Page 61 of Autumn at the Oak Leaf Café
‘I still think the stick and a net is the best option,’ Pete said.
‘Statistically more likely to lead to success,’ Ruby’s dad added.
At that moment, things took another turn for the worse. The sparrow returned, fluttering among the outmost branches of the protruding bough. Hazel, who had again been sitting quite peacefully in a crook between two branches, now let out a little mew of delight and took off, running out towards the end of the branch. The sparrow took off out of range, leaving the cat clambering among the leafless twigs. She tried to turn round, slipped, and her back legs dropped through. She clung on with her front paws but her back ones scrabbled uselessly.
‘She’s going to fall!’ Ruby shouted.
‘We can catch her,’ Pete said.
‘It’s too high!’ Lizzie shouted. ‘What if we miss?’
It was Ivy who stepped up. ‘Human pyramid,’ she said, clenching a fist. ‘I’ll be the core.’
Ivy squatted down on one powerful knee. At first no one really knew what to do, then Lizzie, who had apparently once been a member of a dance club, began to organise people around her, everyone holding each other steady. Madeline, Ruby, and Margaret from the cricket club climbed on top of Ivy’s broad shoulders, supported by the other players around her.
They were still a couple of metres below Hazel’s dangling body, the cat new meowing with distress as she failed to regain her spot on the branch.
‘I’m a vet,’ Darren said. ‘Let me get her.’
Helped by others, he climbed up on to the first layer of the pyramid, then Madeline, Ruby and Margaret cupped their hands together to lift his feet. With the whole structure on the verge of collapse, he rose towards the stricken cat.
‘Just a little more … come on, a little higher … just … got her!’
He managed to get a hand on Hazel just as the whole structure gave way. Bodies sprawled everywhere. As he fell, Darren passed Hazel to Madeline, who managed to scramble out of the way. Darren was not so lucky, going down hard in the middle of the crush.
The two cricket teams cheered. Hazel, clearly missing Sampson, wriggled out of Madeline’s arms and scampered back towards the café. Everyone was patting Ivy on the back and congratulating her on her plan, when Madeline noticed Darren sitting on the edge of the grass verge, clutching his ankle.
‘Are you alright?’
He winced as he looked up at her. ‘I think it’s broken,’ he said.
27
Repairs and Rebuilding
Madeline leftRuby in charge of the café, with Ivy and Margaret stepping up to help with coffees and cakes, while Pete offered free burgers to anyone a little hungrier. Then, getting a lift from Lizzie, Madeline went with Darren to Brentwell General Hospital.
‘Isn’t it ironic that this is the place where we first met?’ Darren said with a pained smile, as Madeline helped him into a wheelchair provided for patients by the main doors. ‘Although I’d prefer to see a little less of this place, to be honest.’
Madeline, trying not to think about the way he had said it, as though they were in a relationship already, concentrated on pushing the chair, hoping none of the passing nurses could see her blushing.
The hospital was quiet for a Sunday, and they didn’t have to wait long. Darren was given an X-ray and examined, and found only to have a bad strain. The doctor put the ankle into a cast anyway, then told Darren to get plenty of rest.
‘You look after him,’ the doctor said to Madeline, making her blush again. ‘Make sure he takes plenty of rest at home, but don’t let him overeat.’
‘I’ll … er … try,’ Madeline said, much to Darren’s amusement.
As they came out of the hospital, they waved at Lizzie, waiting in the short-stay spaces across from the entrance.
‘At least Snide and Company hasn’t spread its web this far yet,’ Darren said. ‘Although I imagine it won’t be long.’
‘The doctor said you should rest,’ Madeline said. ‘Would you like me to ask Lizzie to take you home?’
Darren shook his head. ‘Well, since I’m a vet, and that’s kind of a doctor, I’ll take my own advice, which is to go back to the party.’
‘I have an easy chair you can use.’
He smiled. ‘That would be great.’
