Raincoats and Retrievers, A Novella

by Cressida McLaughlin

  ‘You too,’ she said, ‘though you could have called ahead, told me you were coming. I kind of had plans tonight.’ She gave them a tight smile, and folded her arms.

  Her mum and dad exchanged a cheeky look. ‘We wanted to surprise you,’ her mum said.

  ‘We had no idea you’d be out on a date,’ her dad added. ‘Couldn’t fathom it at all! Joe and Polly have been the perfect hosts in your absence. How much detail do we get?’

  ‘Hardly any,’ Cat said, not adding that the potential for juicy gossip would have been much greater had they not turned up and cut short her evening.

  ‘Oh, come on, Cat,’ Polly said, standing up and embracing her friend, ‘we’re all dying to hear how it went.’

  ‘And I’m sure they’ve heard enough about my handheld seed sower,’ her dad chipped in.

  Glancing at Joe and Polly, Cat thought that a truer word had probably never been spoken. She could see Mark again whenever she wanted – she hoped all was not lost there – but her friends would never get their evening back.

  ‘All right then,’ she said, rolling her eyes and flopping down onto the sofa, ‘but is there any tea left in the pot?’

  Cat gave them the edited highlights of her evening, focusing on the grand venue and food, the view from the top of the hill, and trying to skirt around the conversation and her complicated feelings for Mark. Her parents seemed placated, mainly because her dad was a keen gardener and was appalled that he’d never visited one of the vineyards along the south coast, and her mum wanted to hear about every flavour and ingredient Cat had eaten.

  ‘Well,’ Delia said, when Cat’s words had dried up and Shed had disappeared out through the catflap. ‘We don’t want to keep you all. We’re in the bed and breakfast up the road. Lovely couple, both men, two dogs. Perfect little alternative family. The room is English cottage luxury, silver wallpaper – sounds awful, but it works.’

  ‘You’re staying?’ Cat said, only just managing to keep the squeak out of her voice.

  ‘Only for a couple of days, love,’ her dad confirmed. ‘Thought it would be easier than driving back. We’ll take you out to dinner tomorrow. Have a proper catch-up, hear all about the dogs and this Mark chap.’

  ‘And we want to meet some of your new doggy friends.’

  Cat led them to the door, let them take their turn to smother her in their hugs which, she had to admit, couldn’t be beaten by anyone, then waved them down the terrace until they climbed the steps to Boris and Charles’s.

  It was close to one in the morning, and while Cat was tired, Polly and Joe looked as though they’d had the life sucked out of them.

  ‘I am so, so sorry,’ Cat said, sinking onto the sofa. ‘What time did they arrive?’

  ‘About half an hour after you left,’ Polly said, grinning. Polly had met them on several occasions over the years, and so had prior warning of Cat’s overenthusiastic, eccentric parents, and the way they doted on their only child. Cat knew Polly liked them, though she wasn’t sure how welcome their surprise visit was mid-revision. It was Joe who looked shell-shocked.

  ‘So you’ve had them here all evening?’ Cat’s voice had dropped to a whisper.

  Joe nodded and ran a hand over his face. ‘To be fair they brought lemon drizzle cake. And home-made sausage rolls and cheese-and-onion pies. We didn’t have to cook, but I’m going to have to run a marathon to use up all the carbohydrate.’

  ‘My mum’s a great cook.’

  ‘Why don’t we get home-made sausage rolls?’

  ‘Because I’m a dabbler,’ Cat said. ‘I’m nowhere near as good as Mum is. I’ll have a go if you like, but not now. Now, I’m going to bed.’

  They all traipsed up to the first floor, and Joe headed on to his attic bedroom.

  ‘Why are they staying?’ Polly asked, pausing at the bathroom door. ‘Brighton’s not far.’

  ‘Because it is inconceivable that my parents could go out to dinner without consuming at least two bottles of wine. If they were going back to Brighton, then one of them would have to drive.’

  ‘So I shouldn’t expect you to be sober tomorrow night, then?’

