McTavish on the Move by Meg Rosoff

Author:Meg Rosoff
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barrington Stoke Ltd
Published: 2021-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Each box had a big label saying where it should go in the new house, but McTavish didn’t need labels. He could tell just by sniffing.

Ava’s boxes smelled like roses and earth and complicated ideas.

Ollie’s boxes smelled like trainers, idleness and no girlfriends at all.

Betty’s boxes smelled of books, woolly jumpers and peppermint – with a most delicious hint of dog.

McTavish’s own box contained his bed, his food, his toys and his towel, and it smelled mainly of damp fur and meaty bones, which were two of the best smells in the world.

The moving men rolled up their sleeves. They wrapped and carried. They grunted and groaned. They stamped in and out of the house, time after time after time, until all the Peacheys’ possessions were loaded onto the van.

Then they all stopped and sat down at the edge of the road to rest while Ma and Pa Peachey, Ava, Ollie, Betty and McTavish spent a final few moments wandering through the house.

Now that it was empty, it didn’t feel like home any more.

All the rooms looked big and lonely. All the walls looked grubby, with outlines where pictures no longer hung and furniture no longer stood. Ollie ran from room to room shouting “Goodbye, goodbye!” because now that it was empty, the house had a very satisfying echo.

Betty looked at the empty house and remembered all the birthday parties she’d had – with presents and games and chocolate cake, because that was her favourite. She remembered all her first days of school – getting dressed in her bedroom, admiring her new clothes in the mirror and feeling a little bit nervous and excited every year.

She remembered the first day McTavish had come home to live with them – how she had sewed his bed out of an old blanket stuffed with a sleeping bag, and how he had made himself right at home from that very first day.

She thought about Ma Peachey doing yoga and the weeks that Ollie, Ava and she had learned to cook. She thought of happy games they’d played as a family and times she’d felt lonely and gone to sleep in Ma and Pa Peachey’s bed.

Betty had taken her first step in this house. She had said her first word and sung her first song. She had learned to read in this house, played with her first friend, fought with Ava and Ollie and made up again in this house. Nearly all the memories of her whole life had taken place here. And now she was leaving it behind.

Ava flung out her arms. “Metaphysics is a dark ocean without shores or lighthouse, strewn with many a philosophic wreck,” she announced.

Everyone looked confused.

“Those are the words of Immanuel Kant,” Ava said.

“Shame Immanuel Kant can’t make any sense,” Ollie sniggered.

“I shall never see these dear walls and floors and rooms and ceilings again,” Betty whispered sadly.

In front of the house, the Great Movers all jumped aboard the van at once. Ollie had to admit that it was a pretty good move.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.