“You mean like you have to move on from parking spaces?” Anna asked, surprised. She hadn’t realized it worked the same way for boats.
“Mm-hm. We can stay until Monday morning, but that’s all.”
Anna giggled. “It’s not like the end of our road where you can only park for two hours, then!”
Grandad snorted. “Well, not quite.”
“So – Mum and Dad will walk across here tomorrow, to come and see us?” Anna asked, with a tiny sigh.
“Yes. Are you OK, Anna?” Grandad looked at her worriedly. “I know you’ll miss Fred, but he really will be happier back home, I think.”
“Maybe,” Anna agreed quietly. She couldn’t help thinking that Fred would be happiest wherever she was. He was used to her being around, except when she was at school. And even then he would be at the front door to meet her as soon as she got back, flinging himself at her, barking and whining as if he’d thought he was never going to see her again.
Grandad gave her a sympathetic smile. “Look, why don’t you take him for a really good run across that field now? Your gran’s going to be a while cooking the dinner. You might even be able to let him off the lead – there doesn’t seem to be anyone else around. Just don’t go out of the field, though, will you? So that I know where you are?”
Anna nodded. “I promise. Come on, Fred!”
Fred looked over at the field hopefully, and his long tail swished slowly from side to side.
“Yes! Walk! Come on!” Anna patted her hand against her leg, and Fred leaped joyfully forward, prancing through the gate into the field. It was long, tussocky grass, and he and Anna raced across it, Anna laughing and stumbling as she tried to keep up with him.
“Slow down a minute! Fred, come on, stop. Then I can get your lead off. Yes, you see, silly, that’s what you want, isn’t it?” Fred danced about excitedly while Anna unclipped the lead, and then he bounded away, barking like a mad thing.
Anna watched him, giggling. She loved it when he ran so fast that his ears flapped. Today, he looked as though he might even take off.
Then she sighed and wrapped her arms around her middle. She knew that sending Fred home tomorrow was the sensible thing to do, but she still wasn’t happy about it. And she didn’t think Fred would be, either.
Chapter Five
Anna’s mum and dad arrived the next day in time for lunch. They’d brought a lovely picnic with them, with loads of sandwiches and a chocolate cake, and they ate it under one of the oak trees in the big field. Then Dad and Anna played Frisbee with Fred, sending him racing across the field. Fred was excellent at catching the Frisbee – he did huge ballet-dancer leaps to grab it. But as the afternoon wore on, Anna kept thinking that Mum and Dad would have to go soon, and take Fred with them. She hardly ate any of the lasagne that Gran had made for dinner. Somehow she just didn’t feel hungry.
“We should get back,” Anna’s dad said at last, peering at his watch. “We’ve got work tomorrow and it must be nearly your bedtime, Anna, even if it is the holidays. It’s starting to get dark. But it’s been a really good day.”
Anna gulped and looked over at Fred, who was snoozing in the corner. He looked angelic – maybe Gran would say he could stay after all? But then she blew her hot fringe off her forehead, and remembered that it was so warm because the saloon doors were tightly closed. Closed to keep Fred in, so he didn’t try to leap over the side of the boat. He’d nearly jumped into the canal again this morning, after he’d spotted a swan sailing grandly past.
“Do you want to gather Fred’s stuff together?” Mum suggested gently. Then she saw Anna’s worried face. “It’ll be OK,” she said. “I’ve got so much work done over the last few days, I can definitely take time off for some really good walks with Fred.”
“I know,” Anna murmured, picking up Fred’s bowls and tipping his water into the kitchen sink. She polished them dry with some kitchen roll and started to fill the bag with all of Fred’s things. One of the rubber bones squeaked as she picked it up, and Fred bounced up off his cushion, as though Anna had shouted his name.
He trotted over to her happily, waiting for her to throw him the toy. It was going to be difficult playing catch, with all these people squashed on to the boat, but it would still be fun.
But Anna just stared down at him sadly and put the squeaky bone into the bag that they’d brought with them to the boat.
Fred watched her, confused, and then realized what this meant. Of course! They were going home! He wagged his tail so hard it thumped against Anna’s legs, but for some reason she didn’t look very happy.
Helpfully, he hurried back to his cushion and picked it up in his teeth, ready to go.
Dad laughed. “Look, Fred’s keen to get in the car.” He came over to Anna, and hugged her. “Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. I can take him for a walk after work, too, you know.”
“I just think he’ll miss me,” Anna sniffed. Or maybe he wouldn’t at all, and that would be almost worse.
Dad gave her a kiss and gathered up the bag, and Mum clipped on Fred’s lead.
Anna and Gran and Grandad came out to the bow of the boat to wave goodbye, and even Sunny got up out of his basket to come and see what was going on.
Mum and Dad jumped over on to the bank, and Fred did a giant leap after them. He didn’t look too worried, Anna thought sadly.
But then as Mum went to open the gate, Fred looked back and realized that Anna wasn’t coming with them. He let out a little whine of surprise and stopped to wait for her.
“Come on, Fred!” Mum pulled gently on his lead, but Fred was pretty heavy when he didn’t want to move.
“Oh…” Anna whispered. “He wants to stay.”
She’d been wrong to think she’d be upset if he just walked away. It was much worse watching Fred turn his head from side to side, glancing anxiously between her and Mum and Dad, obviously not understanding what was going on. She wouldn’t have minded if he’d trotted happily across the field, after all. She wished he had.
Mum pulled the lead a bit harder, and Fred lurched to his feet, padding unwillingly after her.
Anna started to cry, and Gran hugged her. Even Sunny came over to her and pressed comfortingly against her leg. She turned her face into Gran’s chest so she didn’t have to watch.
Fred could hear Anna crying as Mum pulled him across the field and he hated it. He knew that was a bad noise – that it meant something was wrong. He didn’t want Anna to sound like that, and he stopped suddenly, yanking at his lead so hard that he slipped his collar. He pulled even harder, dragging it over his ears, and then he was free.
Anna’s mum had been holding the lead tightly, but when Fred got free she lost her balance and half fell over. “Fred, no! Come back! Bad dog!”
Fred flattened his ears and looked at her worriedly. He’d done something wrong, he knew he had. But it couldn’t really be wrong, because he needed to go and help Anna. He laid his ears back apologetically, and then he turned and raced back across the field to get to her.
“Fred, get back here!” Anna’s dad yelled, dropping the bags and starting to chase after him. “No! Here!”
Fred flinched as he heard the shouting. He hated it when people shouted at him, and it seemed to have been happening all the time recently. Anna’s grandad kept being cross with him, and now Dad was as well. He darted through the gate and saw Anna, still standing on the boat, watching sadly.