A Home for Shimmer Read online

  ‘You were going to drown that!’ we heard Poppy say, her voice raised even more.

  It was then I saw a tiny tabby face peek out of the bag. ‘Oh my God, Caitlin, it’s a kitten,’ I said.

  ‘I was trying to save it, you idiot,’ said the boy, just as angrily as Poppy. ‘I saw a man getting ready to throw it in the river! He ran off when he saw me coming – then I heard meowing.’

  Just at that moment, Caitlin stepped on a twig and the couple turned to look at us.

  ‘Is someone there?’ asked the boy.

  ‘What shall we do?’ I whispered.

  Caitlin shrugged. ‘Not sure, but we have to make sure that kitten is OK.’

  I took a deep breath and stepped out from our hiding place. ‘I . . . er . . . we heard voices.’

  Poppy and the boy stared at us.

  ‘Snooping?’ asked the boy. He looked about fourteen and, although he had a nice face, he had a surly expression.

  Caitlin stepped out to join me. ‘We thought someone might be in trouble.’

  ‘Someone was,’ said the boy. ‘This kitten. A man was going to chuck it in the river and now this silly girl is trying to blame me.’

  ‘Don’t you call me a silly girl,’ retorted Poppy. She was dressed in skinny jeans and the kind of tweed jacket that horse riders wear.

  I walked towards them. ‘Well, it’s safe now.’

  ‘Yeah, exactly,’ said the boy. ‘Who are you, anyway?’

  ‘Amy Westall,’ I said.

  ‘And I’m Caitlin O’Neill.’ Caitlin extended her hand with an over-dramatic flourish. ‘Who are you?’

  ‘None of your business,’ said the boy. ‘Do you always eavesdrop on people’s conversations?’

  ‘It was hardly a conversation—’ I started to say.

  ‘Everyone knows who you are,’ said Poppy to the boy. ‘You’re Liam Fisher. Everyone in the village knows your family. Well, your dad, anyway.’

  Liam’s face went red, but he didn’t respond.

  ‘What are you going to do with that kitten?’ asked Caitlin.

  Liam looked down at the bag and the little worried face peeking out. ‘Not sure yet. I’ll think of something.’ He jumped on to a skateboard by his feet and sped off, taking the tabby kitten with him.

  ‘Bring that kitten back right now!’ Poppy called after him. ‘I don’t trust you with it!’

  ‘Your problem, not mine, Princess Perfect,’ he called back over his shoulder.

  ‘I know I’ve only just met him, but I don’t think he’d hurt an animal,’ I said, ‘especially a kitten. He seemed very annoyed that you thought he was a kitten-drowner. He’s probably taking it somewhere safe.’

  As I said this, I heard the scrape of skateboard wheels getting louder again. Liam had turned around and now shoved the bag at me. ‘No, I wouldn’t hurt it.’ He looked pointedly at Poppy. ‘But here, you take it, Westall. Your dad’s the new vet, isn’t he? You’re one of the animal rescue people. You sort it out.’ He turned to Poppy. ‘Satisfied now?’

  ‘I can’t take it, Liam,’ I said. ‘We’re not a rescue centre!’

  ‘Your problem, not mine,’ said Liam. He appeared to like that line. He sped off again.

  ‘Eugh – that boy is so annoying!’ said Poppy. ‘He’s always in trouble of some sort around the village. I honestly think he was going to drown that poor cat.’

  ‘I believe him,’ Caitlin said. ‘I saw the way he looked at the kitten, his expression was kind. OK, so he could learn to be nicer to people, but I think he was trying to save it.’

  ‘Me too,’ I agreed.

  Poppy tossed her head back and looked down her nose. ‘You’re new here, aren’t you? What do you know?’

  ‘Who cares about what we know or don’t?’ said Caitlin. ‘It’s the kitten that matters. Poor thing. It needs feeding and warming up somewhere quiet.’ She took the kitten from me and began stroking it. Her face had gone all soppy and I could see that she’d fallen in love with the little fluffball.

  Further along the pathway, Liam had stopped and was watching us. He turned and came back towards us on his skateboard. In a flash he took the kitten from Caitlin. ‘If you airheads are going to stand here all day gossiping about me, I’ll take it. Your mate here is right. It needs looking after and feeding.’

  And off he went again.

  ‘Bring it up to our house later, Liam,’ I called after him. ‘My dad will sort something out. I promise.’ I knew Mum wouldn’t be pleased, seeing as we already had Cola, but I was sure that Dad wouldn’t turn the kitten away.

