Page 47 of For Love or Money
‘But you’re not using any hashtags, Dad. I’ve told you before, Instagram is all about the hashtags. Here, I’ll put in a few to get you going.’ She went in to edit the photo and added all the food-related hashtags she could think of. ‘There.’ She handed the phone back to her father. ‘See how you get on with that.’
‘There’s Katrina back now,’ Miriam said as they heard the front door open and close. ‘We’ll just give her a minute to get Skipper sorted out, and then we’ll go through to the dining room.’
Lesley felt Al looking at them curiously as they all sat listening to shuffling sounds in the hall before her mother decided they’d given Katrina enough time to get the dog stashed away safely. But when she opened the kitchen door, Skipper was still there in the hall with Katrina. At least he was still on his leash, but Lesley couldn’t help wondering if her sister had done it on purpose to sabotage Al.
‘Katrina, we thought you’d have him locked in the other room by now,’ her mother said, nodding at the dog. ‘We’ve got company.’
‘Oh, no need for that,’ Al said cheerfully, striding forward in that over-confident way of his before Lesley could stop him. ‘I love dogs. Hi, I’m Al,’ he said, holding out a hand to Katrina. Then he turned to the dog. ‘And this must be—’
‘No!’
‘Stop!’
‘Don’t!’
‘He’ll take your hand off!’
They all yelled at him in unison, but it was too late. He was already down on his haunches, reaching out to pet Skipper.
Everyone gasped, hands clutched to their chests in fear as they held their collective breath. Lesley couldn’t bear to look, her eyes squeezed shut as she waited for the inevitable growling and snapping. She was already calculating which hospital’s emergency department would be the most efficient to take Al to. But weirdly, the only sound breaking the stunned silence was Al telling Skipper what a ‘lovely boy’ and a ‘good dog’ he was.
‘Well, would you credit that.’
She opened her eyes to see her father shaking his head in wonder as Al patted and stroked Skipper as if he was a perfectly normal dog and not the homicidal psycho they all knew him to be.
‘I’ve never seen anything like it,’ her mother said.
‘He’s not normally like this,’ Katrina said to Al, and Lesley tried to figure out if she sounded disappointed. ‘He hates people. He only really likes Dad.’
‘He barely puts up with the rest of us,’ Lesley said. ‘But anyone outside the family ...’
‘He took the arse off Lesley’s last boyfriend the first time he came round,’ her father said, chuckling merrily at the memory.
‘What a good boy,’ Al cooed, rubbing Skipper’s ears.
‘You’ve obviously got the magic touch, Al,’ her mother said. ‘But let’s not push our luck. Katrina, put him in the kitchen, and then come in for tea.’
Lesley hadto give her mother credit where it was due – she put on a great tea. The table in the dining room was covered with a Cath Kidston cloth, and she’d brought out the best chintzy china. There were plates of crustless finger sandwiches and savoury pastries, and tiered cake stands filled with small, fluffy scones, thick slices of lemon drizzle cake and the promised Black Forest gateau.
‘So tell us about yourself, Al,’ her mother said, passing him a plate of sandwiches. ‘We’ve heard practically nothing about you,’ she added with a pointed look at Lesley.
‘There’s not really much to tell.’
‘What do you do?’
‘I’m an architect.’
‘Oh, very nice,’ Miriam said, clearly impressed as Lesley knew she would be. ‘That’s a lovely profession.’
‘And his father makes Bradshaw Biscuits!’ Lesley said, feeling Al wasn’t talking himself up properly.
‘Bradshaw Biscuits!’ her mother exclaimed. ‘Really?’
‘Well, he doesn’t exactly make them—’ Al began.
‘No, but he’s the brains behind the whole operation,’ Lesley said.
‘Well, that’s an amazing coincidence,’ her father piped up. ‘We love the Chocolate Extravaganzas, don’t we?’ he said to his wife. ‘We had one just this morning with a cup of tea.’