  Cat closed her eyes. She felt utterly exhausted, and the thought of dinner with her parents which, while fun, would again be late and boozy, wasn’t an entirely happy one, especially after they’d waltzed in and interrupted her evening with Mark. If she hadn’t noticed their car, done the right thing and rescued her housemates, where would she be now? After a shaky start, the date had gone well. Cat felt she knew Mark a lot better, could start to see him as a real person instead of the glossy, overly confident persona he projected, and she wanted that to continue. With the image of his dark eyes, and his lips so close to hers, dancing in her mind, she said goodnight to Polly and, gratefully, climbed into bed.

  ‘So this is Alfie, and this is Effie.’ Delia pointed at the dogs in turn. ‘Alfie’s curlier, Effie straighter,’ she said, as she eyed the two boisterous retrievers.

  ‘That’s right,’ Cat said, sidestepping a pair of greyhounds coming the other way. She hadn’t banked on her parents wanting to actually join her on one of her walks – nobody else had to deal with ‘take your parents to work’ day, and her mum’s sandals were not ideal, especially not with the two retrievers who, Cat knew by now, wouldn’t slow down for anything.

  Her mum and dad bustled along behind her as she did a wide circuit of the park, warming the dogs up before she let them off the lead. As her Pooch Promenade client list had grown, she had tried out different ways of walking the dogs, and knew that Alfie and Effie were best walked on their own, as their larger size and energy meant that she’d struggle if she had Jessica’s Westies or Elsie’s mini schnauzers at the same time. And this was an impromptu walk, the one Juliette had asked for while Cat had been trying to kiss Mark on the doorstep.

  ‘So it’s going well, then?’ her dad huffed, almost jogging to keep up. ‘You seem very adept at it, I must say.’

  Cat laughed. ‘At walking? I’ve had lots of practice.’

  ‘You’re in charge of the dogs,’ Peter clarified. ‘I can see that they like and respect you.’

  ‘They’re gorgeous, friendly dogs,’ Cat said, bending to stroke Effie. There was something so sturdy and dependable about the retrievers; with their large, brown eyes and loping movements, they were completely different from the bounding, cheeky Westies.

  ‘And they belong to your neighbour?’ Delia asked, jumping as a football came sailing towards them. A small, blond-haired boy raced up to collect it, apologizing noisily.

  ‘Will and Juliette Barker, they live at number six, a few doors down. They’ve been clients for a while now, but…’ Cat thought of Juliette’s exasperation as she’d mentioned Will’s surfing. ‘But I might be walking them a bit more. Not that I’m complaining, of course. I just…I’m not sure things are that rosy between them, and I don’t like seeing people unsettled.’

  ‘No, love, you never could bear that.’ Peter gave Cat a quick hug and held his hand out for the leads. ‘Let me have a go, eh?’ Cat handed them over and watched as he stood up straighter, his arm rigid at his side, his feet moving like one of those speed walkers. Alfie looked up at his new, unfamiliar walker, barked once and picked up his pace.

  Cat laughed, and Delia slipped her arm through her daughter’s. ‘You don’t mind us coming unannounced, do you?’

  ‘It’s lovely to see you,’ Cat said, ‘but if you’d called ahead I could have been in, rather than leaving you with Polly and Joe.’

  ‘But they’re lovely!’

  ‘I know that,’ Cat said pointedly.

  ‘Ah.’ Delia gave her a sideways look. ‘You mean we imposed on them?’

  Cat shrugged. ‘I’m sure they loved you, it’s just – it was their whole evening.’

  ‘I know. But your dad and I, we just get carried away. They were so friendly – that Joe’s a real dish too, have you never thought about maybe…’

  ‘Mum!’

  ‘Sorry, sorry, of c
ourse. You’ve got this new man, Mark. I’m dying to know more about him.’

  Cat felt herself mentally closing in, like a flower folding its petals up in the dark. ‘He’s nice, but – it’s early days. Last night was our first proper date. He’s charming and gorgeous, and he knows how to say just the right thing. I’m attracted to him, no doubt about that.’

  ‘But? Come on, Catherine. I know when there’s a “but” hovering behind those big brown eyes of yours.’

  Cat sighed and followed the progress of a Weimaraner as it raced effortlessly across the grass, silver coat shimmering in the sun. ‘He’s a bit too smooth. Even after dinner with him, and we really talked, he still seems a bit beyond my reach – not physically, but the real Mark.’

  ‘Worth a few more dates to find out?’

