by Lucy Daniels
Susan walked out into the hallway.
‘Hello!’ Douglas beamed as he held his arms out and bellowed his greeting. He grinned and winked at Jack, then raised his eyes to Susan. ‘Ready to go?’ he asked.
Jack looked up at her, his eyes wide. ‘Is he coming to see Mandy with us?’
‘Yes, he is,’ she replied and was rewarded with grins from both Jack and Douglas.
They set off towards Hope Meadows. The walk through the village was lovely. A huge Christmas tree had been erected on the village green. The Fox and Goose had now been decorated with greenery and lots of the front doors sported festive wreaths. Fairy lights flashed in the windows.
‘Can we put our decorations up today?’ Jack asked, tugging at Susan’s sleeve.
‘Probably not today,’ Susan said. ‘But soon, I promise.’
‘So what do you like best about Hope Meadows?’ Douglas asked, looking down at Jack. Jack had taken Douglas’s hand, to Susan’s surprise. It usually took Jack a while to get to know strangers and Douglas was a very loud stranger. Perhaps it was because of story time, she thought.
‘I love the kittens.’ Jack’s little face was thoughtful as he looked up. ‘And last Christmas there were baby donkeys called Holly and Robin and I loved them too. But I don’t really have a favourite.’
‘Quite right!’ Douglas’s voice boomed forth again. He really was larger than life in every way. Would he frighten the animals? Susan wondered.
‘You must remember to be very quiet, Jack, and gentle with the animals,’ she said.
Jack looked at her, his eyes wide. ‘I know that, Mummy,’ he objected, looking a little hurt.
Susan knew that he did. She’d been aiming her comment at Douglas and hoping to be subtle about it.
‘Almost there,’ she said with relief as they turned in under the old wooden Animal Ark sign. They walked past the clinic and round to the back where Hope Meadows stood. Mandy opened the door as they arrived.
‘Hello and welcome,’ she said. She held the door open and they walked through. ‘I’ve been waiting for you,’ she told Jack. ‘There’s something I need help with.’ She held out her hand and Jack skipped across and took it. ‘I hope you don’t mind, Douglas.’ Mandy turned her head towards him. ‘I know you came here to do research for your books, but I’m a bit worried about one of the kittens. I have a feeling he might be deaf. There’s some tests I can do, but it’s easier with help.’
Douglas gave a broad shrug and smiled. ‘Fine by me,’ he said. ‘It’s all inspiration.’ Thankfully, his voice was more muted than it had been on the walk. Looks like my warning worked, Susan thought to herself, with a small smile.
They followed Mandy and Jack into the room where the kittens were. The mother cat was lying in her bed, but all the kittens leaped up and rushed to the front of the cage. Five pairs of wide eyes gazed out at them, filled with innocence and curiosity. Which one of them was Mandy worried about? Susan wondered.
Mandy let go of Jack’s hand, opened the cage and lifted out the white kitten with the blue eyes.
‘What makes you think he can’t hear?’ Douglas asked the question that was in Susan’s mind. All the kittens had raced forward. Surely if the little white one couldn’t hear, it wouldn’t have responded when the door opened.
They took the kitten out into the examination room. Mandy was cradling him in her arms. He was a lively little thing, crawling up her chest in a purposeful fashion, determined to explore. In a moment, he was standing on Mandy’s shoulder, snuffling into her ear. Mandy reached up and grasped the tiny body. With a smile, she uncoupled his claws from her scrubs, then offered him to Jack to hold. As Jack began to stroke the soft white fur, Mandy looked up and answered Douglas’s question. ‘I’ve been watching him since he was born,’ she explained. ‘There’s a genetic link to deafness in white cats with blue eyes. Not all are deaf, but some are. He’s starting to show the signs. He sleeps more deeply than the other kittens. He’s almost always the last to wake. And if he doesn’t see me coming, he jumps like crazy. I hope I’m wrong, but we need to check it out. He’ll need a very special home if he does turn out to be deaf.’
Jack was snuggling the tiny creature. ‘You’ll be all right, little kitten,’ he whispered. ‘I’ll look after you.’ The kitten began to purr as Jack’s small, deft fingers stroked his head.
