Buttons the Runaway Puppy

Chapter Six

Sophie had made her mum phone the hospital every day to see how Mr Jenkins was, and to pass on messages about how well Buttons was doing. Mr Jenkins had had to have an operation on his leg, but he was getting better quickly, and the nurses told her that he could have visitors. They even suggested that Sophie, Michael and Tom came, saying that he talked about them all the time and how clever they’d been to rescue him. Mr Jenkins’s son had rung the Martins to say how grateful he was to them for looking after Buttons. He begged them to visit too, as he wasn’t able to stay away from his family in Scotland for very long, and he was worried that his dad was lonely in the hospital.

So on Monday, just over a week after Mr Jenkins’s accident, Sophie and Tom and their mum knocked on the door of Mr Jenkins’s room. Luckily it was on the ground floor, as Michael was still outside – with Buttons.

Mr Jenkins was sitting up in bed, reading a newspaper and looking very bored, but he threw it down delightedly when he saw them.

“You came to see me!” he exclaimed. “Is Buttons all right?” he asked eagerly, and Sophie and Tom grinned at each other. Mum had checked with the nurses, and they’d said it was all right to move his bed closer to the window.

“We’ve got a surprise!” Sophie explained, as she helped to push the bed to the window. “Look!”

Just outside the window was Michael. Except they couldn’t really see him, because he was holding Buttons up in front of his face. She wriggled and woofed delightedly as soon as she saw her owner, and tried to lick the glass.

“Oh, I wish we could bring her in,” Sophie said sadly. “She’s so pleased to see you.”

“You’ve looked after her so well,” Mr Jenkins said, smiling. “I can’t wait to be out of this place and have her back home with me.”

Sophie nodded and smiled, but his words made her feel sick. How could she go back to only seeing Buttons when she walked past Mr Jenkins’s garden? She couldn’t bear it, after having Buttons almost for her own.

Sophie had known all along that Buttons would have to go home again. But the gorgeous puppy felt like a part of the family now. It was going to be so hard to give her up. She could tell from looking at Mr Jenkins how happy he was to see Buttons. The little dog was all the company he had, now his family had moved away. But Sophie felt like she needed Buttons too. And Buttons needed owners who could give her all the exercise a bouncy young dog had to have. It was so hard.

Sophie was very silent all the way home, and then she took Buttons up to her room (she wasn’t supposed to have her on the bed, but Mum pretended not to notice the hairs). Sophie stroked the puppy’s velvety ears, and sighed.

Buttons looked at Sophie, her head on one side, her dark eyes sparkling. She gave a hopeful little bark, and nudged her rubber bone towards her. Sometimes they played a really good game where Sophie pretended to pull the bone away, and Buttons pretended to do fierce growling. But maybe Sophie didn’t want to play that today.

Sophie tickled her under the chin, and Buttons closed her eyes and whined with pleasure. Sophie knew just where to scratch.

Sophie sniffed back tears. “I can’t give you back,” she whispered. “I just can’t.” But she knew she would have to soon.

“Do you really think we can?” Sophie asked excitedly.

Tom nodded. “I think so. She’s so good now. We’ve been training her to walk to heel and stay for nearly a month. Anyway, the common’s not too busy today, so hopefully she won’t be tempted to dash off and see any other dogs.”

“And we’ve worn her out a good bit already,” Michael pointed out.

“OK then.” Sophie knelt down next to Buttons, who was sitting, panting happily with her tongue hanging out. It had been a long, hot walk up to the highest point of the common. Sophie’s heart started to thump a little as she slipped the catch on Buttons’s lead. How would she react?

Buttons looked round in surprise. Then she gave a pleased little woof, but she didn’t make a run for it, as Sophie had dreaded she would. She gazed up at Sophie, as though she was checking Sophie had really meant to let her off the lead. Then she trotted off a few metres, found an enormous stick and dragged it back. She dropped it at Tom’s feet, and barked pleadingly at him.

“She wants to play fetch!” Sophie exclaimed. “We haven’t even taught her that. I told you she was clever!”

