When the doctor did his rounds on Wednesday morning, he gave Tom the all clear to go home. While waiting for Brandon to arrive, Tom walked down the ward to see Mike Davidson.
He found the man awake, lying back on the pillow, staring at the ceiling.
“Hi Tom,” he said without enthusiasm. “I hear you’re leaving today. How’s the burn.”
“Still hurts. How are your legs?”
“They’re stuffed. Be months before I’m back at work. Don’t know what’s going to happen with my business in the meantime.”
“Can you get somebody else to do it?”
“That’s what I was thinking about.” He sighed deeply. “Anyway, I wanted to thank you for what you did … like … in the forest. They tell me things could have ended up … well, a lot worse if you hadn’t come along. So thanks.”
Tom nodded his acceptance.
Mike continued. “I suppose you know what’s happened to my dogs.”
“I heard they’re in the pound.”
“Yeah. I can’t see why they have to take all of them. Those dogs are like family to me.”
Tom pictured the conditions in the shed where the dogs had been kept. Yeah, he thought, pity you didn’t treat them that way.
The man moved in the bed so he could look directly at his visitor. “Tell me, is it true you found Spot actually attacking a kiwi.”
“Yes.” Tom went on to tell him exactly what he saw, and what happened to the kiwi. By the time he finished, Mike was shaking his head from side to side.
“He wouldn’t have learnt to do that by himself. No dog of mine would attack kiwi without help. Some other dog taught him that. I bet it was that mongrel, Harvey. He was always in the forest. He’s the real killer. I reckon they had the right dog all along.” He paused, before adding, “That was until you started interfering.”
Tom’s jaw dropped, his eyes wide. This guy was in total denial. He would blame anybody and anything rather than accept his own dog was a kiwi killer. Tom had actually been feeling a bit sorry for him, but now … now he was speechless. But even if he could’ve found the words, he knew they would have been wasted on this man. The best response was to walk away, which was what Tom did.
* * *
The remainder of the school holidays passed slowly for Tom. His arm was still too sore to ride or run, and he’d lost his enthusiasm to train for the triathlon. He knew he wouldn’t be in Kerikeri much longer. Nothing had been decided yet, but the signs were bad. Each night after dinner Brandon rang Mandy. He did it outside, so Tom couldn’t hear what was going on. But Tom knew they were arguing, and he also knew that when it came to arguments, his father never won.
There was a bright spot on Saturday when Brandon bought Tom a phone – exactly the model and deal Tom wanted. That filled in the rest of the weekend. Even so, Tom was relieved when school resumed on Monday, and there were other things to help fill in time.
By Tuesday Brandon was back into his old habits, arriving home late without any explanation of what he’d been doing. The phone discussions with Mandy continued.
Wednesday was much the same. Then, on Thursday Brandon texted while Tom was at school.
Won’t be home for dinner tonite. You’ll have to find your own way home. I’ve contacted Dave. He’s expecting you.
Tom was more than a little annoyed by this. Yes, it was better than not knowing what was happening, but only just. He began to understand why Brandon had been so keen on buying the phone – it allowed him to stay away from home longer.
When Tom knocked on Dave’s door he was surprised to hear a whole lot of barking from inside. Was this Buffy? His hopes rose. Had his father organised this as a surprise?
No such luck. When Dave opened the door, the dog that came out was not Buffy, although it certainly looked like a pig dog.
“Hi Tom. Come in and meet Charlie. He was one of Davidson’s pack.”
Tom was shocked. “Why didn’t you take Buffy?”
“Aw, a bitch can be awkward. Unless you want to breed they can be a real pain.”
When he got inside Tom saw Buffy’s bowl and bed were set up next to the couch. Already Charlie had taken the place of Buffy, and that hurt.
Over dinner Dave told of the latest developments. The DNA testing proved that Spot had been the killer of all the kiwi. Harvey had been cleared and returned to Mrs Hopwood. Spot had already been euthanised. The rest of the Davidson pack would be sold to recover costs. Any that didn’t sell would go the same way as Spot.
Tom had listened in silence until this last bit, when he couldn’t control himself any more. He stared at Dave in horror. “You mean Buffy could be put down?”
Dave shook his head vigorously. “No Tom. She’s already gone. Someone else took her.”
“Who?”
A shrug. “When I got Charlie yesterday, she’d already been taken. They said it was to a good home. I’m sure it was. They check new owners very carefully.”
That calmed Tom a little.
Later, when they’d done the dishes, he sat on the floor and played with Charlie, except it wasn’t the same as being with Buffy. After 20 minutes he thanked Dave and went home to bed.
* * *
Over breakfast on Friday morning Brandon said they were going to Mrs Hopwood’s for dinner that night.
“I didn’t know you knew her,” said Tom.
“I didn’t until she came up to me in the supermarket, when you were in hospital. She asked how you were getting on.”
“You never said.”
Brandon shrugged. “I forgot, I guess.”
“So when did she ask us to dinner?”
“Um … she sent me a text yesterday. We’re to be there by five. I’ll pick you up from school. That’ll give us plenty of time to get ready.”