  Cat replayed the kiss in her mind, the way her whole body responded to his touch. When she was with him she was absolutely certain, as if he had a hold over her. It was when she was apart from him that the doubts resurfaced. ‘I think so. Just to see what happens.’

  ‘And if he’s gorgeous and charming, why not bed him and then move on? Everyone we meet plays a different role in our lives. Maybe his is a “harmless fun” sort of role?’

  ‘Mother! I cannot believe you just said that.’

  ‘Oh, I think you can.’ Delia patted her hand, her arm tinkling with the bracelets that ran from her wrist almost to her elbow. ‘What’s this coffee shop like?’ She pointed at the Pavilion café.

  ‘It’s nice, but the cake’s not as good as yours.’

  ‘Let’s get a coffee and a sample, shall we?’

  ‘What are these dogs up to?’ her dad called. Alfie and Effie had stopped in front of Peter and were looking expectantly up at him, pressing their noses worryingly close to his crotch area.

  ‘They know it’s run time – they want to be let off the lead.’ Cat unclipped their leads and the two dogs raced off towards the trees. Unlike her first, unsuccessful walk all those months ago, Cat didn’t feel nervous. She knew Alfie and Effie would come back to her when she called. She was now a confident dog walker, learning more about the temperaments of the different breeds – and of the individual dogs she walked – every day.

  The park was full of picnicking and playing families – the whole of Fairview was bustling with holidaymakers enjoying the sun and sea – and Cat felt completely at home. As she led her mum and dad over to the Pavilion café, she felt that she had something in her life that they could be really proud of her for. Neither of her parents was conventional – her mum made greeting cards to sell, and her dad was forever inventing new tools and entering the vegetables and flowers that he grew into competitions and shows – but both had had long, more traditional careers before turning towards their passions.

  Cat’s dad had worked in insurance, but had given it all up to focus on his inventions and his allotment. Cat still remembered the arguments when he’d told Delia what he was doing, but Cat’s mum had seen how happy the change made him, how their relationship had somehow been gifted back to them. Delia had been a legal secretary and, if her stories were to be believed, had been basically running the firm before she decided to give it up a few years ago to follow her own creative instincts.

  As far as Cat knew they were both blissfully happy, living in their small semi-detached home on the outskirts of Brighton, and she hoped they saw her change of direction as something similar, even if she was choosing to do it earlier in her working life than they had.

  They settled down at a table on the veranda, and Delia and Peter scanned the menu. ‘Blueberry muffin,’ Delia said. ‘That’s just what I’m after.’

  ‘And I’m going for the triple-chocolate cake,’ added Peter. ‘What do you want, love?’

  Cat thought back to the fancy, delicious posset she’d had at the restaurant the previous evening, and wondered if it had spoiled her for sweet things for ever. ‘A toasted teacake for me, please.’

  ‘Is that all?’ her dad asked. ‘I suppose you’re saving your appetite for dinner this evening. Good thinking, Catherine. We don’t get to spoil you as much now you’re not within touching distance. Better keep a good amount of space for that.’

  Cat rolled her eyes and grinned as Peter went inside to order, and Alfie and Effie, right on cue, ran across the grass towards them.

  After her second walk of the day, Cat dropped the Westies off at Jessica’s grand house at the end of Primrose Terrace and made her way slowly up the street, glancing instinctively at the bed and breakfast as she went past. Her parents had gone to visit the lighthouse that afternoon, but with another walk scheduled Cat had declined to join them. Now she had a couple of hours’ rest before walking into Fairhaven town centre with her parents. The clouds had drifted over and the glorious, August sun was hiding, taking its warmth with it.

  Cat climbed the steps of number ten and knocked on the door. Elsie opened it and ushered her friend in. ‘Tea? I’ve got Earl Grey or lapsang souchong.’

  ‘Lapsang, please.’

  ‘Biscuits?’

  Cat shook her head. ‘I’ve got dinner with Mum and Dad this evening, so I’m saving space.’

  ‘Go and say hello, I’ll be there in a second.’ Elsie left her to make the tea and Cat went into the living room, dropping to her knees as Elsie’s miniature schnauzers, Disco and Chalky, came to greet her. Disco was close to being full-sized now, but was still, in all other regards, a puppy, and couldn’t wait to put her paws on Cat’s shoulders and lick her face in an over-exuberant welcome. Chalky waited patiently behind, his eyes hidden by his bushy eyebrows, and then gently nuzzled into Cat’s open arms.

