by Lucy Gordon
‘Where did you get that?’ Garth asked, for it was clear the boy was quoting.
‘From Ken,’ Adrian said. ‘He knows a lot about them.’
Garth’s face clouded but he said no more. Cindy was hugging the huge dog, who received her caresses eagerly. Benevolence beamed from his eyes, and he uttered a bark of approval that almost deafened everyone.
‘His name’s Barker,’ Jane said, uncovering her ears, ‘because that’s what he is.’
As if in confirmation Barker promptly boomed again.
‘His owner died six months ago,’ Jane told them. ‘He didn’t have any family, and it’s hard to find him a new home, because he’s so big.’
‘He’s lovely,’ Cindy enthused, burying her face in the thick, brown and white fur.
‘Yes, he is,’ Adrian said, stroking the huge head gently.
‘Hey, kids, come on,’ Faye said in alarm. ‘He’s too big for us, as well. We can’t have him in our little house.’
‘Why not?’ Garth demanded. ‘There are fields at the back where you can take him for exercise. He looks a terrific dog to me.’
Barker offered a paw, which both the children solemnly shook.
‘Daddy, he wants to shake hands with you,’ Cindy said.
Under Faye’s incredulous eye, Garth took the huge powder puff offered to him. ‘Pleased to meet you, sir,’ he declared.
This was obviously the right response for both children, who beamed. Garth ran his hands over Barker’s vast frame and offered him a biscuit, which vanished with the speed of light. Another went the same way. The next moment Barker’s head was resting in Garth’s hands, his eyes suggesting that this was his first food for a month.
‘He likes you, Daddy,’ Cindy said, delighted.
‘Yes, I think he does. Hey, you’re a splendid fellow, aren’t you?’
Barker agreed, his eyes fixed on the biscuits.
Faye was growing more nervous. ‘Don’t encourage them,’ she told Garth. ‘It’s out of the question.’
‘Why is it, if they want him?’
‘In that little house?’
He glanced up and her suspicions were confirmed. ‘I know what you’re up to and it won’t work,’ she told him in an undervoice. ‘Garth, I’m not going to be manipulated like this.’
He moved aside with her, out of the children’s hearing. ‘Why must you always think the worst of me?’
‘Eight years of marriage.’
‘Ten,’ he said at once.
‘Only eight that counted.’
His eyes gleamed sharply, but he didn’t retort.
‘I know what you’re doing,’ she persisted, ‘and you’ve got to stop.’
But Cindy was pulling on her hand, pleading, ‘Mummy, Daddy, I want Barker.’
‘Darling, he’s far too big,’ Faye said urgently.
‘No, he isn’t, he’s just right,’ Cindy said. ‘I love him, and he loves me, and he wants to come with us.’
‘Of course he does,’ Garth said, refusing to meet his wife’s eyes. ‘You can’t disappoint him now.’
She was speechless at his sheer lack of scruple. Under the guise of being kind to his daughter, Garth was arranging matters his own way, as always.
But when they reached Kelly’s office it seemed he was due for a setback. While the children played outside with their new friend, Kelly said, ‘You shouldn’t really have met Barker, but Jane’s still new here. He’s a permanent resident.’ ‘But why?’ Garth demanded. ‘He looks fine to me.’
‘He’s a lovely dog, but also a very old one. Generally the larger the dog, the shorter the life. Barker’s ten, and many St Bernards die at ten. It would be better to choose a younger animal. It’s not too late.’
But it was too late, as the children’s glowing faces confirmed. Through the window they could be seen climbing over Barker, who cheerfully accepted their attentions. Faye made a last attempt to change their minds, but their response was to tighten their arms around their new friend and look mulish.
Kelly made a start on the paperwork. ‘He doesn’t actually become yours for another month,’ she said. ‘First I must visit you and see how he is. If your home doesn’t seem suitable, then I’m afraid I have to take him back.’
‘Don’t worry. He’ll have the best of everything,’ Garth assured her.
While Kelly left them a moment, Faye said angrily, ‘That’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen you do. He isn’t going to live long. But you don’t care if they’re hurt so long as you get your way.’
