Kika and Me by Amit Patel

Author:Amit Patel
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pan Macmillan UK

15

A Brush with the Law

In October 2015, only a few weeks after I qualified to take Kika out unsupervised, Seema and I were due to go to Amsterdam to celebrate her father’s sixtieth birthday along with all of her family. The trip had been booked for months and was supposed to be a surprise for her father. Since Kika had only recently come into our lives, and it had all come about so quickly, I knew I would have to pull out. Kika and I were still getting used to one another and, in accordance with Guide Dogs’ guidelines, it would be another six months before we were allowed to travel abroad together, to make sure we were properly bonded. So while Seema joined the rest of the Mistry clan in the Netherlands, I would have to stay behind.

I was sad to be missing what was bound to be a great party, but I was pretty confident that Kika and I would be OK on our own for the weekend. I’d got used to being alone in the flat long before she came along. That was no problem. And it would be a quiet weekend; I didn’t have anywhere in particular I needed to be. Seema had stocked up the fridge for us and we had our well-practised walks for when Kika needed exercise. The rest of the time, we would relax and enjoy ourselves and continue to get to know each other better. I reassured Seema that everything would be fine in her absence. I wanted her to enjoy her dad’s birthday to the full.

Seema left for Amsterdam on a Friday. On the first night, Kika and I hung out in the flat together. I could tell that Kika enjoyed having my full attention without having to compete with my wife! Meanwhile, I enjoyed having someone to chat to, even if Kika only gave the occasional loud yawn in response.

On Saturday afternoon, it was time to take Kika out for some exercise. The weather was changeable but I decided we had time to take a walk along the docks to the university between rain showers. It was the route we’d taken on our very first walk together.

Kika knew the university walk well by now and it all went swimmingly until we got to the university gate. It was closed. I asked the security guard for help but he wouldn’t let us through. This meant we couldn’t do our usual circuit. The guard told me that we would have to walk right around the campus instead.

Realizing that the guard would not be moved, I took a deep breath and worked out what to do next. Thus far, Kika and I had always stuck to routes we knew well, but I figured that it was as good a time as any for us to experiment with finding a new route spontaneously. This sort of thing was bound to happen eventually.

‘Forward.’

I gave Kika her instructions and we set off in what I thought was the right direction to get back to the flat.

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