A Rose and a Promise, page 3
‘Eeny meeny miny moe…’
Finishing the rhyme, she smiled at the track ahead of her. After all, what was life without a bit of adventure?
Whether the new route was any quicker than the original one Cadi couldn’t say, but it was a lot more windy than it had appeared on the map, and some of the blind bends were slowing her progress considerably. As for the state of the car, she dreaded to think what it looked like on the outside, but since she’d had to use the wipers to clear thick mud from the wind-screen she could only imagine that it must be caked in all manner of detritus. Seeing a fork in the road ahead of her, she pulled into the car park of a pub so that she might take another look at the map. Locating the pub on the road she was currently on, she confirmed that she should turn left at the fork, then folded the map and put it back into the glove compartment. Glancing in the rear-view mirror, she began to reverse, and felt the car hit something.
Yanking the handbrake up, she got out quickly and ran round to the back of the car, but to her surprise there was no evidence of an accident. She was dumbfounded for a moment, but then her heart fell as she saw a large drop of blood on the ground not too far away. Feeling sick to her stomach, she spotted another drop a little further off. Whatever she had hit, it appeared to be heading in the direction of the pub. Fearing that she might have injured a child, Cadi followed the trail of blood to the door at the back of the pub, and it was here that she saw a beautiful Irish setter with a glossy red coat. Bending down, she looked into the animal’s soulful eyes, and the tip of its tail wagged a timid greeting. Reaching out, she gently stroked the dog’s head to let it know that she meant it no harm.
‘You poor thing, I’m so sorry,’ she said softly. Looking to see where the blood was coming from, she saw that it was oozing from a gash on the dog’s hind leg. Standing up, she knocked firmly on the back door of the pub. ‘Hello? Is there anyone home?’ She waited for a reply, but with none coming she tried turning the handle. It was no use – the door was locked. She decided to try the front, but when she began to walk that way she heard a noise behind her. Turning, she saw that the dog had got up to follow her. ‘Stay here whilst I go for help.’ Cadi instructed, but the dog took no notice, and limped after her as she hurried round to the front door. She tried the handle, but it seemed that the pub was closed. Tutting beneath her breath, she knocked loudly to see if she could gain anyone’s attention, but there was no response. Frustrated, she peered through the square pane of glass in the middle of the door, and her heart skipped a beat. There was someone home, but he was sprawled on the floor, and it looked to Cadi very much as if he’d collapsed. Banging her fist against the glass, she did her best to rouse the recumbent figure, but he was dead to the world. Not wanting to waste another second, she picked up a rock and hurled it through the small pane, then grabbed another stone and knocked out the remaining fragments of glass so that she could fit her hand through. Turning the knob of the Yale lock, she pushed the door open and ran over to the man she had seen. When she knelt down she could see that he was in his late sixties, and he was still conscious, but only just. His face was beaded with sweat, and seeing the way he was clutching his chest Cadi felt certain that he must be having a heart attack.
She smoothed his matted hair back, speaking in what she hoped were reassuring tones. ‘I’m going to ring for an ambulance. Is the phone behind the bar?’
The man managed a small nod before closing his eyes.
Cadi ran round to the far end of the bar and located the phone. She dialled 999 and was thankful to hear the operator’s voice after the first ring. She explained the situation, and was assured that help would be on its way very shortly. Relieved, she replaced the receiver and fetched the man a glass of water, which she held to his lips.
‘Try not to worry,’ she said soothingly as the man managed a few small sips, ‘the ambulance is on its way.’ She looked at the dog, which was wagging its tail fervently as it settled next to him. ‘Is this your dog?’
The man gave a small nod. ‘Annie.’
Cadi smiled. ‘Because of the red hair?’
His lips tried to twitch into a smile. ‘’S right.’
Holding the man’s hand in hers, Cadi admired the dog. ‘She’s a beauty.’
The man looked earnestly into Cadi’s eyes, and spoke clearly for the first time. ‘Look after her for me.’
Cadi’s eyes rounded. ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t,’ she said, before adding, ‘Besides, you’ll be able to look after her—’ She broke off as he clutched his hand to his left breast, his face contorted with pain, and to spare him any more stress or anxiety Cadi made a promise she knew she couldn’t keep. ‘I’ll look after her, I swear it.’