  Poppy let out a deep sigh of exasperation. ‘Fat lot of help you two were,’ she said and began to walk off in the opposite direction, but not before giving us a filthy look.

  ‘Nice to meet you too!’ Caitlin called after her.

  ‘Let’s go and get a hot chocolate,’ I said when Poppy and Liam had gone. ‘I hate arguments.’

  ‘Me too,’ said Caitlin, though I suspect that the drama queen in her doesn’t mind a bit of a showdown. She linked her arm through mine and we set off back to the village.

  ‘Over there,’ said Caitlin, squinting at a shop window. ‘Looks like there’s a place you can get a drink at the back of the supermarket. Though it’s hardly Café Coolsville.’

  I followed as she marched into the slightly shabby supermarket and made her way to the café at the back. We looked at the customers seated at a couple of tables. Most of them were old people.

  ‘Hmm,’ said Caitlin, then she turned to the blonde girl at the till whose badge said Rosie. She looked a few years older than us and very bored.

  ‘Where are all the people our age?’ I asked.

  Rosie, who was chewing gum, shrugged. ‘Probably at home if they’ve any sense. It’s freezing out.’

  ‘But isn’t there anywhere cooler to go?’

  Rosie snorted. ‘Round here? You have to be joking. I guess some kids go into Weston-super-Mare on a Saturday, but it’s miles away. Only one bus a day and no late one back.’

  ‘Where did you go when you were our age?’ asked Caitlin.

  ‘Dunno. Nowhere. Friends’ houses.’

  ‘What about the beach?’

  ‘Yeah. It’s good in summer. Not in this weather though. Only a mad person would go to the beach in this weather.’

  I glanced at Caitlin. She grinned. ‘Mug of hot chocolate, Mad Person Number One?’

  ‘Don’t mind if I do, Mad Person Number Two.’

  ‘You new round here?’ asked Rosie.

  Caitlin nodded.

  ‘Where do you live?’

  ‘Palcot Street,’ said Caitlin.

  ‘And I live at Silverbrook Farm,’ I said.

  ‘Oh yeah. I heard there were new people up there. It’s an animal rescue home, isn’t it?’

  ‘No. It’s not a rescue home. My dad’s a vet.’

  ‘Not what I heard,’ said Rosie. ‘I heard it was an animal rescue centre.’

  Second person today, I thought. ‘No, I think people must have got confused.’

  Rosie shrugged again and took our order. We got our hot chocolates and went to sit amongst the other customers, who were all staring at us like we were aliens. Caitlin grinned and waved at a couple, who turned away.

  I felt disappointed with the day so far. Even though I was with Caitlin, I’d hoped to find somewhere fun to hang out. Not the kind of fun that involved farting competitions, drowned kittens, and grumpy people like Liam and Poppy.

  I sighed. ‘In Bristol, there were awesome places to hang out. Cinemas, cafés, loads of cool shops.’

  ‘Same in Swindon,’ said Caitlin. She shrugged. ‘Maybe this is it. Maybe as that boy said, welcome to Trump Town.’

  ‘If you can’t beat them, join them,’ I said and did a fake burp.

  Caitlin did the same, only hers was louder.

  Chapter Five

  Love at First Sight

  Mr O’Neill gave Caitlin and me a lift back from the village. As we pulled up the drive, I cou
ld see one of the stables doors open, and Mum, Dad and Josh bent over something inside. ‘What’s going on?’ I asked, as the three of us traipsed over. Caitlin had spotted Josh, so there was no stopping her. Gross. Mum had her glum face on. Uh-oh. I hoped she hadn’t been arguing with Dad again.

  I soon saw what they were looking at. It was the most adorable white-gold puppy in a basket. ‘Ohmigod! He’s beautiful,’ I said as I knelt down to put my hand in to stroke his soft fur.

  ‘He’s a she, a golden retriever,’ said Dad.

  ‘Can I hold her?’ I asked, bouncing on my knees with excitement. Dad glanced at Mum and she rolled her eyes, then nodded. I opened the basket and the puppy crawled out, looked at all the faces staring down at her, then leaped on to my knees. She was so cute I could hardly breathe. She put her paws up on my shoulders and started licking my face with great enthusiasm. I gave her a cuddle and she wriggled happily in my arms.

  ‘I think she likes you!’ said Dad.

  ‘Who is she? Where’s she come from?’ I asked, snuggling into her fur again.

