‘Where are you going?’ Willow asked, as I jumped down from my basket that evening. A nice little post-dinner snooze had set me up for the night, I reckoned. And I had plans.
‘Out,’ I told her, unhelpfully.
Willow looked lazily over at me as I padded to the door. ‘Out of the room, out of the Palace, or out of our lives?’ She made it sound like it didn’t much matter to her which one it was.
‘I’ll be back later,’ I replied. ‘Sorry to disappoint.’
Remembering the route to the Palace cinema took some work. I knew we’d gone there from the Post Office, so I headed there first so I could retrace my steps.
As I got closer, though, I realised I could have just followed the buzz of noise. There was already a host of Palace staff queuing up to find their seats, all chatting and eating popcorn. Apparently cinema night was a big hit, even when they were showing an old film.
Weaving through the legs of the crowd, I followed my nose to try and find Oliver and Sarah, although the competing scents of popcorn and other people were confusing.
Finally I found them towards the front of the queue, just making their way inside. I brushed up against Sarah’s legs, and she looked down at me in surprise, then giggled.
‘Looks like we have a chaperone,’ she said. Then her eyes widened. ‘Not that we need one! I mean, not that I’m expecting—’
Oliver reached down and picked me up in his arms. ‘None of the other Palace dogs would let me do this, you realise? They won’t be touched by anyone except the Queen, unless it’s strictly necessary.’
‘Henry’s a special case,’ Sarah said. ‘I think he’s adopted us.’
‘I think he has, too.’
They stared at each other over my head, until I stretched up to lick Oliver’s cheek to remind them I was still there.
‘Looks like we’re going in,’ Oliver said. ‘Henry, you planning on watching too?’
I barked, and Oliver placed me back on the ground so I could trot in ahead of them.
Inside, the cinema was dark, with rows of deep red seats. I’d never been allowed in a real cinema – dogs aren’t, generally – but from what I’d seen on the TV programmes Claire watched sometimes, it looked about right.
Oliver led Sarah towards a row somewhere in the middle, and I hopped up onto the seat between them. I twisted around a few times to get comfortable, then settled down with my head on my paws. I was looking forward to a good Christmas movie, but I figured I could enjoy the film and still keep an eye on my friends.
But before I was even properly comfortable, the whispers started. My ears pricked up as I listened to the chatter from the rows behind us. And in front of us, actually.
‘Who’s that Oliver’s with?’
‘Why would he bring her!?’
‘Have you heard her talk? Her accent is hilarious.’
‘I don’t think she’ll last six months here.’
And then, somewhere in the middle of it all:
‘Hang on, have they brought one of Her Majesty’s Corgis with them?!’
Sarah shifted uncomfortably in her chair, and Oliver reached across my back to take her hand.
‘Ignore them,’ he murmured.
‘That’s getting harder.’ Sarah gave him a small half-smile. Even in the darkness of the cinema, I could tell she was sad.
‘Are they holding hands?’ I heard from behind me.
Oliver turned round in his seat, his expression hard. ‘I’m sitting right here, you realise. And I have ears. So, if you have any questions … go ahead and ask.’
Nobody said a word after that.
Sarah smiled gratefully, and I settled back down again, happily watching as the credits rolled. But then Sarah was stroking my fur, and the warm room and that familiar popcorn smell made it feel almost like I was back home again. Home, and warm, and safe, and loved. With my family.
I smiled, and let my eyes close as I enjoyed the sensa-tion …
‘Henry. Henry …’ Sarah’s gentle voice woke me, and I realised the lights had come up again. The film must be over. I’d missed it. That was a shame. But it looked like Sarah and Oliver had enjoyed it; they were both smiling down at me.
I shook my head a little as I stood up. Apparently cinemas were really good places for naps, even unintentional ones.
‘We should get this guy back up to the Corgi Room,’ Oliver said. ‘They’ll be missing him.’
I didn’t think that was very likely, but I followed them out, anyway, listening to them chatter about the film.
‘I’d forgotten how much I loved it,’ Sarah said. ‘I mean, I remembered that it was great – one of my favourites when I was little, even. But there were all sorts of details I’d missed or forgotten.’
‘It’s a classic,’ Oliver agreed. ‘I think sometimes, when we see something after a long time, it’s like we see it in a whole new light. Appreciate it anew, maybe.’
‘I think you’re right.’
‘And sometimes it works the opposite way with people.’ Oliver’s voice was a little darker as he said it, and Sarah turned to look at him with concern.
‘Is that what happened with your ex?’ she asked.
Oliver shrugged. ‘Sort of.’
‘Tell me?’
