3 Heads & a Tail (26 page)

“
H
ow was your day?
”
asked Ben.

“
Interesting!
”
said Kay
.

“
W
hat happened?
”
he asked.

“
It can wait,
”
answered Josie.
“
It might
be best to tell you later.
”

“
Ok
ay –
I
'
m wondering now!
”

“
Don
'
t worry about me,
”
said
Ayla
.
“
I can keep secrets!
”

“
It
'
s not that,
”
explained Josie.
“
It
'
s just a bit delicate!
”

“
Not the only thing that was probably feeling a bit delicate!
”
laughed Kay, who then fell sil
ent as Josie shot her a reproachful look
.

“
Come on, you have to
tell us
now,
”
said Ben
, mystified
.

Glen looked up and Mimi sat down.
Ayla
leaned against Ben.

“
Tell them,
”
said Kay.

“
Fine. W
ell...
”

T
he front door opened and slammed
shut
. Josie
fell silent
and started preparing the tea.

David poked his head into the kitchen.
“
Hi gu
ys,
”
he said, flicking his hair, but
looking
slightly awkward
.

Ben noticed
Ayla
looking at the floor, shyly. Not again, he thought.
Not
'
The David Effect
'
!

“
Hi,
David
!
”
said Kay.
“
How are you today?
”

“
I
'
m fine,
”
he replied.
“
I had a pretty good day today, but then some things are best
kept
secret
.
”

H
e looked directly
at Kay, who pouted.

Josie sigh
ed. Perhaps it wasn
'
t suc
h a good idea to say anything – it m
ight
open
a
giant
can of worms.

“
Anyway, I
'
ve got
some guitar riffs to learn. C
a
tch you later,
”
said David
.

“
That guy looks familiar,
”
said
Ayla
, playing with one of her plaits.

“
Have you met him before?
”
asked Ben.

“
No
,
”
replied
Ayla
, frowning.
“
I
'
ve never spoken to him before, but I
'
ve definitel
y seen him somewhere
recent
ly
.
”

“
Maybe in the park,
”
suggested Josie.
“
He sometimes walks Glen.
”

“
I think it
'
s a ruse to pick up women!
”
laughed Ben.

“
Does it work?
”
asked
Ayla
.

“
It
always works. That
'
s why he
'
s so
cocky!
When I first met him he was geeky looking, but then he
improved, like one of them male models.
”

“
He is very good
looking,
”
agreed
Ayla
.

Ben frowned.

“
B
ut th
ere
'
s something
fake about him.
I guess some girls like that plastic, empty-headed look, but not me!
”
She spun round and gave Ben a peck on the cheek.
“
I prefer more interesting guys!
”

Ben
'
s face lit up with a big smile.

Everyone seemed to
have forgotten the big story
, and Josie was thankful. Perhaps it was best not to say anything. She
'
d have to
weigh
it
up. Maybe
David
simply
liked older women. It didn
'
t mean he was getting free rent and
,
even if he was, the landlady seemed to be enjoying hersel
f
! Josie hoped she was getti
ng value for money.
Judging by
her
screams earlier, she guessed that she
probably
was.

“
I should get going
soon,
”
announced
Ayla
, sipping
her
herbal
tea.
“
I have to take Mimi home.
”

“
She
'
s a lovely dog,
”
said Josie.
“
Have you had her long?
”

“
Oh, she
'
s not mine,
”
replied
Ayla
.
“
I
'
m a dog walke
r. I
'
m studying at U
ni, but I walk
dog
s for people
so I can pay my way. It
'
s fun and Mimi is my regular.
”

“
Must be a nice job
if you like dogs,
”
said Kay.
“
Do you get any difficult ones?
”

“
I have
had
,
”
recalled
Ayla
.
“
But then I don
'
t keep the job. I
'
ve had some dogs that I can
'
t control. They just charge off or bark at eve
rything. One chased squirrels!
I was scared I
'
d be burying the
poor
creatures.
”

“
But Mimi
'
s ok
ay
?
”
asked Josie.

“
Yeah, I love her
to bits
,
”
said
Ayla
.
“
I
'
m going to miss her when I have to stop walking her.
”

“
Why would yo
u have to do that?
”
asked Kay.

“
W
ell, when I finish studying in a few months – I
'
m studying English Literature – I
'
m going to do another year,
but in America,
study
ing
American Lit. I can
'
t wait, but I
'
m going to miss some things,
”
she said, squ
eezing Ben
'
s hand.

“
D
oes Mimi
'
s owner know she has a boyfriend?
”
Josie
asked, nodding at Glen.

Ayla
laughed.
“
No, no
,
she doesn
'
t, but I
'
m thinking
that maybe I should tell her.
”

Ben sighed.
“
Do you think she
'
ll
be happy about it?
”

“
Is she a pedigree dog?
”
asked Kay.
“
Glen
'
s just a mutt
,
isn
'
t he?
”

The dog
looked up and whined. Josie frowned. He couldn
'
t po
ssibly know what Kay had said, could he?
Crazy
notion!

“
Actually, he is
pedigree. His dad is a Crufts Champion!
”
said Ben proudly.

“
Really? That
'
s so co
ol,
”
said Josie.
“
Hey
,
Glen, you
'
re
a
posh
dude
.
”

Glen wagged his tail and she gave him a fuss.

“
Ah, th
at reminds me,
”
said
Ayla
, turning
to Ben.
“
I forgot to
tell you
, but Mrs Hill is trying to breed Mimi
with another dog
. Only o
ne dog
has visited
the house
so far
and he was no good
. S
he
wants a pedigree dog, you see,
but I guess it
'
s only a matter of time before...
”

“
P
uppies!
”
said Kay.

Mimi whined and hid behind Glen. He nuzzled her. Josie noticed and til
ted her head, watching them. No
one else appeared to have
noticed their behaviour
.

“
What can we do?
”
asked Ben, looking at Glen. If it was him, he
'
d be devastated
if his girlfriend was in this situation!
He wondered what dogs thought about this
sort of thing
.

“
They
'
re only dogs,
”
sighed
Kay.
“
What
'
s the problem?
She
'
s in heat. It
'
s natural.
”

“
Why not
tell M
rs Hill about Glen
'
s background?
”
Josie suggested.
“
Maybe she
'
ll be happy for him to... you know.
”

Glen woofed and wagged his tail. Josie cast him an odd look.

“
That
'
s a good idea,
”
said Ben.

“
I
'
ll talk to her, and see if she
'
ll agree to meet you,
”
said
Ayla
.
“
I
'
m sorry
,
but I
really
have to go
now
.
Mrs Hill lo
ves her dog so much that she
panic
s
if I
'
m five minutes late.
”