Chapter Thirty

It turns out that Gran isn’t the only one who can manipulate people, and I’m seriously considering adding the skill to my CV when Claire actually turns up to help us with our dog-walking duties. Her phone call interrupting my interview came back to bite her on the arse because she couldn’t say no when I dropped that little fact into our conversation, could she? And when I pointed out we could discuss her upcoming date with the school-gate dad, the deal was sealed. Obviously, I didn’t prewarn Claire about stink-bomb Fizz (otherwise there’s no way she’d have agreed to join us, even with the disruptive phone call) so she gets a nice surprise as we turn out of the shelter’s ground and on to the pavement and she’s assaulted by the rancid smell.

We head down to the beach this time, because it’s a nice day and I have zero desire to return to the mudbath park. James takes charge of Sabre (because I absolutely refuse to engage with the ‘spirited’ little shit) while Claire takes on Baby and I’m stuck with the farting fluff ball and Star (who’s no trouble at all, despite not being able to see where she’s going). Arlo is skipping along beside us, in his element that he gets to walk four dogs , and I wish I could share his enthusiasm. The beach is pretty much deserted despite the pleasant weather but we still keep the dogs on their leads as per the instructions from Carole. We wander along the sand, James chatting to Arlo about school and cartoons while Claire and I have the very important discussion about what she should wear for her date. It lessens the guilt over emotionally blackmailing her into joining us when we settle on the perfect outfit.

‘Old man’s pub?’

We’ve dropped the dogs off at the shelter, promising to return soon, when James makes the suggestion. I’m not covered in mud this time, but the idea of a beer is extremely appealing right now.

‘I can’t.’ Claire nods down at Arlo. ‘Bath and bedtime for this one. But you guys have fun.’ She pulls me into a hug. ‘Thank you for your advice. And sorry again for the phone thing.’ She releases me and takes a step back. ‘This was fun. Let me know when you’re going out with the dogs again.’

‘You want to do this?’ I thrust a thumb at the animal shelter we’re leaving behind. ‘Again?’

Claire shrugs. ‘I’m a single mum. I don’t have much of a social life apart from going on terrible dates with terrible men. It makes a change to do something that doesn’t end with me feeling like C.R.A.P.’ She spells the word for Arlo’s benefit. ‘So, yeah, I’d love to do this again.’ She lifts a hand in farewell and I’m left wondering about her choice of words. Social life? Is that what this is? A social event? I suppose we do chat while we walk, and then there’s the pub afterwards. Perhaps I can tick an item off my list, which makes breathing in Fizz’s foul smells almost worth it.

True to her word, Claire joins us for our next dog-walking stint. And she isn’t the only one who wants to volunteer. After hearing about our walks and seeing the photos of the dogs on Claire’s phone, Maryam asked if she could tag along to the next one. And when Ross found out we were going on a team-building exercise, he insisted on joining in too (nobody sold it to him as team building, or anything to do with the chippy, but I suspect he has a little crush on Maryam and saw an opportunity to spend an hour with her away from the grease and hairnets).

Claire is working during our fourth walk, but with Maryam and Ross on board, we have a dog each, which feels much more manageable. James sticks with Baby, Maryam falls head over heels for Star and, with a choice of stink-bomb Fizz and ‘spirited’ Sabre, I opt for the super-smelly one as I haven’t forgotten about the mudbath I was treated to in the park. I warn Ross about Sabre’s sudden pursuit of anything that moves but the mischievous mutt trots along by Ross’ side perfectly, which I take as a personal insult.

Walking as a foursome feels like much more of a social event, as does the drink in the pub afterwards. Maryam and Ross insist on going to the Red Lion (Maryam because her grandad drinks in the Fisherman and Ross because he’d walk off the cliffs into the sea if Maryam said it was a good idea) and when James joins in the coaxing, I feel outnumbered. So, for the first time since my break-up with Dane, I step into my old local, and do you know what? It’s fine. Nobody points at me or even looks at me, knowing I’m the girl whose boyfriend was stolen by the barmaid. I can’t see Dane or any of my old mates and after a few minutes I forget to look as I’m having such a good time with my new friends. After a few drinks, we head home via the chippy, where Bridget scowls as she serves us our chips.

‘Nobody told me there were team-building exercises going on.’

‘Would you have come if we had?’ I take the bag of chips, unfolding the paper even though I’d intended to eat them up in the flat. I’m starving after all that exercise and fresh air.

‘Walking dogs? Not a chance. Can’t stand the flea-bitten things.’ She pulls a face before turning to scoop more chips into paper. ‘But it would have been polite to ask.’

‘Bridget.’ I pluck a chip from my bag and blow on it. ‘Would you like to come dog-walking with us next time?’

Bridget starts to aggressively wrap up the next portion of chips. ‘And who would run this place?’

I roll my eyes and shove the chip in my mouth, catching Claire’s eye behind the counter, who shakes her head in despair at our colleague.

‘You guys are all up for it though?’ I look at James, Claire, Maryam and Ross in turn and I’m strangely pleased when they all say yes. Maybe this dog-walking thing isn’t so bad after all, and my social life has definitely been kick-started. That bad boy is getting ticked off my list.