Page 33 of An Island in the Sun

‘Yes, I will.’ Tabitha wiped her eyes on the back of her hand and turned to Julie. ‘Thank you so much.’

‘I didn’t do anything. I just heard him whimpering and found him in the bushes. I think he must have somehow scrambled through a gap in the hedge from the lane.’

‘We… I’ve been looking for him for the last hour, thinking he would have headed away from the house and not gone in this direction. I didn’t even think to check here first.’

‘He got out through the gate?’

‘Um, yeah. It was left open.’ Tabitha flushed, realising to tell the full truth would be to admit that Raff had been there when he shouldn’t have been. Now that Fudge was found and she didn’t have to make that dreaded phone call, she decided not to say anything more, even if it made her look bad.

‘I’m going to put the kettle on,’ Julie said. ‘I think you could do with a cup of tea.’

‘That would be lovely, thank you.’

Tabitha was insanely grateful for Julie’s understanding and the way she didn’t comment further about the gate situation. She must know Cordelia’s rules about the dogs as she’d looked after them in the past, but she wasn’t going to make Tabitha feel bad. She seemed to have a heart of gold.

* * *

They sat on Julie’s sofa with cups of tea clasped in their hands and Fudge lying on the floor between them. Tabitha had been watching him closely and with the constant licking there was obviously something bothering him. At least he could walk, albeit with a slight limp.

‘It’s just as well it was today when I wasn’t working that Fudge decided to escape,’ Julie said, ‘otherwise goodness knows how long he would have been stuck in our garden for. You’d have been worried to death.’

Tabitha couldn’t even contemplate feeling more worried than she had been. Julie being home had saved her from having to call Cordelia with terrible news.

‘I tell you what, when we’ve finished our tea, I’ll drive you to the vets. The one Cordelia and Rufus are with isn’t far away. It’s where we used to take our dog.’

‘You had a dog?’

‘A German pointer called Jasper. We lost him eight months ago.’ Julie reached down to stroke Fudge. He paused licking his paw to lick her hand. ‘Absolutely broke my heart.’

‘I’m so sorry.’ Tabitha sipped her tea. ‘Have you thought about getting another one?’

‘We’ve talked about it, but neither of us are ready. Jasper was such a part of the family, you know, it’s still raw. It would feel as if we were replacing him somehow. But I miss his company, his quiet presence. I still catch myself turning round to talk to him or I get to the door and reach for his lead, then remember it’s not on the hook because he’s not here…’

‘Oh Julie, that’s so sad.’

Julie nodded and smoothed out the creases in her cream cropped trousers. ‘I comfort myself with the knowledge that he had a good life and we were better off for having him in ours. We grieve because we loved; it’s as simple and as painful as that.’

* * *

After checking that Bailey was okay at the villa, Julie drove Tabitha and Fudge to the vets. A bruised paw was diagnosed, but it didn’t seem to be fractured. They came away with pain relief tablets for Fudge and a bill which Tabitha happily paid. She knew she had to let Cordelia know what had happened, but she decided she’d leave out the bit about Raff.

With an invite from Julie to come over on Saturday for coffee and cake, which Tabitha willingly accepted after all her kindness, Tabitha carried Fudge from the car into the villa. Bailey greeted them with a waggy tail, spinning round in circles as she made her way to the living room.

A huge chunk of her day had gone, so after finishing clearing up the mess and shampooing the stains out of the rug and sofa as best she could, Tabitha spent the rest of the afternoon working, trying to catch up with everything she should have been doing over the last couple of days while she’d been distracted by Raff. At seven, she fed the dogs and Misty but didn’t fancy spending time cooking. She rooted through the fridge for salad and cooked a cheese omelette to go with it.

With Fudge, Bailey and Misty curled up for the evening in their usual spots, Tabitha composed a message to Cordelia and Rufus in their WhatsApp group.

Everything’s fine, I promise, but Fudge managed to hurt his paw. He was limping a bit, so as a precaution I took him to the vet. He’s perfectly fine in himself, no need to worry. He’s got some pain relief tablets and the vet said with a bit of rest he should be back to normal in a couple of days.

Tabitha attached a photo of him curled up asleep on the sofa and, with worry developing in the pit of her stomach again, she sent the message. She felt bad for bending the truth and mad, once again at Raff, for the situation arising in the first place. Yet, an hour later, when Raff messaged her, and after a phone call from a worried Cordelia during which Tabitha managed to allay her fears and ensure her that Fudge really was okay, she felt it would be mean to ignore him.

What’s happening with Fudge? Have you found him?

Yes, he’s okay. Was in Julie’s garden all along. She thinks he scrambled through the hedge. Your parents know he’s safe.

She left it at that though, not asking how he was or if he’d found somewhere to stay. He was a grown man and perfectly capable of fending for himself. She wasn’t going to spend any more time thinking about him.

After an emotionally exhausting day, Tabitha went to bed early with an equally exhausted Bailey and Fudge her only company, as it should have been from the beginning.

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