She felt his fingers go limp in hers. Panic rising in her chest, she repeatedly tapped the back of his hand, begging, ‘Please wake up, the ambulance will be here any minute now,’ and fighting back tears as she prayed for the ambulance to arrive. Annie shuffled towards her owner and licked the side of his face, as if she too were encouraging him to stay with them.
Hearing the crunch of stones as a vehicle pulled into the car park, Cadi called out to the ambulance crew to let them know where she was, and when they entered the building she felt an enormous sense of relief sweep over her. Swiftly getting to her feet so that they might see to the man, she told them how she had found him.
Nodding her understanding, one of the ARPs spoke to her patient as they transferred him on to a stretcher. ‘Phil? It’s Gail. We’re goin’ to take you to hospital.’ She glanced up at Cadi. ‘He’s lucky you came along when you did. How on earth did you know what had happened?’
Cadi grimaced. ‘I didn’t. I was on my way to RAF Finningley when I accidentally hit Annie.’
The ambulance driver tutted irritably. ‘I always said that dog would be the death of him.’
Cadi wrinkled her brow. ‘It’s not Annie’s fault, surely?’
Gail indicated the lead which had fallen out of Phil’s hand. ‘Annie’s frightened of her own shadow. I’d wager Phil was in the process of putting her lead on when summat spooked her, and she hared off before he had a chance to secure it.’
Cadi pulled a doubtful face. ‘But she was outside, and the door was locked …?’
Gail counted to three before she and the driver lifted the stretcher. Walking out of the pub, she spoke to Cadi over her shoulder. ‘It probably swung shut behind her. That’s the trouble with Yale locks.’
Cadi followed them out to what she had assumed was an ambulance, but was in fact a hearse. ‘Isn’t that a bit inappropriate?’
The driver shrugged. ‘Beggars can’t be choosers, and as you know …’
Cadi nodded, finishing his sentence for him. ‘There’s a war on.’ She looked at Annie, who was sitting beside the hearse, whining. Breathing a resigned sigh, she opened the back door of her own car. ‘Come on, Annie, you’d better come with me.’ She had half expected the dog to ignore her, but to her surprise she happily leapt on to the seat.
With their patient secure in the back of the hearse, the driver turned to Cadi. ‘Where will you take her?’
‘RAF Finningley for now. I’m hoping someone there will look after her until Phil gets better.’
Wishing her luck, he took his place behind the wheel, and pulled out of the car park.
Cadi started the engine of her car before getting in behind the steering wheel. Annie promptly jumped from the back to the front, and began licking the side of her face. Laughing softly, Cadi gently pushed her away. ‘I said I liked a bit of adventure, and boy did I ever find one! C’mon, Annie, let’s get you to Finningley.’
Cadi turned in to the parking area reserved for visitors and pulled an exhausted face as she opened the car door, but her expression lightened when she saw Jez hurrying towards her. ‘Sorry I’m late, but I’ve had rather an eventful journey.’
Jez appeared intrigued. ‘Sounds interesting.’ He held out his hand to help her from the car, and noticed the extra stripe on her arm. ‘Why didn’t you tell me you’d made sergeant?’ he cried.
With all that had gone on, Cadi had completely forgotten her husband was yet to learn of her promotion. ‘I wanted it to be a surprise.’
‘So why do you look so glum?’ Then his eyes fell on Annie, and with a broad grin etching his cheeks he jerked his head towards the dog. ‘You didn’t tell me you had company.’
Cadi rolled her eyes. ‘She’s the reason why I’m late.’ Explaining the circumstances in which she’d acquired Annie, she finished, ‘I completely forgot she’d be needing her lead. I don’t suppose you’ve got anything we could use? Only apparently she’s easily spooked and we can’t have her running around the base like a headless chicken.’
Jez scratched the top of his head. ‘I can easily come up with something, even if it’s just a belt …’ He hesitated. ‘The pub you found her at, was it the Bull and Heifer by any chance?’
Cadi nodded. ‘I take it you know it?’
‘I certainly do; it’s our local watering hole.’ He turned his attention to Annie, who was wagging her tail at him from the front passenger seat. ‘Poor old Phil, he’ll be lost without her.’ He turned on his heel. ‘Wait here, and I’ll see what I can fashion into a lead.’
