in the direction of Doreen’s clean washing.
‘Will you stop that?’ I growled.
But Hugo took no notice of me as he continued to play chase with himself.
‘Pay no attention, Perce.’ Doreen sniffed as we walked across the garden to the shed. ‘He’s a child, it’s his job to wind you up.’
I looked at her in confusion. ‘What did she mean by wind me up? I knew some of Jenny’s toys when she was smaller needed winding, and one of Simon’s watches apparently always needed winding too, driving him ‘up the bloody wall’, but I had no idea why I needed winding or why Hugo would try to do it. I was just about to open my mouth and ask why when I caught sight of Doreen’s face, it was the picture of concern.
‘Eric was only here a moment ago,’ she said to herself as we reached the open shed door. ‘He wanted to propagate some lavender he said. So where’s he gone?’
Quickly, she peered inside the wooden shed, which was filled with garden supplies, but it was clear to both of us that the empty structure contained no lavender and no Eric.
Just then, Gail appeared at the garden gate with Ben on one hip, Jenny and Simon just behind. Even though I’d only seen them less than an hour ago I still felt a pang of joy at the sight of my gorgeous family.
‘Thought I’d come and take those dogs off your hands.’ Gail grinned, her hair shimmering in the midday sunshine as it always did. ‘And we fancied a bit of fresh air, didn’t we?’
‘Certainly did.’ Simon nodded, looking up at the blue skies with a smile. ‘Thought you might like me to have a look at those shelves in the kitchen you wanted putting up too.’
But Doreen merely nodded as Gail caught sight of her mother’s worried expression.
‘What is it, Mum?’
‘It’s your father,’ she said quietly. ‘He’s disappeared.’
Gail narrowed her eyes in confusion. ‘Are you sure?’
‘He was just here a minute ago. And now he’s gone.’
‘Well, maybe he’s nipped to the shops or something and you didn’t hear him call to tell you that’s where he’s gone,’ Gail suggested, adjusting Ben on her hip.
About to open her mouth to reply, Hugo rushed past Doreen, almost toppling her over with his speed.
‘Will you stop it,’ I yapped crossly. ‘Go and lie under the tree in the shade and calm down.’
Looking contrite, Hugo retreated immediately while my eyes rested on the older woman. In that instant I saw that same look of fear that I had witnessed yesterday. There was clearly something very seriously wrong.
‘It’s not the first time he’s done this,’ Doreen admitted shakily, sinking onto the wooden bench that stood nearby. ‘He vanished a few weeks back, turned up at Instow wandering the shoreline of all places.’
‘You never said,’ Gail exclaimed, taking a seat next to her mother.
‘What happened, Doreen?’ Simon asked, his voice rich with concern.
Doreen looked at the floor. ‘Just that, love. I came home from line dancing, cross because he was supposed to have picked me up and he’d clean forgotten. Gone for a walk along the coast, he said, no apology nothing. Said I’d got confused! Me!’
‘That’s why you were so upset about him forgetting where the stuff in the kitchen went yesterday,’ Jenny gasped.
‘Yes, love. I thought a move up here might give him a change, refresh his energy levels a bit, you know.’ Doreen sighed.
Gail smiled sympathetically at her mother as she jiggled Ben in her arms. ‘Look, he’s just getting a bit forgetful that’s all. He’s had a lot on his plate, you know what it’s like when you’re anxious about something.’
Silently, Doreen nodded.
‘Well, that’s it then.’ Simon shrugged, stuffing his hands in his jeans pockets. ‘He’s just a bit overwrought with the move that’s all. We’ll keep an eye on him, but I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about. Let’s just think about where he might have gone now.’
Doreen rested her head in her hands as she obviously tried to think about where her husband could have gone.
‘I just don’t know,’ Doreen said tearfully. ‘We’ve only been here a few days and the only other place he knows is your house.’
‘Right,’ said Gail determinedly. ‘Jenny, can you nip back and see if you can find Granddad at ours.’
‘OK,’ Jenny replied, before a flicker of confusion crossed her freckled features. ‘Just one thing though – where’s Hugo?’
Alarm shot through me as I glanced around the garden and saw that my son too had vanished. Frantically, I raced around the lawn, bypassing the rose bushes, dodging the pergola and checking the rockery to see if I hadn’t somehow misplaced my son. But he was nowhere to be found. Panic washed over me and I slumped to the ground, the grass tickling my nose. Where on earth could Hugo be? Hadn’t he listened to me yesterday when I drummed it into him that he was not to disappear? Panic coursed through my fur at the thought of my boy all alone, wandering the streets of London. Had he vanished because I lost my temper? Was it my fault he had disappeared? In that moment all I felt was guilt for every harsh bark I had ever uttered in his direction. He wasn’t naughty, he was young and I would trade everything if Hugo was safe.
As we all looked at each other wild-eyed, I knew this wasn’t the time to panic and we had to keep calm. Eric was a grown man, he was perfectly entitled to go for a walk if he wanted to. As for Hugo, well he might be young, but he wasn’t stupid, of that I was sure.
‘OK,’ said Gail, as if reading my mind. ‘Let’s try and think logically about where each of them could be. Is it possible they could be together?’
I glanced at Gail as if she were some kind of genius! Yes, of course, Hugo must have gone to find Eric. After all, they had appeared to have developed some sort of bond. Why hadn’t I thought of that?
‘So, Mum, you said Dad was in the shed right?’ Gail continued.
Doreen gave a small nod of her head.
‘So if gardening is on his mind, then he’s likely nipped out to find a garden centre,’ Gail reasoned.
‘But Hugo doesn’t know what a garden centre is,’ I whined. ‘How will we even know they’ve ended up together?’
Gail handed Ben to her mother, and stroked my head, picking up on my worry. ‘Don’t worry, Percy. I’ve never lost one of my children yet, I’m not about to start with one of yours.’
I licked her hand, grateful she was trying to calm me down, but while we had come up with a plan to find Eric, would we find Hugo? All of a sudden, images of telling
