‘Where are we going?’ asked Ros. She liked to know what was happening and what to expect. Spontaneity unnerved her.

‘It’s a surprise,’ he said proudly and Ros had to quell the urge to groan. Why did people assume surprises were a good thing? It just meant one person was in control and the other powerless and at sea – something she found unsettling.

‘Could you not share your plans?’ she asked as they walked out of the building.

‘I think you’ll like it. It’s a nice thing. It’s a bit of a walk but we have plenty of time so tell me how you’re getting on with Gazza. Are you two bonding?’

‘It’s hard to bond with someone when they’re pissing on your curtains,’ said Ros and Cameron belly-laughed.

‘I can understand that. He was in a strange place and probably felt the need to mark his territory.’

‘It wasn’t his territory to mark. And imagine if we all did that every time we stayed in a hotel room.’

‘If we did that they’d have to change the name of Ibis to the Ipiss,’ said Cameron.

‘Very droll.’

‘Was it just the curtains or . . . ?’

‘No, he didn’t like where I put his water bowl so he moved that onto my rug, so that was soggy but thankfully that was only water. Dad said he sleeps wherever his blanket is but failed to point out that it would be Gazza who decided where that would be and not me. I had to remove it from my bedroom three times before I put him in the kitchen area where he proceeded to make the most ungodly noise and scratch my paintwork. At which point I relented and then we had a battle of where in the bedroom his blanket would reside. I initially won with on the floor in the corner but I woke up in the small hours fearing I had developed asthma as I couldn’t breathe properly, to find he was sleeping on my chest and had left his saliva-covered chew toy on my pillow.’

‘Oh well now, that’s a gift. I’d say that’s definitely progress.’

‘And then he destroyed my favourite cushion.’

‘Hmm.’

‘Obviously I won’t tell Dad any of this because he’d feel bad and he’d want to pay for the damage. And he’d also not bring him to stay again.’

‘You’re up for that are you? Another Gazza sleepover?’

‘I’d rather not but as Dad declines, I can’t see any other choice.’

‘You’re doing really well, you know. I’d be a mess if this was one of my parents but you’re really practical and keeping it together, which is way more helpful than I’d be.’

‘Thank you.’

‘You’re welcome.’

Outside it was a bright, crisp day as they made their way through Ocean Village. They walked for a bit in silence until Cameron turned to her. ‘Here’s a question. Do you think we’re hand holders?’ he asked, holding his out for her to take.

She glanced at his outstretched palm. She wasn’t big on physical contact. It wasn’t something she’d done with any legitimate boyfriends. ‘Sorry, I don’t think we are. It’s more that I’m not great with anything like that.’

‘That’s okay. I’m a big hugger. I’m sure if we take it slow we’ll find some middle ground.’

Ros wasn’t so sure. ‘Are we any closer to you revealing where we’re going?’ she asked.

‘Nope.’

‘Shame,’ said Ros and they carried on walking in step.

They turned onto St Mary’s Place, which was a fairly ordinary street with a variety of trees on one side of the road as that was the edge of Hoglands Park. Ros was intrigued as to where they were heading. She was pleasantly surprised when they entered Hoglands Park and she saw a crowd of people in cricket whites. They headed in that direction. ‘We both like cricket and whilst it’s only a local match it’s dog-friendly,’ said Cameron, his eyes conveying his trepidation as to whether or not he’d done the right thing. Ros couldn’t help but be touched by his thoughtfulness and planning.

‘It’s a lovely idea. Thank you. It might be dog-friendly but I’m not sure he’s cricket-friendly,’ said Ros, holding on to Gazza’s lead with two hands as he strained to get to a man who was polishing a cricket ball on his trousers.

‘He’ll be good, won’t you, boy?’ asked Cameron and Gazza gave him a worried look.

‘I used to go to the cricket with my dad. It’s my earliest memory, just him and I watching the cricket. Mum would never go with him, so as soon as I was old enough to sit still he took me along.’