Whilst he was gone, Cadi stroked Annie’s silky head, and took a quick peek at her leg. She was thankful to see that it was no longer bleeding, but it would still need a good clean. Jez was hurrying back with the cord of his dressing gown, and Cadi watched as he fashioned a loop and placed it over the top of Annie’s head. ‘C’mon, old girl, let’s see if we can’t get you some food and water.’ As he spoke, his gaze fell to the gash on the dog’s leg. ‘And we’ll take a look at that wound of yours whilst we’re about it.’
‘It’s stopped bleeding, so I’m rather hoping she won’t need stitches,’ said Cadi as they led the setter round to the back of the cookhouse.
Jez took Cadi’s hand in his. ‘She can walk, so at least nothing’s broken.’ He knocked a brief tattoo on the cookhouse door, and within moments one of the cooks appeared in the doorway, her welcoming smile fading as she noticed Annie’s leg.
‘Oh, you poor thing,’ she cried. ‘What have you done to yourself?’
‘Beryl, this is Cadi,’ Jez said quickly. ‘She can tell you what happened.’
Her cheeks turning crimson, Cadi relayed the incident to Beryl, who smiled sympathetically. ‘If it’s any consolation, I very much doubt you caused that wound. It probably happened when she legged it out of the pub.’
‘But I hit her,’ said Cadi, a puzzled frown crossing her brow, ‘I know I did.’
‘I’m not doubting that,’ said Beryl, ‘but I should imagine you can’t have been going very fast, or she’d not be here to tell the tale.’
Cadi nodded slowly. ‘I was reversing, so no, I wasn’t going fast at all.’
Jez agreed with Beryl. ‘She probably saw you sitting in the car, so came to say hello,’ he conceded. ‘Wrong place, wrong time, and it’s pure bad luck that you hit her.’
‘Or fate,’ suggested Cadi. ‘Because if I hadn’t Phil would still be on the floor of the pub.’
Beryl nodded approvingly. ‘There you are, all’s well that ends well. As for Annie, I’m afraid we probably all saw this day coming; she’s notorious for runnin’ amok. She’s a lovely dog, but she needs a lot more exercise than Phil can give her, which is why she takes herself off for a good run whenever she can.’ She indicated the dried blood on Annie’s leg with a chubby finger. ‘I’ll get some salt water for that cut, and a few scraps for her to eat.’
Thanking Beryl for her help, Jez stroked Annie’s ears as he spoke to Cadi. ‘So, what do you plan on doin’ with her?’
Cadi shot him a pleading glance. ‘I was rather hoping RAF Finningley might like to have her, at least until Phil’s out of hospital.’
Jez looked startled. ‘Crikey Cadi, this is an airfield, not a kennel. Where do you propose she sleep?’
Cadi sighed miserably. ‘I don’t know, but I promised Phil I’d look after her because I thought he was going to die in my arms, and now I’m going to have to keep that promise.’
Beryl emerged with some food for Annie and a bowl of salt water. Taking a cloth, she instructed Jez to hold the dog still while she cleaned the wound.
As Jez comforted Annie he nodded a greeting to Craig, who had come over to see what was going on. ‘Hello, Cadi.’ He grimaced as he saw Beryl gently cleaning the dried blood from Annie’s leg. ‘Dear oh dear, what’s happened to you?’
Not wishing to go through the details again, Cadi looked to Jez, who explained how the accident had occurred. ‘We’re just discussing what to do with her,’ he finished.
Craig pushed his hands into his pockets. ‘I don’t think Cadi’s suggestion’s so outlandish. I’ve seen other bases with dogs, and I don’t see why she couldn’t stay here until Phil gets better.’
Cadi heaved a sigh of relief. ‘Do you really think they’d agree?’
‘If it were any other dog than Annie, I’d not be so sure, but she’s ever so popular with them that frequent the Bull and Heifer,’ said Craig, adding, ‘which is ninety per cent of the folk on base.’
Squatting, Jez placed his arm around Annie’s shoulders as he hand-fed her some of the scraps which Beryl had rustled up. Hungry from her ordeal, Annie began to wolf the food down, whilst Beryl finished cleaning the wound. Cadi waited for her opinion with nervous anticipation. ‘How is it?’
