Page 16 of Summer at the Cornish Garden Café

‘Can I see the dogs, please?’ Winnie asked.

‘Of course you can. I’ll take you over and introduce you now if that’s OK with you?’ she asked Marnie and Thomas.

‘Of course.’ Marnie smiled, her hand cradling her bump.

‘Would you like to sit down?’ Leanne asked Marnie, a flicker of concern passing over her face.

‘That would be grand, thanks.’ Marnie nodded. ‘Would you keep an eye on Winnie?’ she asked Thomas.

‘Of course I will.’ He nodded.

While Leanne showed Marnie to a seating area in the corner of the gazebo, Thomas waited with Winnie. When Leanne returned to them, she said, ‘So are you looking to adopt?’

‘Uhm… I’m actually looking to volunteer,’ Thomas said, suddenly unsure what to do with his hands. Putting them in his pockets seemed rude but otherwise they were just hanging there so he held the cane between them both to give them something to do.

‘OK. Well, that’s lovely to hear.’ Leanne gestured at the table with the sanctuary banner above it. ‘Why don’t you come with me, and we can have a chat?’

‘Great.’

They made their way over and while Leanne talked Thomas through what volunteering would involve and what documentation he would need to provide, another sanctuary employee introduced Winnie to some of the dogs.

‘Look, Uncle Thomas!’ Winnie beckoned to him after he’d given Leanne his contact information. ‘This is Harvey the puggle.’

Leanne laughed. ‘He is a little puggle wuggle.’

‘Harvey the puggle wuggle!’ Winnie giggled. ‘Can we adopt him?’ Winnie asked, eyes wide and hands clasped together.

‘Oh… I think you need to ask your mum and dad that question.’ Thomas glanced over at his sister who was fanning her face with a leaflet and holding a cardboard cup of water. ‘Or at least your dad when he arrives.’

‘I willbegthem to adopt him!’ Winnie said with the fervency of a young child.

‘He’s a lovely little dog,’ he said to Leanne.

‘He’s adorable and such an easy boy to have around. He has the sweetest temperament, loves children — as you can see — and is great with other dogs.’

Thomas watched as Winnie stroked Harvey’s head and he snuffled against her hand making her giggle.

‘Has he had any interest?’ Thomas asked.

‘We had a lady in earlier who seemed very taken with him, as he did with her, but she said she wasn’t in a position to adopt right now. Although she did say she would hopefully be able to consider adopting soon.’

‘Oh right.’ Thomas nodded.

‘He’s living with one of our volunteers but will be available for meet and greets at the sanctuary should you, your sister or Winnie decide you’d like to meet him again.’

‘It looks like Winnie is very taken with him.’ Thomas smiled as his niece sat still so Harvey could sniff her. ‘I’ll have a word with my brother-in-law, although with a new baby on the way, it might be a bit much for them.’

Leanne nodded. ‘Adopting a dog is a big responsibility and can be a lot when people have a new baby around too.’

‘I’m footloose and fancy free though,’ Thomas said thoughtfully. ‘It would be nice to have some company.’

‘Well, you can fill in an application form for him if you want to,’ Leanne said. ‘The lady who liked him is staying in the village for the summer and might not be here long-term, so she said she didn’t know if she’d be a suitable candidate anyway. Not that his adopters need to be local, but they do need to either be homeowners or to have their landlord’s permission to have a dog living with them.’

‘I’m a homeowner and I don’t work.’ Thomas laughed shyly. He hated admitting he was out of work but didn’t want to explain why.

‘I know who you are, Thomas,’ Leanne said. ‘It’s all good.’

‘Oh…’ He inhaled slowly. It was bound to happen, him being recognised and word getting around. He’d been in the village for a while and his story had been splashed all over the newspapers at one point, so it would be a miracle if some people didn’t recognise him. He’d kept his head down, been a quiet presence in the village, but even so… People talked but some people, thankfully, understood the need for privacy. ‘Right.’

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