  ‘A woman brought her here this morning. She’d only had her a few weeks then heard that her mum is ill so has had to go away to take care of her.’

  ‘To New Zealand,’ added Josh. ‘She might not be back.’

  ‘Apparently word has got round the village that we’re running an animal rescue centre.’ Ah, so that explains the glum face, I thought. I’d better not say anything about Rosie in the café saying the same thing.

  Too late.

  ‘It’s true,’ said Caitlin. ‘We were in the café in the supermarket and the girl behind the counter said the same – that Silverbrook Farm is an animal rescue centre.’

  Oops.

  Mum let out an exasperated sigh. ‘You have to stop this rumour, Richie,’ she said, ‘before it gets out of hand.’

  I looked down at the puppy, who had settled herself on my knees, her tail wagging like mad. ‘But what will happen to her?’

  ‘Not just her,’ said Dad. ‘Since you left this morning, a little boy brought a bird with a damaged wing, and some kid on a skateboard brought a kitten that he found by the river. Unthinkable that someone would try to dump a poor defenceless kitten, isn’t it?’

  Mr O’Neill nodded. ‘But lots do.’

  ‘We saw him,’ I said. ‘He was arguing with a girl from our school.’

  ‘Did you tell him to bring it here?’ asked Mum.

  I glanced at Caitlin. Both of us had gone red. ‘Not exactly. I . . . er . . . I did tell him we weren’t a rescue centre, but he seemed to have heard the rumour too.’

  Mum let out a deep sigh. ‘So you did tell him to bring it here?’

  ‘Er . . .’ I tailed off.

  ‘Where’s the kitten?’ asked Caitlin, saving me.

  ‘In one of the stables,’ said Josh. ‘Dad’s already looked at the bird. It’s in the clinic and it’s going to be fine. Great, isn’t it?’

  ‘No,’ said Mum. ‘It’s not great. Am I the only person around here with any sense? Animals and birds need feeding, need warmth. We can’t keep them. It’s a clinic, not a sanctuary.’

  ‘Actually, could I take a look at the cat that was brought the other day?’ asked Mr O’Neill, then gave Caitlin a wink. ‘Caitlin won’t shut up about it at home.’

  Caitlin’s face lit up. ‘It’s a she, Dad. Cola!’

  ‘Sure,’ said Dad. ‘Come this way. I put the kitten in with her and they seem to get on. It’s brought out Cola’s maternal instincts.’

  Caitlin and Mr O’Neill went off with Dad, leaving me with Mum and Josh and the golden puppy, who every now and again nuzzled my hand and gave it a lick. ‘What’s her name?’

  ‘Shimmer,’ said Josh. ‘The lady who brought her said she was like a shimmer of gold in her life. She was really sad to leave her. She was crying, wasn’t she, Mum?’

  Mum nodded and looked around as if she didn’t know what to do. ‘Yes, yes, she was, but it was wrong of your dad to agree to take her. What are we going to do with her?’

  The puppy let out a soft whine and looked up pleadingly at us. ‘Oh, can we keep her, please, Mum?’ I begged. The minute I’d seen Shimmer, it had been love at first sight. ‘I promise I’ll look after her and take her for walks! There’s loads of space round here, it will be perfect for a dog. Pleeeease!’

  ‘No,’ said Mum firmly. ‘Absolutely not. It’s not just a question of walking her, it’s feeding her too. We can’t take on any other commitments until we have some regular money coming in.’

  Shimmer’s head sank down as if she understood. She looked up at me with sad eyes. ‘Oh Mum, how can you resist that face?’ I said. ‘And she’s only a puppy, a baby. She probably won’t eat much.’

  Mum looked torn. ‘She’s already scoffed down a whole tin of food!’ she said, walking off towards the kitchen. ‘This is not good,’ she called back over her shoulder. ‘First Cola and now a new lot this morning, heavens knows what the next few weeks are going to bring!’

  Caitlin came skipping out of the stable followed by her dad.

  ‘Dad says we can have Cola,’ she said, ‘and the kitten. I’m going to call her Pepsi. It would be a shame to separate them. Come and look, Amy! And you, Josh.’

  I put Shimmer back in the basket, though she wasn’t keen to go, whimpering her objection. ‘I’ll be back soon,’ I promised her. Josh and I followed Caitlin into the stable where the tiny tabby kitten was curled up next to Cola. They were funny to watch. Cola had one paw firmly on the kitten’s neck, to make sure she didn’t get away, and was giving her ears a thorough cleaning. ‘See, they’ve bonded,’ Caitlin said. ‘Meow, Cola.’