Mandy fetched a toy fishing rod with a stuffed goldfish on a string. She handed it to Jack. ‘Can you pop him down on the floor,’ she said, ‘then keep him distracted with this? I’m going to make some noises to see if he reacts.’
Jack knelt down on the floor. He was taking his role very seriously. The little white kitten gazed around with his head on one side. He seemed wholly unafraid. Jack held up the toy fishing rod, dangling the fluffy orange fish just out of the kitten’s reach. The kitten’s blue eyes widened. He reached out a paw, batted the fish, then watched in seeming fascination as the toy swung from side to side. He was so cute with his pricked ears, his head swaying from side to side as he watched the fish swing.
‘I’m going to make some different noises.’ Mandy had gone out of the room and had come back in with a number of different items. ‘You keep him distracted, Jack, and then we’ll see what he can hear.’
Jack nodded without taking his eyes off the kitten. He jerked the fish up and down and the little head followed, the blue eyes unblinking.
Mandy lifted a bunch of keys from the table. Making sure she was out of the kitten’s line of sight, she shook them not far from his head. They made a loud jingling noise. Susan’s eyes were on the kitten. There was no sign the little animal had heard.
Mandy picked up a piece of paper. With a sudden movement, she ripped it from end to end, keeping her eyes on the kitten, which was still entranced with Jack’s fish. ‘Different pitch,’ she murmured, but the kitten remained oblivious. Mandy clapped her hands, hissed loudly then took out a cardboard box, beating on it with an empty syringe case. Nothing.
She put the box down with a sigh. ‘One last test,’ she said. Careful not to go to close, she stamped her foot hard on the floor behind the tiny cat. The response was immediate. The little animal turned its head, gazed at Mandy’s foot, then slowly upwards. Then with deliberation, he turned back and pounced on the fish, which had dropped to the floor.
Jack looked up at Mandy, an appeal in his eyes. Susan could see how much he wanted the kitten to hear, even if only a little. ‘He heard that, didn’t he?’ he asked. ‘When you stamped your foot.’
Mandy pressed her lips together, then sighed and shook her head. ‘I’m afraid not,’ she said. ‘He felt the vibrations through the floor. If he had heard it, he would have jumped out of his skin, and he didn’t react to any of the other sounds at all.’
Jack looked from Mandy to the kitten. He blinked twice, his chin quivered and tears gushed forth, running down his face unchecked. Susan wanted to reach out and hold him, but Mandy was already kneeling down beside him. She put an arm round his shoulders, though she still had her eyes on the kitten. Douglas reached out a tentative hand, and when Mandy nodded, he scooped up the little white fluffball so that Mandy could concentrate fully on Jack.
‘There’s no need to cry,’ she said. ‘He might be deaf, but he can still have a good life. I’m going to read up more about cats that can’t hear and then I’ll be able to find him the perfect home.’ She dried Jack’s tears and Douglas handed the kitten back to Jack with a sympathetic smile. Susan watched as the little animal nuzzled up under Jack’s chin. It was almost as if the tiny creature sensed his distress. A moment later, the kitten began to purr loudly again.
‘See,’ Mandy said. ‘He’s quite happy. He doesn’t know any different.’
Jack looked up at Mandy, then across at Susan with a watery smile. The kitten butted his head against Jack’s chin and tickled him with his whiskers and Jack let out a shaky laugh.
An hour later, they stood at the front door of Hope Meadows. Douglas held out his hand to Mandy. ‘Thank
you so much for showing me round,’ he said. ‘You’ve given me more inspiration than I know what to do with.’
Mandy held out her hand and shook his. ‘It’s been a pleasure.’ She grinned.
‘Is there any way I can thank you?’ Douglas asked. Susan glanced down at Jack. He was holding on to Douglas’s free hand as if he really didn’t want to let go.
Mandy had her head on one side as if she was thinking. ‘Publicity’s always good,’ she said. ‘If you do write any stories about us, maybe you could give us a little shout out in the books?’ She left the question hanging in the air. It was obvious she didn’t want to put pressure on Douglas, but Douglas beamed.
‘What a lovely idea,’ he said. ‘Better still, how about if I go one better and donate five per cent of the profits?’
Mandy shook his hand more heartily than ever. Susan had rarely seen her look so pleased. ‘That would be fantastic,’ she said. ‘Thank you so much.’
