Flight by Rosie Dub

Author:Rosie Dub
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2012-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The dog noticed them first, setting up a riotous barking before hurtling down the hill to welcome them. They’d got off the bus at the shop in Ferry Road and were walking up a long steep driveway towards a white weatherboard house that was shaped in a broad V, as if it were opening its arms to embrace the view of the harbour below.

As they walked, a small group of sheep fled across the long grass, panicking at the intrusion. Fern counted five of them.

‘Hey, Mutt,’ said Adam, as the dog reached them and went into paroxysms of excitement, the back half of his body wagging so hard he looked as if he would snap in two. He gave Fern a half-hearted sniff, then returned to Adam, whining and whimpering with delight.

‘Thought you would have carked it by now.’ His eyes brimming with tears, Adam dropped to his knees and let the old dog lick his face.

Fern watched this reunion, wishing there was someone, somewhere, who would greet her like that. Dogs loved you no matter what. She’d needed that when she was a kid – something to cuddle and confide in. In the end she’d given that honour to a stuffed elephant Grace had made for her one Christmas.

Adam stood up, laughing. ‘Look at him, panting away. After this he’ll probably need to sleep for the rest of the day.’

Fern reached down to stroke the old dog. His hair was grey in places, there were bald patches on his back and he smelled pretty horrible, but the love in his eyes made up for all that as he followed them, wheezing, up the hill to the house.

‘Hello?’ a woman called, a question mark in her voice.

Fern looked up to see a woman standing near the gate at the top of the drive. She was shielding her eyes from the sun, trying to make out the figures walking up the hill. As they got closer, Fern could see she was stocky, with thick ankles and sturdy calves below her dress. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail and streaked heavily with grey, and her face was weathered and heavily wrinkled, especially around the eyes. She looked as if she’d spent her life outdoors.

‘Hey, Mum,’ said Adam, a note of resignation in his voice.

There was a pause. ‘Adam? Is that you, Adam?’ They were close now and the woman let out a quick gasp and put her hand to her mouth. ‘Oh Adam … I didn’t … I didn’t know what had happened to you.’

Adam and his mother stood facing each other awkwardly, as if unsure how to step across the space between them. Fern watched the flood of emotions cross the woman’s face – love, excitement, joy, disbelief and anger – all in the space of a few seconds.

‘You’re safe,’ she said finally. ‘That’s all that matters.’ Then she stepped forward, taking Adam in her arms and holding him tight, the tears pouring down her cheeks and onto his t-shirt.

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