  ‘Come here, you lovely thing.’ Cat hugged the older dog. Chalky was the old guard out of all the dogs she knew, and had been since she’d moved to Fairview and become firm friends with pensioner Elsie. She wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but she looked up to Chalky. She saw him as the voice of reason – even though that voice was limited to barks and whines – somehow always knowing whether she was making the right decision or not, giving her a look or pressing his wet nose against her hand. She wished she could formally introduce him to Mark and watch what he did.

  Chalky gave a loud sniff, turned and snuggled down in the basket under the window. Disco stood on the sofa and barked happily into Cat’s face.

  ‘Disco, tush.’ Elsie put the tea tray on the table and sat next to Disco. The young dog bounded onto Elsie’s lap, rucking up her long grey skirt. ‘If you don’t behave you’ll have to get down.’ Disco looked sorrowfully up, and then settled onto the sofa next to her, head on her paws.

  Cat accepted a cup of tea and sat opposite her friend.

  ‘So,’ Elsie said, ‘it seems a lot has happened since the last time I saw you. Your date with Mark, and then your parents coming. Are they just up for the day?’

  Cat shook her head. ‘They turned up unexpectedly while I was out with Mark. I’m not sure Joe will ever forgive me.’

  Elsie chuckled. ‘That boy will forgive you anything, I’m sure.’

  ‘What, because he’s had to live with me all this time? Surely that would make him less patient, not more.’

  ‘He’s fond of you. That much is obvious.’

  Cat let her shoulders relax. Elsie’s house was a haven, full of human and canine warmth, and she always felt calmer when she was here. ‘I think he might almost be over Rosalin.’

  ‘I think you might be right,’ Elsie said, giving her a wide smile. ‘Now, tell me all about your date with Mark. Was it worth the wait?’

  ‘I think so,’ Cat said cautiously.

  ‘Don’t hold back your enthusiasm,’ Elsie said. ‘Really, I can’t cope.’

  Cat rolled her eyes and then told her, in more detail than she had her parents or Joe and Polly, but without the smouldering end to the evening that was curtailed first by Juliette and then her mum and dad.

  ‘Will you see him again?’

  ‘I’d like to. And I think he’d like to see me. Once my parents h
ave gone – and they’re only here until tomorrow – we might pick up where we left off.’

  ‘Oh? Oh, I see. I think it went better than you’re letting on then.’

  ‘It was…going well, and then Juliette came to ask if I’d walk Alfie and Effie this morning.’

  ‘She knocked on Mark’s door?’

  ‘We hadn’t quite made it inside.’

  ‘Ah.’ Elsie pressed her lips together, and Cat could see she was trying not to laugh. ‘Trust Juliette. She’s certainly not backwards about coming forwards.’

  ‘The same could be said about Mark,’ Cat said, reliving the happy shiver of his kiss. ‘But Juliette was on a mission. She apologized for interrupting us, but it didn’t seem to embarrass her unduly. I don’t think I would have gone near anyone who was…occupied like that, not even if it was Polly or Joe!’ She shrugged away the unsettling idea of Joe being locked in an embrace with someone.

  Elsie leaned forward and poured more tea. Disco looked up from where she was snoozing and raised a single ear. ‘It’s not dinner time yet,’ Elsie said softly. ‘Juliette’s been a bit distracted recently, and I’ve walked past a couple of less-than-amicable conversations between her and Will on the front steps. It seems those steps can be a location for all manner of encounters.’ She gave Cat a look. ‘Some people seem to forget they can actually go inside their houses.’

  ‘Mark and I got a bit carried away,’ Cat said defensively. ‘That’s all. Did you hear what their arguments were about? Juliette seemed pretty unhappy that Will was going off to see his surfing friends and leaving the dogs at home. That’s why I got the extra walk.’

  ‘I don’t often see him without a surfboard these days,’ Elsie admitted.

  ‘Doesn’t he work? When they first became my clients, the main reason was that they both worked full-time. Juliette did a couple of days at home but the dogs were alone the other three. They’ve not mentioned that things have changed but, come to think of it, I can’t remember the last time I saw Will in a suit.’