Days Ahead in the Cornish Village

Megan stood up and headed out of the kitchen door, closely followed by Jay. A man and woman stood at the counter with a large greyhound pulling at her lead, sniffing the floor.

‘Hello, can we help you?’

‘I hope so.’ The woman spoke first, leaning her handbag on top of the counter. ‘We’re hoping to speak to Flora.’

‘I’m afraid Flora’s just popped out. She won’t be long, though. Would you like to wait?’ Megan indicated the kitchen door behind her.

‘No, we’d rather not.’ The man lifted a large carrier bag onto the counter, dwarfing the woman’s small handbag. ‘We’re sorry, but we’re going to have to drop Cindy off. It’s just not working out with her.’

‘Cindy?’ Jay frowned. ‘Is she your dog?’

‘That’s right. We’ve tried all we can, but we just can’t train her. It’s ruining our lives.’ The man sighed.

‘She’s ruining your lives?’ Megan looked down at the dog again. Cindy’s tail was wagging as she walked across to Megan and Jay.

‘Hello, you.’ Kneeling down, Jay fussed Cindy behind the ears.

‘That’s right.’ The woman shifted position. ‘Sorry, I don’t recognise either of you. Are you new here?’

‘Yes, we are,’ Jay said, still kneeling down. He held his hand out as Cindy began licking his palm.

‘I see. I suppose it would help if we explained the situation from the beginning, then.’ The woman grasped the handles of her bag. ‘We adopted Cindy a month ago. We knew she had some behavioural problems and that she couldn’t be left alone, but we didn’t quite realise how severe the problem was. We literally can’t leave her alone. She cries when we pop to the bathroom even.’

‘The neighbours are fed up with the noise,’ the man continued. ‘They’re threatening to call Environmental Health if we don’t do something.’ He took a deep breath in.

‘And she chewed through our brand-new sofa when we left to pop to the corner shop.’

The man breathed out heavily. ‘That’s two grand down the pan.’

‘So you see, as much as we’re fond of her—’ the woman looked down at Cindy, her eyes sad ‘—we just don’t have a choice but to bring her back.’

Standing up, Jay pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. ‘Would you be able to wait for Flora or Ginny to get back? That way you can explain everything to them, and they might be able to help.’

‘Or Sally. She’s the trainer,’ Megan said. ‘She’ll be able to give you a few pointers, I’m sure.’

‘I’m afraid not, no. We’ve got a plane to catch.’ The man tapped his watch.

‘You’re going away?’ Something wasn’t right here. Megan bit down on her lip.

‘That’s right, we’re treating ourselves after being effectively prisoners in our own home for the past month. We’re going away.’ The man wrapped his arm around his partner’s waist.

‘Yes, we’re off to drink cocktails and lie in the sun.’ The woman smiled and slid her handbag from the counter.

‘You’re dropping Cindy off and jetting away on holiday? You’re not even willing to discuss anything? To give her another chance?’ Jay’s voice was laced with disbelief.

Megan could feel Jay tense up beside her, and she glanced at him quickly. His brow had furrowed, and his eyes were dark.

‘As I said, we’re on a tight schedule.’

And with that, they both left, the bell above the door tinkling to signal their departure, Cindy’s lead loose on the floor.

‘What was that?’ Jay shook his head.

‘I don’t know.’

Sinking to the floor, Megan tapped her knees, waiting for Cindy to turn around from where she was staring at the closed door and walk across to her.

‘Hello, Cindy. Aren’t you a lovely girl?’

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