‘Faye, Cindy’s happy.’
‘Because she thinks this means her father loves her.’
‘Are you saying I don’t love my children?’
‘Maybe you love Adrian, because he’s your son. But Cindy’s always been an afterthought to you. How is she going to feel when Barker dies?’
‘I’ll get her another dog.’
‘Another one won’t be the same.’
‘I’ll get one who looks just like him.’
She looked at him in pity. ‘You don’t understand a thing, do you?’
Kelly returned before he had to answer. The formalities were completed, and they were free to take Barker home.
Garth’s big car suddenly looked much smaller when it had to accommodate a hundred and twenty pounds of dog. He took up most of the back seat, with Cindy and Adrian squeezing into whatever was left. When he woofed, Garth and Faye had to rub their ears.
It was Cindy’s birthday next day. Faye’s gift was a dressing-table set, and a new pair of jeans suitable for a little girl who enjoyed muddy pursuits. Adrian had bought her a video of her favourite television programme. And because Faye had done some inspired last-minute shopping, there was even a new T-shirt bearing a picture of a St Bernard, and a tag that said, ‘To Cindy, with love from Barker.’
Garth’s present was Barker himself, but Faye knew he wouldn’t feel he’d done the job properly unless he’d spent money. She’d wondered wryly how he would rise to the challenge of buying something for a little girl he knew nothing about, but she’d underestimated him. He had an excellent, motherly secretary, who spent the lunch hour shopping and returned with a small coral necklace and matching bracelet. They were exquisite, and Cindy was thrilled.
When she’d opened her cards and presents, she willingly turned the spotlight onto Adrian.
‘He’s got a very important football match this afternoon,’ she explained to Barker. ‘And we’re going along to cheer. I’ll tell you all about it when we come back.’
Promptly at eleven o’clock Adrian was collected by the father of a team-mate, ferrying five players to the match site ten miles away. The rest of the family would follow an hour later.
Cindy was ready well before time, bouncing up and down with excitement. ‘Come on, Daddy,’ she pleaded. But when he appeared, her expression changed to one of horror. ‘Daddy, you can’t go like that.’
‘What’s wrong with it?’ Garth asked, looking down at his neat, conservative suit.
‘Nobody dresses like that,’ Cindy said urgently.
‘I do.’
‘Nobody does.’
‘Faye, do you know what this child is talking about?’
‘You’re overdressed,’ she said. ‘You should be in jeans and sweater like the rest of us.’
‘Does it really matter?’
‘Garth, if you turn up dressed for a board meeting, your children will be so embarrassed that they’ll pretend not to know you.’
Garth was about to say that his faithful little defender would never deny him, when he caught a look on Cindy’s face, and thought better of it. ‘I don’t have any jeans,’ said the man who’d once lived in them, morning, noon and night.
‘Something casual, then.’
Between them Faye and Cindy went through his clothes and found garments that Cindy said, ‘wouldn’t be too cringe-making’. Much chastened, Garth donned trousers and a casual shirt, and they were ready to leave.
‘Goodbye, Bar
ker,’ Cindy said, hugging him fiercely. ‘Be good while we’re gone.’
But it seemed that the faithful hound had no intention of staying behind. He followed her to the door, slipped out and went to sit beside the car. When Garth seized his collar and tried to command him back inside, Barker took root in the ground and looked hurt.
‘He’s afraid to be on his own,’ Cindy explained, ‘in case we don’t come back.’ ‘He’s a dog, not a person,’ Garth protested.
But it seemed that Cindy was right. Having lost one owner, Barker was determined not to lose another. As soon as the car door was opened he dashed inside. Cindy followed him and they sat together, determination written on both faces.
‘You might as well give in now,’ Faye said, stifling a laugh.
‘Do you know what that dog’s doing to my upholstery? I’ve just had it cleaned from bringing him home yesterday.’
‘I think it’s going to need cleaning again,’ she observed with apparent sympathy. ‘The trouble is that he’s so big. But, as I recall, you wanted a big dog.’
‘You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?’
‘Who, me?’ she asked innocently. In fact, there was a certain satisfaction in the sight of Garth hoist with his own petard.