“You couldn’t find anything smaller?” Tom pretended to complain, but he flung the stick as far as he could, and Buttons chased after it, barking delightedly.

They played fetch for ages, then walked home, all tired but happy.

Mum was in the kitchen, stirring her coffee round and round, and looking sad.

“What’s wrong?” Sophie asked. She had a horrible feeling she already knew.

Mum smiled. “Oh, it’s good news, really. Mr Jenkins came home from hospital yesterday. He’s much better, and he asked if we could bring Buttons home.” She waved a hand at the counter, which was piled up with Buttons’s bowls, and the toys Sophie and the boys had bought her. “I’ve got everything ready. We just need to put it all in her basket.”

Sophie slumped into a chair, and Tom and Michael leaned up against the counter, all staring at the sad little pile.

“I can’t believe she’s going,” Michael muttered.

“We just got her to come when she was called. We even let her off the lead today,” Tom said flatly.

“I know it’s hard, but we always knew she wasn’t really our dog…” Mum started. Then she sighed. “No, I can’t pretend I won’t miss her dreadfully too.”

Dad came in from the garden. “You told them then?” he murmured, seeing everyone’s miserable faces. “I’m sorry, you lot, but I told Mr Jenkins we’d be round some time this afternoon.”

Sophie’s eyes filled with tears, as she watched Dad pick up Buttons’s basket and start to pack the dog bowls into it.

Dad put the basket down, and came to give Sophie a hug. “You knew it wasn’t for always, Sophie. And you’ll still be able to see her. I bet Mr Jenkins would love you to visit.”

Sophie gulped and nodded, and Buttons nudged her affectionately, licking her hand. She wanted Sophie to cheer up, and come and play in the garden. They could do more of the fetching game, with a ball this time. But Sophie was reaching down to clip her lead back on. Buttons gave her a surprised look. Another walk? Well, that was wonderful, but right now? She was quite tired. She’d been planning to have a good long drink before she did anything else, but her water bowl seemed to have disappeared.

“Come on, Buttons!” Sophie said, trying to sound cheerful. She led the dreary little parade out of the front door.

Buttons’s tail started to wag delightedly as they walked up the path to Mr Jenkins’s front door.

“See, she’s happy to be back,” Dad said firmly.

Sophie gulped. She wanted Buttons to be happy, didn’t she? It would be horrible if she was upset as well. But all the same … didn’t Buttons love them at all? Wouldn’t she miss them, too?

Buttons waited for the door to open, her tail swinging back and forth so hard it beat against Sophie’s legs. Mr Jenkins’s house! Her old house! She was going to see her old owner.

That was what he was now. Her old owner. She belonged to Sophie these days, and Michael and Tom. But it would still be good to see him.

When the door opened, she tried to fling herself against Mr Jenkins’s legs, and lick him all over, but Sophie said, “Down, Buttons! Gently!” and she sat back at once. Of course. She had to be careful with Mr Jenkins. She padded calmly into the hallway, and let Sophie unclip her lead.

“You’ve done wonders with her,” Mr Jenkins said admiringly. “She’s so much calmer. She’s like a different dog. I just can’t thank you enough.”

“She’s been really good,” Sophie said, her voice tight. “And it was fun training her.”

Mr Jenkins offered to make them all tea, but Dad said no, they didn’t want to make work for him when he was only just back. Really he wanted to get Sophie and the boys home before Sophie burst into tears.

Buttons watched in surprise as Dad fetched her basket from the hallway and put it down in Mr Jenkins’s living room. That was her basket. She would need it. Why were they leaving it here? Then at last she understood, and she whimpered, staring up at Sophie.

“You’re home now, Buttons,” Sophie said in a very small, shaky voice. She was holding back her tears. “You’re going to look after Mr Jenkins, aren’t you?” She crouched down to stroke Buttons’s nose, and whispered, “Please don’t forget us!” in her ear.

Then they left, and Buttons stared after them out of the window. She remembered now that it was her special job to look after her old owner. But she wished she could go home with Sophie.