For a moment, I thought Oliver was going to say no. Then he sighed. ‘We’d been dating for almost three years when I proposed. She said yes immediately, and we started the wedding planning right away. But … she had this trip planned, with a few of her friends. They were heading off to Australia for a month, while I was hoping to be doing my pilot admissions training. Obviously, you know how that turned out. But when she got back from Australia …’
‘You didn’t see her the same way any more?’
‘The other way round, I’m afraid.’ Oliver gave her a small smile. ‘She didn’t see me the same. She’d seen the world, and it was a much more exciting place than anything I’d shown her. She decided she didn’t want to be tied down, even if it meant not being with me any more. She gave back the ring a few days before she headed off to Thailand.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Sarah said. ‘You didn’t want to go with her?’
Oliver shook his head. ‘That wasn’t the life I wanted. I didn’t know what was at that point, but I knew I wouldn’t be happy just following her around the world. I wanted to make something of myself. Do something I enjoyed and that I found meaningful.’
‘And you are.’ Sarah smiled up at him.
He smiled back. ‘I am. So really, I think everything worked out for the best. Don’t you?’
‘Definitely.’
I agreed. If Oliver had run off to Thailand, he wouldn’t have been here to meet Sarah. And that would have been no good at all.
‘So, now you know all my deepest darkest secrets, what about you?’ Oliver bumped his elbow against Sarah’s arm as he asked.
‘How do you mean?’
‘Well, I don’t believe you only came to the Palace because you realised you were never going to win the pub quiz …’
Sarah gave a quick smile as she looked down at the carpet we were walking along. ‘No, I didn’t suppose you would.’
‘So? Do you feel ready to tell me the real reason you left home?’ Oliver’s voice was kind and gentle, and I could tell he wasn’t just asking from idle curiosity. He wanted to know so he could help Sarah. Just like me.
Sarah obviously heard that in his question, too, because she started to talk – the same way she’d talked to me, when she’d been cleaning around the Palace.
‘I mentioned my ex, David, when we met at the Post Office?’
‘You said things didn’t end well,’ Oliver said.
‘Yeah. Well, they weren’t all that great in the middle, either, as it happens. The beginning … that was good. In the beginning he was romantic, kind, generous. I really thought he loved me. I could see our whole future laid out before us.’
It sounded like me and the Walkers, I realised. Before Jim left. Before I got lost.
‘What changed?’ Oliver asked.
‘I don’t know,’ Sarah admitted. ‘I don’t know if I changed, or he did, or if we were both always that way and just didn’t want to admit it. It happened so slowly it felt normal. But one day … it was like I woke up. Like I woke up from a terrible dream and realised that all the things he was saying about me weren’t true. That I didn’t have to stay and listen to it any longer. So I left.’
‘What sort of things was he saying?’ Oliver’s voice was tight, clipped, and he held his hands tight at his side as we walked. Like he was struggling to control himself.
I had a feeling he wanted to bite David the ex as much as I did.
Sarah shrugged. ‘Oh, you know. He’d complain about my weight, tell me I needed to lose a few pounds. Or stone. He’d tell me I was going nowhere, that I wasn’t ever going to make anything of myself. That I was holding him back. That I was …’ Her voice caught. ‘That I was nothing without him.’
‘But you are.’ Oliver grabbed her hands and held them tight. I jumped to one side to avoid being caught between them. Clearly, none of us were walking any more. ‘Look how far you’ve come.’
‘Dusting a lot of candlesticks?’
‘Finding a job that mattered to you, called to you, and doing everything you had to do to get it,’ Oliver corrected her. ‘And don’t forget what they say – once you’ve worked at the Palace, you’ll be in demand everywhere. You could work anywhere in the hospitality industry that you want, after this. Five-star hotels, millionaires’ mansions. The sky is the limit.’
‘And if I don’t want to leave?’ Sarah stared up into his eyes. She looked vulnerable in the dim lighting of the corridor. Even scared.
I wanted to jump up and protect her, but I knew I couldn’t. I had to trust Oliver to look after her as well as I could, otherwise I knew I’d never be able to leave her.
‘Then you could go far here, I’m sure,’ Oliver said. ‘You can do anything you can dream of. I just know it.’
‘No one has ever told me that before,’ Sarah whispered.
‘Then I’ll have to make sure I tell you often.’
Sarah smiled. ‘How can you have such faith in me? You barely know me.’
‘I have good instincts about people,’ Oliver said. ‘Well usually. And I can just tell, you’re someone special.’
‘I think you’re pretty special, too,’ Sarah said, smiling again.
Never mind the movie I’d missed; this was straight out of one of Amy’s DVDs.
Yeah, I was definitely the dog with the best plans ever.