He started the car, but immediately flinched away, rubbing his ear. ‘Cindy, if you don’t stop that animal licking me I’ll leave you both behind.’
‘Barker,’ Cindy reproved him, ‘you’re a very naughty boy.’
Barker barked. Garth winced. Faye dissolved in laughter.
At the match site there was more of an audience than Garth had expected for a schoolboys’ game.
‘It’s the inter-schools trophy,’ Cindy explained to him. ‘This is the quarter finals, and this year we’ve got a real chance of winning. Adrian’s terribly good. Ken says so.’
‘Ken?’
‘He’s Mummy’s friend,’ Cindy said innocently, ‘and he coaches the football team.’
‘He probably won’t be here today,’ Faye said quickly.
‘He’s not really the coach, he just fills in sometimes for the fun of it because the real coach has been poorly. But he’s well now, so I doubt if Ken—oh, dear.’
Garth followed her eyes to where Adrian’s team had appeared, accompanied by a large, bearded man.
‘That, I take it, is Kendall Haines?’
‘Yes, but I truly thought he wouldn’t be here. He was rushing to finish a book before the deadline.’
Garth hardly heard her. He was watching his son claim Kendall’s attention with a question that seemed urgent. Kendall answered at length, with gestures towards the field, while Adrian nodded and seemed happier for what he’d heard. He was completely absorbed, and only when the teams ran onto the pitch did he look at the sidelines for his family.
Faye and Cindy led the cheering from the start, yelling loudest whenever their team did well. When Adrian scored in the first half-hour they crowed with delight. So did Barker. Garth tried to catch his son’s eye and finally managed it, giving him a thumb’s-up sign that Adrian acknowledged with a grin. But it was Kendall’s cry of ‘Well done, Adrian,’ that really delighted him.
Garth thought of where he ought to be right now, the meetings he’d had to cancel, the lame excuses he’d made. And for what? To be forced to watch a demonstration of his son’s allegiance to another man.
Then he felt Cindy’s tight grip on his hand and looked down at her with a smile. She was his protector, he thought, astonished. Faye was reserved, except when she was laughing at him, and Adrian still maintained a slight distance. It was Cindy who secured his place in the family.
He felt a rare pang of guilt. He was working skilfully to stay in his daughter’s good books, because he needed her. And that meant Faye was right, he realized. He was giving Cindy a raw deal. And not for the first time. Her eyes, shining up at him, were uncritical and full of trust and for an instant he had to look away. How could any man meet that honest gaze without a touch of shame?
‘Is anything wrong, Daddy?’ she asked.
‘No. I was just thinking how pretty you are.’
She beamed and clasped her second hand over his with a sigh of contentment. After a moment he bent down and kissed the top of her head.
In the end, Adrian’s goal was the only one and his victorious team carried him from the field. His family walked over to where he was being pummelled joyfully.
‘Well done, son,’ Garth told him.
Adrian turned shining eyes on him. ‘Did you really see my goal?’ he asked.
‘Every moment of it.’
‘I thought you weren’t going to be here,’ Faye said quietly to Kendall. ‘You said you had a book to finish.’
‘I got it done last night.’ He glanced at Garth. ‘Is that—?’
‘Yes, that’s Garth.’
Kendall made a wry face. ‘I wish he wasn’t quite so good-looking.’
‘Don’t say things like that,’ she urged. ‘He means nothing to me now.’
Garth turned his head at that moment and she wondered how much he’d heard. She made the introductions, and to her relief her husband reacted civilly. So did Kendall but she could see the two men sizing each other up, and the knowledge was there between them.
Garth congratulated Kendall politely on his team’s success, but this proved unfortunate as it gave Adrian the chance to say, ‘Ken’s the best coach we’ve ever had. He knows everything about soccer.’
‘Nonsense, you did it all yourself,’ Kendall said, aiming a playful punch at him. ‘Golden feet, that’s what you’ve got.’
‘Am I really going to be good enough to play professionally?’ Adrian asked, his face shining.
The sight hurt Garth and prompted his demon to say, ‘It’s a bit soon to be asking that, isn’t it? After all, this isn’t the only thing in life.’