Beryl smiled up at her. ‘Not bad at all. I honestly don’t think you caused this – it’s barely the size of a sixpence, if that.’
Craig muttered a mild expletive before hissing, ‘Heads-up, looks like we’ve been spotted. Best hope this ’un knows our Annie.’
Concern etched on her face, Cadi turned, only to find herself standing face to face with the corporal who’d trained her in RAF Innsworth. ‘Corp…’ she hesitated as her eyes fell on the extra stripe adorning the Waaf’s arm. ‘Pardon me; Sergeant Moses!’
The woman smiled at Cadi. ‘It appears I’m not the only one who’s made sergeant. Well done, Sergeant Williams!’
Jez coughed, and with a smile Cadi corrected the other woman. ‘It’s Thomas now. I got married’ – she turned to Jez – ‘and this is my husband, Airman Jeremy Thomas.’
Sergeant Moses exchanged greetings with Jez before she turned her attention to Annie. ‘And who does this magnificent beast belong to?’
Cadi swallowed. ‘Good question.’ She explained the situation for what seemed like the umpteenth time, and Sergeant Moses nodded as she listened. ‘So you see,’ finished Cadi, ‘I was rather hoping that you would have her here at Finningley, if only until the landlord recovers.’
The sergeant leaned down to stroke Annie behind her ears. Seeing the anxious quartet of faces looking hopefully at her, a slow smile crossed her cheeks. ‘I know Officer Bailey’s one for dogs, and he frequents the Bull and Heifer so he’ll know Annie.’ ‘I can’t see him turning her away. Leave it with me; I’ll see what I can do.’
Jez tousled Annie’s ears. ‘I promise I’ll take full responsibility; you won’t even know she’s here.’
Sergeant Moses held her hands up in a cautionary manner. ‘I can only try.’
Jez and Cadi thanked her, and as she walked away Jez turned to Cadi. ‘How do you two know each other?’
‘She was the first corporal I ever had,’ Cadi explained. ‘She was the one who recommended me for promotion to NCO, as well.’
‘Fingers crossed she can persuade Officer Bailey to let Annie stay,’ said Beryl.
Cadi stroked Annie’s smooth fur. ‘I feel so guilty, but I can’t take her to Northumberland—’ She broke off as Sergeant Moses approached with a tall man in officer’s uniform.
To Cadi’s relief, the newcomer wasted no time before fussing Annie. When he had finished, he looked at the sea of expectant faces. ‘Which one of you said they’d take care of her?’ He smiled as Jez, Craig and Beryl shot their hands into the air.
Jez stepped forward. ‘My wife brought her here, so I think it’s only right that I should take the bulk of the responsibility.’
The officer cocked an eyebrow. ‘You do understand that you’ll be held accountable for anything she does?’
Jez nodded curtly. ‘I’m an engineer, so I can make her a kennel, and I’ll give her plenty of exercise, so she won’t feel the need to go wandering.’
The officer smoothed the tips of his moustache between his forefinger and thumb. ‘She can stay, but only on a trial basis,’ he concluded. ‘You’ve got a month to prove she won’t make a nuisance of herself.’
Jez beamed. ‘Thank you, sir. I won’t let you down.’
The officer gave Annie a final pat goodbye before heading back to the officers’ mess.
Sergeant Moses waited until he was out of earshot before speaking. ‘As soon as he heard it was Annie, he couldn’t wait to come over and see her. I’m not so sure he’d have been the same if it had been a different dog.’
‘Thank you so much,’ said Cadi. ‘I was dreading her being turned away, because I don’t know what I’d have done with her.’
Sergeant Moses smiled. ‘My pleasure. Besides, it’ll be nice to have a dog around. She can be our camp mascot.’ Glancing at the watch on her wrist, she quickly excused herself. ‘It was good to see you again, Sergeant Thomas; safe travels.’
As the sergeant walked away, Annie found herself engulfed by a mass of hands, all congratulating her on her new home.
Cadi glanced at her wristwatch. ‘Damn! I’m sorry, Jez, but I’d best be making tracks.’
Jez held the makeshift lead out to Craig. ‘Would you mind looking after Annie whilst I say goodbye to Cadi?’