‘What happened to your mum?’ asked Cameron.

This wasn’t something Ros usually discussed. It was one of the subjects she sidestepped. Usually she found a way to avoid talking about it if she could but something about Cameron’s expectant face made her feel she should say something, even if it was only part of the story. ‘She left when I was young. I was seven.’

‘And she’s never contacted you?’

Ros clenched her teeth together. This was harder than she’d thought it would be. That familiar feeling of abandonment always much closer at hand than she liked. ‘She used to call each week but I would ask her to come home and she’d say she couldn’t and I’d get upset. And I think she got fed up of repeating herself so she stopped calling. There have been a number of points in my life – landmark birthdays, exam results, graduation – when she has shown up out of duty but I’ve not seen her for five years.’ Cameron’s look of pity was hard to take. ‘But it has taught me an important lesson.’

‘That grown-ups are twats sometimes?’

‘I was thinking more that you can’t rely on anyone in this life but yourself.’

‘Wow,’ said Cameron, his eyes wide.

‘Sorry, what do you mean by wow?’

‘That’s either really deep or the saddest thing I’ve ever heard.’

She didn’t need his pity. ‘It’s a simple fact.’

‘But you can’t go through life being closed off to opportunities. They come from opening yourself up. By helping others and letting other people help you. Life is a team sport – we all get much more out of it if we work together.’

What he was saying sounded familiar. ‘Have you recently been on a training course?’

He laughed. ‘No. It’s what I believe. Maybe you can’t always rely on others but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give people the benefit of the doubt; they might surprise you. Anyway, let’s get some lemonade,’ he said, offering her the crook of his arm. She hesitated for a moment but the old-fashioned gesture did appeal to her so she took his arm and they went to find somewhere to sit.

Cameron took off his backpack and, like a hairy Mary Poppins, he proceeded to pull a multitude of things from it including a picnic rug, plastic cups and a Tupperware box. It took Gazza a while to settle as he was immensely keen to join in with the match, but thankfully he stopped barking during the second over – thanks to the lure of a sausage roll. The sun came out and they were able to take off their jackets and despite it only being a local match the cricket was of a good standard. Cameron had made cheese and pickle sandwiches and brought a pig’s ear for Gazza, which he was thrilled with. Cameron handed Ros a packet of Hula Hoops and refilled her lemonade. She was having an unexpectedly nice time.

That evening Ros let herself into her dad’s house to return Gazza as planned. The little black dog was excited to be reunited with his owner but Ros didn’t want him dashing off and alarming her dad. She worried daily about how much longer they had together. She wanted more time and yet the thought of watching him slowly fade away broke her heart. She put her head around the living room door to find him asleep in his chair. It wasn’t like him to nap. It made her sad to see him looking so tired and drawn. His skin had a dull hue and his sparkle was definitely fading. She knew she had to get used to this and that things would only become increasingly worse over the coming weeks, but it was still hard to accept.

‘Gently now,’ she told Gazza as she let him off his lead and he dashed to his master.

‘Oh, hello, fella,’ said Barry, coming to. Gazza and Barry were overjoyed to be reunited. ‘Thanks for having him, Ros. How was he?’ he asked before turning to Gazza. ‘Were you a good boy for Ros? Were you?’

‘He was fine,’ she said. It almost felt like Gazza gave her a look of thanks that she’d lied about how he had behaved at the sleepover. The litany of offences was still fresh in her mind. She feared her dog-sitting would become a more regular thing so she’d just have to get used to that too.

Chapter Fourteen

Sunday lunch at her dad’s was marginally less daunting than the previous week. They’d decided that whilst Cameron wouldn’t go along every week they needed to try to put things straight and upsell the relationship to Barry. Once the welcomes were out of the way and Gazza had brought Cameron his chew toy and half a plant pot he’d discovered in the garden, they congregated in the kitchen where Ros was keeping an eye on the dinner.