Page 36 of Six Steps to Happiness
Ready far too early, Ronnie looked out onto the street, something she had to admit she’d done a lot of in recent months; staring out, watching the world go by instead of joining in with everything it had to offer. The trouble was, when it came to forging a new life for herself and herself alone, she didn’t know where to start.
She wondered how different things might have been had she had an inkling that all wasn’t well between her and Nick. The outcome may have been the same, but at least she would have had the opportunity to consider a future without him. She could have imagined herself as an individual in her own right, instead of merely one half of a couple. As things were, Ronnie and Nick had been together so long, his departure seemed to leave her not only without a husband, but without an identity.
She considered the support she’d received from her daughter and mother-in-law. Feeling guilty, she realised she’d been wrong to mock their six-step plan, that she should have trusted them. Steps one and two might have been complete failures, but at least they’d tried. As for step three, Ronnie had to admit it was the best thing that had happened to her in quite some time.
She knew some would think her strange for relying so heavily on Willow and Bea, that most women her age had a solid group of friends around them. But aside from her daughter and mother-in-law, there’d never been anyone else. And when it came to her and Nick, it never seemed to matter that it was just the two of them.
Looking back, it was as if her life hadn’t started until she met her husband. Indeed, she often joked that she’d been married since she was a foetus. Everyone laughed in response of course but deep down, Ronnie knew that that was her way of keeping the past where it belonged. Life with an abusive and attention-seeking mother wasn’t exactly something to brag about. It was something Ronnie did her utmost to forget.
Ronnie found herself questioning if deep down that was why she had married Nick? If falling pregnant had given her the excuse she needed to get away from a dysfunctional household. It had clearly crossed Nick’s mind on occasion, because he’d asked her about it once; a question that had offended her at the time. As far as she’d been concerned, she loved Nick from the moment she met him. Subconsciously, however, who knew what the truth was? Perhaps he had been her saviour and she’d simply never wanted to admit it.
Fed up with her own thoughts, Ronnie told herself to stop dissecting the past and enjoy the present. Shaking herself out of it, she thought the last thing Charlie needed was to end up living in an atmosphere as miserable as the one he was leaving. From that point on, she told herself, it was onwards and upwards, for the yellow Lab’s sake as well as her own.
She looked out onto Holme Lea Avenue, wondering what her neighbours would think of the new addition to her family. She couldn’t wait for them to meet Charlie, and easily imagined herself introducing him to each and every resident. She smiled. When it came to building a new and positive future, maybe that yellow Labrador was her saviour too.
Unable to stand there any longer, Ronnie headed out of the room, grabbing her coat, bag and Charlie’s lead from the hall as she made her way outside. She had a spring in her step as she walked along the path to her gate, eager to get going. She and her dog were going to have so much fun together.
Putting on her coat in readiness, a car horn beeped, signalling Willow and Bea’s arrival. Ronnie jumped up and down in excitement. “Not long now, Charlie. I’m coming to get you.”
26
“We’re so pleased he’s finally found a home,” Carla said, escorting Ronnie and Charlie out to the car park. She crouched down to give the dog a fuss. “He’s been here for so long and deserves a new start, don’t you, boy?” She rose to her feet again. “If you wouldn’t mind letting us know how he’s getting on. Once in a while. We’re all so fond of him, it’ll be strange not having him around.”
“Of course,” Ronnie replied. “I wouldn’t dream of not keeping you up to date. And I promise, from now on, he’ll have the best life ever.” She took in Charlie’s adorable misshapen face, his lolloping tongue and wagging tail. Letting out a bark and pulling on his lead, he seemed as eager to get to his new home as Ronnie was to take him there. “And thank you,” she added. “For everything.”
“No, thank you.”
While Carla headed back inside, Ronnie led Charlie towards their awaiting vehicle.
“Here he is,” Willow said, adopting the kind of voice usually reserved for babies. She hunkered down to give the dog an all-embracing cuddle. “Who’s a good boy?”
Shaking her head, Bea opened the car door in readiness of their departure, letting out a laugh when Charlie suddenly abandoned his hug in favour of jumping straight onto the back seat. “Someone’s ready to go.”
“And who can blame him,” Ronnie said, thinking about his life up to that point. “What the…?” As she was about to climb in alongside the dog, a car raced into the car park. Coming to a sudden halt right next to Willow’s vehicle, Ronnie, her daughter and mother-in-law had to leap back out of harm’s way. Ronnie glowered, wondering what on earth the lunatic behind the wheel was playing at?
The driver jumped out. “I haven’t missed him, have I? I meant to get here sooner but got held up at work.”
“Jack?” Ronnie said, her annoyance quickly replaced by confusion.
“Ronnie?” Jack said, appearing equally as bemused. “You mean…?” His gaze went from her, and as he ducked his head, to the inside of Willow’s car, and spotting the yellow Lab his face immediately lit up. “You’re Charlie’s new owner? That’s fantastic.”
“But I…”
“Sorry about the grand entrance, I didn’t want him to leave without me saying goodbye. When it comes to special dogs like Charlie, I tend to get a bit attached.”
Ronnie’s confusion continued.
“You mean you don’t know? Of course, you don’t. Why would you? They held an adoption day here a while back. It was a big community event and me being the local bobby, the powers that be insisted I got involved. Anyway, after that I started volunteering. You know, cleaning out kennels, spending time with the dogs to help with socialising, that kind of thing.”
“What? At Woodhaven?”
“Yep. A man’s got to have something to do in his downtime,” Jack said. “And this one…” He reached into the back seat and rubbed Charlie’s head. “I know you shouldn’t have favourites, but well, you know.”
Ronnie smiled. Watching Charlie relish the attention, the dog obviously adored Jack in return.
“I’m really going to miss you, boy,” Jack said.
“How could anyone not fall in love with him?” Ronnie replied.