Chapter Thirteen
The walk home was far more comfortable than the way there. Douglas and Jack seemed very much at home with one another and chatted like old friends. Snippets of the afternoon ran through Susan’s mind. There was the way Douglas had quietly lifted up the kitten when Jack was upset and handed him back at just the right moment. He had been so calm and quiet that Susan felt ashamed that she’d worried that he would scare the animals. He’d helped Mandy with cleaning out the kennels without being asked. Once again, she felt like she’d misjudged him.
At one point when Mandy and Jack were busy, Douglas had sat down and pulled out a sketch pad. Susan had watched him. It seemed as if he was transformed as he began to draw. His normally ungainly movements had tightened. His fingers on the pencil were skilled as he added detail and shading. His concentration was so fierce that it was almost as if he had entered another world. Susan hadn’t wanted to disturb him, but when she accidentally stepped on a metal bowl and made him jump, he had merely smiled up at her, then returned to his work.
They were back at the village green almost before she knew it. Though it was still early, the lights on the tall Christmas tree were lit. Their reflection danced on the surface of the pond beside the war memorial. Overhead, the sky was growing dim and grey. It looked like rain might come later. Susan had put a bag of birdseed in one of her pockets. She and Jack often stopped to feed the ducks. Jack and Douglas were standing at the edge of the water. Susan dug into her pocket and pulled out the little bag of seeds. ‘Here,’ she said to Jack. After a moment, she held a second bag out to Douglas. ‘Would you like to feed the ducks as well?’ she asked.
She had worried that he might think it silly, but she was not too surprised when he took it and thanked her gravely.
‘I used to go and feed the ducks with my mum when I was little,’ he told Jack. ‘But we always used bread.’
Susan grinned as Jack frowned. Douglas was about to get a lecture. ‘You shouldn’t feed ducks bread,’ Jack said. ‘It’s bad for their tummies.’ She wondered how Douglas would respond. Jack had been perfectly polite. Had he been rude, she would have corrected him, but she knew that some adults would be offended.
But Douglas just raised his eyebrows and looked interested. ‘Is it really?’ he said. ‘Well, in that case, I’m very sorry.’
‘That’s all right.’ Now Jack was looking concerned. ‘I only know because Mummy taught me about feeding them special seeds instead. Maybe your mummy didn’t know. It’s not your fault.’ He was so serious, Susan found herself smiling again. She lifted a hand to cover her mouth. She didn’t want Jack to think she was laughing at him.
She could see that Douglas was also trying to keep a straight face with difficulty. ‘Thank you, Jack,’ he said. ‘And don’t worry. In future, I’ll always make sure I use special seeds when I feed the ducks.’
Jack beamed up at Douglas. It was lovely to see them getting on so well together. Susan found herself struck by the thought that perhaps Jack was missing out on a father figure, after all. But Michael didn’t have the years of practice at talking to kids that Douglas had. Would Jack have the same, easy rapport with him? She tried to ignore those thoughts for now.
‘So do these seeds taste nice?’ Douglas asked.
Jack tilted his head, a puzzled look on his face. ‘I don’t know,’ he admitted.
‘Maybe I should try them …’
Jack’s eyes were enormous as he turned to look at Susan. She’d told him when he was much younger not to put seeds in his mouth. But Douglas grinned at her and winked. He folded up his arms like wings and stuck his bottom out. Jack’s gaze was no longer on Susan. Douglas was waddling in circles, flapping his ‘wings’. A moment later, he bent his head and sucked up some of the seeds into his mouth. Pursing his lips, he gave an astonishing rendition of a confused duck, holding up his head, smacking his lips. And then he was strutting again. He wiggled as if readying himself to sit down as he let out a series of contented-sounding quacks.
Jack was lost in giggles. Tears were running down his face. Susan found herself joining in. Douglas grinned as his impression came to an end. He reached out a hand towards her, palm outstretched. ‘Please may I have some more seeds?’ he asked, then added with a sheepish look, ‘Promise I’ll feed them to the real ducks this time.’
Susan laughed. ‘I’ll let you get away with it this time,’ she said, handing him the bag.
Just as Douglas took the bag, there was a flash of lightning. Susan glanced upwards as it started to pour with rain: droplets cascading, hissing on the ground, stippling the smooth water of the pond. The thunder arrived, growling in the distance.
