with him.”
“Poor old Dr Horeheck,” Arabella said as the prof trotted off to the garage. “Such an old dear, and all alone in the world. No family. No one to make him home cooked meals … I’ll go and visit him next week and take him some meatloaf.”
Toby sniggered. “Are you trying to kill him off, Mom?”
“About my horse, Mom,” Jamie said. “I was talking to Mrs Bunhoffer today – you know that pretty German lady, Oreo’s owner?”
“Hmm,” said Arabella. She wasn’t listening. “What IS your father doing now?”
There was a scraping, rasping noise. “Hell and Damnation,” cursed the prof. Something squawked, and he reappeared dragging an enormous bird cage. A bedraggled African Grey sat on the perch. “For you Toby,” said the prof, standing with his arms stretched out like a sexy model at a car show.
“No, no, no!” Arabella exclaimed. “NO MORE PETS! I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times. But you people never listen. Who cleans up after them and feeds them and picks up their poo? ME, that’s who!”
The family ignored the ranting they’d heard so many times.
“For me, Dad?” Toby asked. His geeky face was all lit up with joy. “I’ll put him in my room with Hawking. Maybe they’ll mate.”
The parrot looked at him with its beady eyes. “Hell and Damnation,” it squawked. “Pi equals three point one four one five nine two six five.”
Everyone laughed.
“Well maybe he can stay a while, until we find him a new home,” Arabella said. “Let me take a look at him.”
She went over to the cage and began to undo the door.
“Not such a good idea, my beautiful wife,” said the prof with a hiccup. “Doesn’t like ladies.”
“Oh nonsense, I’ve treated hundreds of parrots. You’ve just got to handle them right.” She opened the cage door and reached for the parrot. He growled and scuttled away across his perch.
“Come on, Boy,” she murmured. “Let me look at you.”
The parrot bent his head and looked at the floor.
“Do you want tickles?” Arabella asked, reaching out to scratch his head.
He lunged at her, slicing her hand.
“Ouch!” she squeaked. “He bit me!”
Toby got up. “Let me,” he said, pushing his mother aside. He crouched down, murmuring softly. The parrot looked up at him and relaxed his ruffled feathers. Toby cautiously put his hand into the cage.
“Up,” said Toby. “Up you get.”
The parrot hopped onto Toby’s hand. Toby drew him out of the cage and held him, stroking his head.
“We shall never surrender,” squawked the parrot in a deep resonant voice. “We will fight them on the beaches …”
“What’s his name, Dad?” asked Tick.
“Dr Horeheck called him after his favourite scientist, Richard Dawkins.”
“That’s hilarious,” giggled Pan. “Now you’ve got Hawking and Dawkins. And they’ll both be squawking.”
Dawkins rubbed his head against Toby’s finger. “We will NEVER surrender,” he said happily.
“If Toby gets a new pet then I want one too,” Jamie said. “About my horse, Mom, Oreo is now for sale …”
“Jamie, it will be years before you’ve saved enough for a horse,” Arabella said. “Let’s talk about it nearer to the time. Now who wants seconds of the Snotterbel?”
“Fine,” said Jamie crossly when she and Pan were in her room after dinner. “If she doesn’t want to talk about it, I won’t talk about it. I’ll just sell everything I don’t want anymore and surprise her when I’ve got the full ten thousand rand.”
“Good idea,” said Pan, opening Jamie’s wardrobe. “Now let’s see what you’ve got in here that we can sell.”
4
An unwelcome visitor
“Jamie,” Arabella called up the stairs a few days later. “Unathi has taken a few days leave. I need someone to help me for a couple of hours.”
Jamie jumped up eagerly. She was stuck on her maths homework and her drippy cousin, Fifi, commonly known as Fleaflea, was hanging around being annoying. Ever since her aunt got a new job, Fifi had to come over every day after school and Jamie never seemed to be able to get rid of her. But she wasn’t going to let her mother know how much she wanted the job.
“I might be able to help. Will you pay me?” she called back.
“Same as I pay you to pack away the dog food, fifty rand an hour,” Arabella said.
“Sixty,” said Jamie. “And double for overtime. Horses are expensive, Mom.”
“Thith, Jamie,” Fleaflea said, shaking her head as Jamie ran down the stairs. “You thhouldn’t athk your mommy for money. You thhould be a nithe, helpful girl.”
Jamie ignored her. A few hours peace from Fleaflea and the chance to earn some money was just what she needed.
In the surgery Jamie pulled on a white coat, and was soon busy in the animal hospital. Arabella had been spaying dogs that morning, and Jamie’s first job was to check that all the dogs were properly awake from their anaesthetics.
She was amazed to see that they were all sitting up and wagging their tails. Jamie was sure that she wouldn’t be so cheerful if she had just had surgery. She checked that they hadn’t pulled out their stitches or chewed off their plasters. Finally she gave each a small bowl of water.
In the last cage was a Labrador puppy. He had eaten something rotten on his walk a few days before and had been very sick when his owner brought him in. He was still on a drip, but was looking much better.
Jamie rubbed his fuzzy head. “Hello, Spuddy. How are you feeling, Boy?” she murmured. Spuddy wagged his tail and licked her hand. “Mom says you can have a bit of food seeing you’re not vomiting anymore.” Jamie scooped a couple of spoons of a special diet into a bowl and gave it to the puppy. He wolfed it down without stopping to breathe. Obviously his appetite was back.
A few minutes later the consulting room door opened. “Jamie, can you come and help in here a minute, please?” Arabella called.
Arabella was in the consulting room with Mrs Van Heerden and Fluffy, a fifty kilogram Rottweiler with a bad attitude and foul smelling breath. He was muzzled but still snarling and growling. His owner was a tiny woman and there was no way she could hold the dog while Arabella examined him.
“He