He regretted the words instantly, because a light went out of Adrian’s face. But he brightened again when Kendall said, ‘Keep up the hard work, and you can do anything you want.’
Barker, evidently feeling that he’d taken a back seat long enough, gave his noisiest woof.
‘Barker thinks so too,’ Cindy confirmed.
‘Is he yours?’ Kendall asked.
‘Daddy gave him to me for my birthday.’
‘He’s a fine fellow.’ Kendall ran his hands knowledgeably over Barker’s frame and tried to look into his mouth, but Barker wriggled free in order to sniff one of Kendall’s pockets. ‘All right,’ Kendall said hastily. ‘Don’t tear me to pieces. I know what you’re after. Here!’ He produced something which he tossed to the dog, who swallowed it in one gulp.
‘What was that?’ Faye asked.
‘Aniseed. Dogs love it, and I always keep some aniseed sweets in my pocket for my own dogs.’
‘Just for the dogs?’ Adrian asked cheekily.
‘Meaning that I swipe some for myself?’ Kendall asked, all innocence. ‘Me?’
‘Of course not,’ Cindy assured him with a carefully bland face. ‘We know you wouldn’t ever eat aniseed when there was a starving dog who just loved it.’
Kendall grinned and tossed the ‘starving dog’ another sweet. ‘Shame on you, you terrible brats!’
Both children giggled, evidently finding this form of address acceptable. Garth’s hands balled into fists inside his pockets.
‘Is Barker all right?’ Cindy asked.
‘He’s fine, but don’t let him eat too many sweets,’ Kendall said, straight-faced. ‘He mustn’t put on weight.’
‘The voice of the expert,’ Garth said in a tone that was apparently friendly, but had a slight edge.
‘I don’t call myself an expert,’ Kendall said. ‘Not next to my friend, James Wakeham. He’s made a special study of St Bernards and he’s one of the finest veterinary surgeons in the world. We were at vet school together; used to pinch each other’s girlfriends. He was always in trouble. In fact, he owes me a favour for keeping quiet about— Well, never mind. He could have been thrown
out for it.’ He was talking for the sake of talking, saying anything to lighten the atmosphere. Garth responded with a mechanical smile.
While Cindy asked more questions about Barker’s care, Garth found something else to look at.
‘This is Ken’s subject,’ Faye urged him in an undervoice. ‘If he needed advice about business, he’d have to come to you.’
‘But he never would need advice about business, would he?’ Garth growled. ‘I know his kind. He floats loftily above money as though the rest of us were beneath contempt. For pity’s sake, I gave her the damned dog!’
‘Then why don’t you tell her how to look after him?’
‘What time have I got to study dogs?’
‘You’re the man who believes in keeping track of your investments,’ she reminded him. ‘And this sudden rush of concern for Cindy is just that—an investment.’
‘You’re determined to think the worst of me, aren’t you?’
‘You make it easy,’ she said after a moment, and turned away from him.
They were both relieved when the awkward meeting was over. Adrian parted reluctantly from Kendall, promising fervently to be at the next practice.
‘As long as you don’t neglect your schoolwork,’ Garth said. ‘You’ve got a career to think of.’
Adrian became absorbed in Barker, and didn’t reply. It was Kendall who said quietly, ‘Surely he’s a bit young to be deciding his career! If he wants to be a sportsman why not let him dream his dreams and believe he can do anything?’
‘Because the world is a tough place, and a man has no time for dreams in case he falls behind,’ Garth snapped. ‘And I’ll thank you not to interfere in my son’s upbringing.’
‘Hey, come on! I was only—’
‘I know damned well what you were only doing. And you’ll do it over my dead body.’
Luckily Faye had gone ahead and didn’t hear this exchange. Garth was able to conceal his unsettled state of mind on the journey home. They’d meant to go to a restaurant but, since Barker refused to be left behind, this was abandoned in favour of a Chinese takeaway.
Later that night, when Garth had gone in to say goodnight to Cindy, she heaved a sigh of delight. ‘Oh, Daddy, wasn’t Adrian simply superT
‘He was pretty good,’ Garth agreed.
