Page 33 of The Best Little Christmas Shop
‘He’s a great dog,’ Cal commented without looking at me as he tapped a postcode into the machine.
I smiled at Apolloand stretched back an arm to give him a quick head rub. ‘He is.’
‘George has been going on about getting a dog for ages. I don’t think this morning is going to have helped much.’
I looked round at him. ‘Oh! Sorry. I didn’t mean to cause any awkwardness. We were just passing and –’
Cal held up his hands. ‘That came out wrong. It wasn’t meant as a criticism. Maybe you’re right in that I needa rest.’
I studied the satnav for a moment. ‘I don’t think there’s any maybe about it.’
He laughed and pressed ‘Go’ on the device.
‘Fair enough. What I meant is if I can find such a great dog as this one, it might not be a bad thing. I’m aware that George is an only child – it could be good for him to have some company at home. Someone to bond with. Nothing I said could bring a smile to hisface or get him to settle this morning and then you and Apollo walk in and he’s happy and asleep within minutes.’
‘It’s my scintillating personality. It often sends people to sleep.’
‘Now that I know is a big fat lie.’
I gave him a shrug. ‘OK. So if I can just drop the dog off at home and let my parents know that I’m out with you and not in a ditch somewhere, then we can head off.’
‘Is itlikely they think you’re in a ditch?’
‘You’d be surprised.’ I turned over the engine as Cal plugged in his seatbelt. ‘It’s my mum’s catchphrase. Whenever one of us was late, even just a few minutes, we’d be greeted with her telling us off, saying that she had been convinced we were lying in a ditch somewhere.’
‘On the plus side, it’s nice that someone cared if you were or not.’ Cal’s mouth wassmiling but as I gave a quick glance to check the road was clear, I could see that the smile didn’t reach his eyes.
My stomach twisted. ‘I’m sorry. That was insensitive. I didn’t think –’
Cal laid his hand over mine on the wheel for the briefest of moments, before resting it back on his lap. ‘It’s fine. I don’t want you second-guessing everything you say to me. But I can understand how yourmum feels now. Every minute your child isn’t where they should be feels like hours.’
I nodded.
‘You seem very close to your nieces and nephews so I’m pretty sure you’ve already got a good idea too.’
‘True.’
‘Just wait until you have your own too.’
I swallowed, and looked away from him up the road, checking for traffic.
‘Is it clear your way?’
‘Yep.’
I pulled out and headed back towardsmy parents’ place, doing my best to push Cal’s innocently made comment out of my mind.
