Page 11 of Escape to the Country

‘Darling, you know we love you, but it’s not really your thing, is it? Apart from mucking out the horses when you were a teenager, you haven’t been near a farm for years. Walking around in jeans and wellies all day cleaning up dog muck and cleaning out the chicken shed? That’s not really your style, is it? And I didn’t think you even liked dogs that much.’

Beth looked thoughtful. ‘Wait, Dad. Let her speak.’

‘Look, you need help. I have time on my hands. I have my redundancy money so don’t need paying. And honestly, just how hard can it be?’

Uncle Tom stood and hugged me. ‘Madison, my darling, if you are really one hundred per cent sure, I think you could just be the answer to all our prayers. However, I do insist on giving you a wage for working here. We’ll sort something out that we’re all happy with.’ For the first time in a couple of weeks, I actually felt useful and knew that I would be able to help them. And that felt good.

‘Well, there you go then. All sorted. Now, where’s that cuppa you promised me?’ Beth grinned and headed for the kitchen.

‘Thank you, darling. This means the world to us. It really does.’

‘I won’t let you down, Uncle Tom. You both mean so much to me and it’s the perfect solution for all of us.’

‘To Growlers, Giddywell Grange and us!’ We toasted the arrangement with three mugs of tea.

Suddenly realising that I’d forgotten something important, I asked them whether they had space for another dog for next week and after I told him the story about Alice and Baxter, Uncle Tom said he’d be delighted to take Baxter for as long as she needed. We sorted out a plan for Alice to come along to have a look later that day, and then I would stay afterwards and have a chat about what else I needed to do to help.

I couldn’t wait to ring Alice and tell her that everything was sorted, and I knew that I’d be able to keep an eye on Baxter for her too if I was helping out a bit. He really was an absolute darling. I sent her a quick text asking if I could pop round after lunch as I had some great news to tell her, and she quickly replied and said that around 2p.m. would be perfect and she’d make sure the kettle was on. I didn’t think I’d ever drunk as much tea in my life since I’d been made redundant.

* * *

When I arrived at Alice’s house, Baxter ran in circles around my ankles and kept brushing himself against my legs, and I was flattered when Alice said that he only did that with people he really liked. I stood leaning against one of the kitchen cupboards while she laid the tea tray, and I told her that I’d managed to bag Baxter a spot at Growlers if she wanted it. As Uncle Tom suggested, I asked if she’d like to come and have a look round this afternoon and make sure she was happy with it before she made her mind up.

Her face lit up and she stepped towards me and threw her arms around me. ‘I knew you were lucky when I met you. I had a feeling.’ She grinned. ‘I trust you already, so if you say it’s OK, then I’m happy for Baxter to go there, but yes, it would be lovely to see where he’ll be staying. I do worry about him being away from me.’ She reached down and gave him a treat from her pocket. He scampered off to his bed by the back door and munched away.

‘Well, I’ll be able to visit him and I’ll be working there quite a lot over the next few weeks, so I can even text you pictures of him to reassure you.’

‘Oh Madison, I’m so happy. I was really worried that I might not be able to go. It’s a huge thing for me to leave him behind while I visit my sister, but knowing that you’ll be on hand makes me feel so much better. Let’s have a quick cuppa, then can we go and have a look? Do you think it would be OK if I bring him along?’

‘Of course, Uncle Tom said that dogs settle in better when they’ve already visited and know the place, and he’s going to be there to show us around. He’s looking forward to meeting you both. I’m going to be stopping there for an hour or two afterwards, so is it OK if you follow me in your car?’

‘Of course, and honestly, Madison, you’ve really taken a weight off my shoulders today. I hope you realise what a difference you’ve made to us.’

My heart lifted and for the first time in a long time, I realised that helping others was a good thing to do.

Perhaps I wasn’t a nobody after all. If Alice thought I had made a difference to her, then perhaps I could make a difference to others too.

I vowed that from here on, I was going to do at least one thing every day for someone else. I was going to do something that would make a difference to someone and brighten their day. It could be someone I knew, or it could be a random stranger. And it would give me something to focus on for the future. I felt like I’d spent so much time looking out for Ronington’s and my position there that I had forgotten about the important things in life.

6

When we arrived back at the farm, it was as if I was seeing it through a new set of eyes as we drove into the courtyard and arrived at a set of six-foot gates. We both parked up and negotiated our way around some clucking chickens and a very noisy but friendly cockerel who didn’t seem to realise that he was only supposed to cock-a-doodle-doo in the morning, as he seemed to cock-a-doodle-doo all day long. Uncle Tom always said he was just protecting his ladies like a true gentleman should.

A huge brass bell hung on the wall of the barn to the right of the gates. I gave it a tug and it rang and echoed around the courtyard for what seemed like ages. Alice and I laughed at how loud it was and how it seemed to set off the dogs barking in a chain. I heard the noise of a bolt sliding across and another gate shutting, before Uncle Tom appeared and invited us through to reception.

He bent down and tickled Baxter behind the ears, and Baxter licked his face. Uncle Tom never batted an eyelid. He was used to all sorts of dogs and loved them more than humans, I always felt. There were always dogs running around on the farm in the summer when we were kids, and curled up on their beds beside the fireplace in the winter.

‘And you’ – he stood and turned – ‘must be Alice. Good afternoon and welcome to Growlers at the Grange. Come through, come through.’ He led us through the back of reception out to the stable block, with Baxter trotting happily alongside us.

Alice nodded and smiled at me, and I could see that she was really happy with what she was seeing.

‘The dogs are all off lead from here, and it’s totally secure, and they can run around to their hearts’ content.’ He guided Alice through to the fenced paddock and explained about the activity centre that was set up.

‘We spend lots of time in here and the dogs love it, and it helps to tire them out both mentally and physically. My daughter Beth, who the business belongs to really, would rather spend her time out here playing with the dogs than doing the paperwork side, so that’s my domain really. And Maddy here is going to be helping out, as much as we can persuade her to, while Beth is recovering from an operation. So what do you think, Alice? Do you think Baxter will be OK with us?’

‘Oh, Tom,’ she said with tears in her eyes. ‘It breaks my heart to leave him behind, but my sister has been in Australia for over twenty years and I’ve not seen her in person for all that time, and she’s paid for me to go over to see her. I thought I was going to have to cancel, but luckily for me, I met this young lady.’ She smiled and touched my arm tenderly. ‘I really do think some things are meant to be. If I hadn’t met Madison and had that conversation with her, I might have cancelled my trip. I feel a million times better knowing that he’ll be coming to such a wonderful place, with such lovely, caring people.’

‘Well, we’re so pleased to be able to help. And I promise you that we’ll look after him. He looks like he’s taken a shine to Maddy already! Look at him, he won’t leave her side. I think she’s becoming quite fond of him too.’

---