Page 17 of The Side Road
Tash shook her head.
‘You don’t want a pet?’
‘I do. I really want a pet, but could we get a bunny? Please, please, can we get a bunny?’
‘But dogs are awesome. They become your best friend. We could train it together. Take it for walks in the park.’ Meet other, like-minded, beautiful, dog-friendly women.
‘Bunnies are awesome, too.’
‘I’ll think about it.’ He wondered if there was an organisation called Rescue Rabbits, where parents could adopt exceptionally old animals. Perhaps the bunny phase would be short-lived. After that, they could get an awesome dog.
With a slotted spoon, Oliver lifted the eggs from the bubbling water. He placed the bread into the toaster and began to peel the eggs. ‘There was a woman here last night, Leo’s niece, Mia. Do you know her?’
‘Yes. She used to live with Leo and Blanche, but now she lives on the hill. She hung out with me while we were waiting for you to get back.’
‘She did?’
‘Yes. She picked me up from school because Blanche had a hair appointment and Leo can’t drive since theincident. I rode in the sidecar with Snood, her rescue dog. I’m telling you, it was so much fun. I nearly laughed my head off.’
‘You rode in the sidecar?’
‘Yes. She called you to check if it was okay, but you didn’t answer. I told her you’d be okay with it.’ Tash nodded.
Oliver nodded back. ‘Okay. You felt safe. You had a helmet?’
‘Yes. But, Dad, she’s not very good. She hit every pothole in the road.’ Tash giggled. ‘I can ride better than her, and I’m only twelve. I wore Mia’s helmet, which was too big for me, and Mia wore Leo’s, which was so big it fell over her eyes.’ Tash continued to laugh. ‘It was hilarious. Leo is still giving her lessons and boy does she need them!’
Oliver frowned. He consoled himself with the fact that they wouldn’t have travelled very far or fast.
‘What’s a snood?’
‘It’s a scarf that you wrap around your neck. Mia taught me how to knit. Mary and I joined her knitting club.’
‘How is Mary Constantinople?’
Glaring at her father, Tash exhaled slowly through her nose. ‘I’ve told you, it’sKohlschreiber. Her family are German. It’s racist to make fun of people’s names.’
‘Okay. Back to Mia. How long has she been here?’
‘Not sure, but Nan said she had to leave the city because of a bad boyfriend.’
‘Really? How bad?’
‘There aren’t different levels of bad. There’s just good or bad.’
‘If there were different levels, how bad was he? From one to ten. Did he cheat on her? Was he controlling or mean…or worse?’
‘That’s all I know.’ Tash lowered her voice. ‘But Nan said it was the dog that saved Mia and not the other way around.’
A smile crept over Oliver’s lips. A small laugh escaped from his chest.
‘Why is that funny?’
‘It’s not.’
He sliced the boiled eggs, placed them on the toast, and handed the plate to Tash.
She took a bite and wiped her mouth. ‘What did you do to this egg? It’s very good.’