Tom was still puzzled, unable to figure out why it had taken Mrs Hopwood almost two weeks to make contact. And even then it was with Brandon, not him. At first, Tom had expected her to visit the hospital, and when that didn’t happen, he’d hoped she’d come over to the bach. At one stage he’d considered going over to see her, except that would be almost like skiting about what he’d done, so he left it for her to make the first move. And now she had, although it did seem a rather strange way of doing it.
* * *
At exactly five o’clock Brandon and Tom walked over the road to the new development, which now had a flash nameplate attached to the block wall – Keri Keys it was called. Someone had also finished installing the gates. As they approached, these swung open to let them through.
“How did that happen?” asked Tom.
“They’re automatic.”
“Yeah, I know. But how did they know we were here?”
“Ellen must be watching through the security camera.”
Tom wasn’t convinced. His father’s manner was a little too accepting. Something was going on here.
Harvey met them halfway down the driveway, his tail wagging so much that his whole body moved. Behind him were Mrs Hopwood, along with Marika and Dave. Apparently they were invited to dinner as well.
After they’d all greeted one another, Mrs Hopwood suggested they do a tour of the development. They started with the houses which were now close to being finished. Then they moved down to where the development met the inlet, a part Tom hadn’t seen before. He found this much more interesting than the houses. There was a jetty, a boat ramp, and several mooring buoys, one with a launch attached. A dinghy was resting upside-down on a small beach. The area would be a great place for kids to play.
From there they moved up to a smaller house, tucked away at the back of the development. Mrs Hopwood insisted they take a look around inside. Tom tagged along, even though he would have preferred to go back to the estuary.
They did the lounge, the kitchen, the laundry, the bathroom … and it all looked great, but of absolutely no interest to Tom.
Down the hallway were two bedrooms, one with its own bathroom. The second was smaller and as boring as any other empty bedroom. Tom had moved away to walk down the hall, when he heard his name mentioned. He turned back.
“What was that?” he asked.
Mrs Hopwood was grinning at him. “I said, this will be your bedroom.”
“Eh?”
Mrs Hopwood chuckled. “This house is where you’ll be living.”
Tom turned to Brandon who was also grinning. “Yes, we’ll be living here. This is the caretaker’s cottage and I’m the caretaker.”
By then everyone was grinning except Tom.
“When did this happen?” he asked.
“Over the last week,” said Mrs Hopwood, “although I’d been thinking of it for some time. I asked around and found people had good things to say about Brandon, especially his boss. So I approached him when you were in hospital. Over the last few days we’ve been visiting plant shops sorting out the landscaping, and today we signed an employment contract. He starts Monday.”
Tom shook his head as if to clear it. He still wasn’t convinced this was all good news. “Does Mum know about this?” he asked.
“Yes,” said Brandon, “and she approves.”
“But does she approve of me staying in Kerikeri?”
“Yes. She does now that I’ve got a permanent job and a decent place to live. We have a new custody agreement. I’m now the main caregiver. That was signed yesterday.”
Tom stood absolutely still for a time, letting that sink in. The others waited.
“Okay,” said Tom almost to himself. “Does this mean I can have a dog?”
Brandon looked at Mrs Hopwood and then at Dave to see who would answer. In the end it was Mrs Hopwood who spoke.
“You already have one, Tom. Take a look out the window.”
The first thing Tom noticed was the pen tucked against the corner of the block wall. It was made in the same style as the gates. Inside the enclosed space was a green kennel. Standing in the kennel was a dog. Not just any dog. It was Buffy. When she saw Tom she began jumping up and down with excitement.
While Tom struggled to regain control over his emotions, Mrs Hopwood explained. “Buffy is my thank you present for what you did for Harvey. The pen was Dave’s idea and was paid for by the logging company. I’ve built one too for Harvey. Buffy won’t have to stay in there all the time, only when you’re at school, so she can’t go wandering across to the forest.” She held out an electronic remote. “This opens her gate. You can go out and see her now if you wish.”
Without speaking Tom moved out of the bedroom, down the hall and outside, forcing himself not to run. When the pen came into view he saw that Buffy was now standing by the gate. She understood what was happening.
He stopped and pressed the button on the remote. There was a clunk as the magnetic lock released. Buffy’s excitement went up another notch. She already knew what that sound meant. Next came the whirl of a motor, followed by the gate slowly opening outwards. This was nowhere near fast enough for Buffy. She began squeezing through, even though there was scarcely enough of a gap for her nose. For a moment her rear end jammed, then she was free, bounding towards Tom, braking just before she would’ve crashed into his legs. She looked up at him, mouth open, tongue waggling, eyes glowing, more excited than he’d ever seen her before.
Tom lowered himself to his knees, his eyes already moist. Then he put his arms around Buffy’s neck to hold her tight against his chest. Tears streamed down his face. Not tears of pain or distress. These were different. These were the first tears of joy he could ever remember. And yet, somehow he knew, right then, they were unlikely to be the last.