Susan grabbed Jack’s hand, ready to run. ‘Will you come back to ours?’ Susan called to Douglas over the roar of the storm. She lifted her free arm over her head, trying to protect herself from the lashing rain.
Douglas threw his arms up in the air, whooping. ‘Why don’t we stay out and enjoy the rain?’ he boomed. He had water running down his face, and his hair and beard were already soaked, but he was smiling. ‘I don’t think we can actually get much wetter. And look at them.’ He pointed at the ducks. ‘They’re loving it!’
Susan looked. The ducks did indeed seem to be enjoying the downpour. They were swimming in circles and shaking their tails. A female mallard climbed onto the bank and started preening. She bent, dipping her beak into a puddle, lifted it and shook her head before twisting round again. Douglas crouched down beside Jack and pointed. ‘They have a preen gland beside their tail,’ he said. ‘They reach round to it, then use the oil to coat their feathers. That’s why the water flows off.’
Jack leaned in to look. Susan was about to protest but then she thought to herself: why not? Douglas was right. They were already soaked through. Droplets gathered on the brown feathers on the mallard’s back, merged into miniature puddles, then flowed off.
Douglas and Jack started waddling around, pretending to be preening ducks.
‘I love being a duck!’ Jack cried.
‘Me too,’ said Douglas. ‘Maybe that nice lady has some more seeds for us?’
Jack giggled as they waddled towards Susan. As she held out the bag, a trickle of water went down Susan’s neck and she shivered slightly. It wasn’t frosty cold, but it was chilly.
‘We should go now,’ Douglas said, straightening up, as if he had seen her movement. He grinned at Jack. ‘Shall we do a rain dance on the way home?’ he suggested. He set off, hopping on one foot, stamping his feet into puddles and laughing.
Jack followed his lead. ‘Look, Mummy!’ he shouted, jumping right into the middle of a huge puddle. It was much deeper than it looked! The water splashed up, soaking his already wet trousers and for a second he looked as if he might scream at how cold it was, but Douglas lifted him out effortlessly and set him down.
‘Choose your puddles wisely, young duckmaster,’ he said in a booming tone and Jack’s face uncrumpled. After a moment, he scampered on with Douglas in hot pursuit.
By the time they arrived home, they looked
like they’d been swimming with their clothes on. ‘You will come in, won’t you?’ Susan said to Douglas. ‘You can’t drive home like that.’ She unlocked the door and pushed it open.
After only a moment, Douglas stepped inside. ‘If you’re sure?’ he said. His eyes were on her face, double-checking that she meant what she said.
‘I’m sure,’ she said. ‘I’ll find something you can put on and put your clothes in the drier.’ She turned to Jack. ‘Upstairs …’ she said, ‘… now.’ She followed Jack up, found him a towel and some dry clothes, then dug around for something that would be big enough for Douglas. There really wasn’t much. What was I thinking? I don’t have any clothes that would fit a man that size! She had reached the bottom drawer. It was almost empty except for some old T-shirts and jeans that she kept for painting. Underneath the jeans, there was something red. She pulled it out. It was a pair of pyjama trousers. She pulled out the top. It too was red, trimmed with white. On the front was a picture of a reindeer. She’d bought them at the last minute for a Christmas party a couple of years ago. They were far too big for her and she’d ended up not wearing them after all. She stood up and inspected them. She stifled a laugh as she tried to picture Douglas wearing them. They’ll have to do! She grabbed a towel, then rushed back downstairs, holding them out.
‘I’m really sorry—’ she began and then burst out laughing at his surprised face.
He took them, held out the top with its cute reindeer, complete with velvet antlers and a tartan nose, and laughed. ‘I know my dress sense is a little eclectic but this is something else!’
‘They’re from a fancy dress party and they’re the only thing I’ve got!’ Susan admitted. ‘Unless you want to try some of Jack’s clothes …’
‘No, no, I’ll keep these, thanks,’ grinned Douglas. ‘I think I’m going to look absolutely stunning!’
‘In one sense of the word,’ Susan agreed. She took him into the living room and drew the curtains. ‘Change in here,’ she said. ‘I’ve just got to go and give Jack a hand.’