  Cola looked up at Caitlin. ‘Meow,’ she seemed to reply.

  Caitlin grinned. ‘See. She understands me.’

  I knelt down to stroke the black-and-white cat and little tabby kitten. They were both purring loudly. ‘I looked up at Dad. ‘See, it’s not so hard running an animal sanctuary. We’ve found a home for the cats already!’

  Dad grimaced. ‘Yes it is a bit of luck. Beginners’ luck though, Amy. It’s not always so easy homing animals. I’ll go and find a box to put them in. I’ve got some with air holes in them in the clinic. Josh, see if you can find an old T-shirt to put at the bottom of the box, so they’re comfortable on the ride to their new home.’

  After Caitlin and her dad had gone, I went back to Shimmer and gave her a few more strokes. She scrabbled at the basket, but I wanted to go and talk to Mum about her before I let her out again. When I went to the stable door, she whimpered as if to say, ‘Don’t leave me in here.’

  ‘I have to, Shimmer,’ I said. ‘But only for a while. I have to go and work on Mum.’ But she looked so sad and helpless with her little furry paw up on the basket door, that I couldn’t resist.

  ‘Well . . . maybe we could have you in the boot room next to the kitchen and close the door so that Ginger doesn’t see you.’

  I picked up the basket and carried it across the yard and into the small room where we kept our wellies and shoes.

  ‘Mum!’ I called. ‘I’m just putting Shimmer in the boot—’

  Mum appeared at the door and pointed the way back to the yard. ‘Out, Amy. Take Shimmer back to the stable. You can’t afford to get attached to her. Put her back then come back in here. I want to talk to everyone.’

  It was hopeless to try and persuade Mum in the mood she was in, so I reluctantly returned Shimmer to the stable. It felt so mean to leave her in there, but I wasn’t going to give up. As for not getting attached to her, it was way too late for that. Shimmer was so cute.

  As soon as I’d set foot back inside the house, Mum called me into the kitchen. ‘Amy. In here. Family conference. Now.’

  I went through to see Josh and Dad already seated at the table. We exchanged knowing glances as I went to join them. We all knew what a family conference meant – we were in for a lecture.

  ‘So,’ Mum began, ‘this has to stop – and it has to stop now. Word will be out around
the whole county soon, never mind the village. People cannot bring their animals here unless they are ill or injured, and then they must take them away with them again. We’re running a business, not a shelter.’

  ‘But Mum,’ said Josh, ‘we’ve already found a home for Cola and the new kitten.’

  Mum looked surprised. ‘You have?’

  ‘Yes, Caitlin and her dad took them. They’re gone,’ I said. ‘So that just leaves Shimmer and the bird, so maybe we can—’

  ‘No, Amy, I told you once.’

  ‘But—’ Dad started.

  Mum gave him a stern look. ‘Richie, I know how you feel about animals, and I don’t want to be the mean one here, but we have to be practical.’ Mum was always saying that. Practical generally meant saying no to something fun in my experience.

  Mum sighed. ‘It’s not fair that I always have to be the one that makes the rules.’

  ‘Yes, but we had always thought we’d get a dog when we were settled and—’ Dad said.

  ‘No, Richie. We’re not settled and the practice isn’t bringing in enough money to feed strays.’

  I glanced over at Josh. He looked as uncomfortable as I felt.

  ‘I know you’re right, love,’ said Dad, ‘but I’ve been thinking. I wish we could make it work. There are no rescue centres for miles. Where are the unwanted animals meant to go? Like that puppy? We have the space and we couldn’t see her out on the street. Plus she does seem to have taken a liking to Amy.’

  ‘No, Richie.’

  I got up. I’d had enough. ‘I think you’re being horrid, Mum. All you ever say is no. Shimmer is frightened and sad. She must wonder what on earth has happened. She needs love and someone to belong to. I’m going to go and see her.’

  ‘No you’re not. It’s suppertime soon,’ said Mum, ‘and I want you to lay the table. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure Shimmer is fed tonight but we are not keeping her.’

  ‘I don’t want any supper. You can give mine to Shimmer!’ I said and with that, I got up to go.

  ‘Amy, sit down now! You’re not going back over to that stable. Richie, tell her. If she gets attached to Shimmer, there will be tears.’

  Dad looked torn. ‘Amy, do as your mother says,’ he said. ‘Sit down.’