Cat O'Nine Tales and Other Stories - Jeffrey Archer [13]
By Sunday morning Tracey felt that they both looked a lot better, even chatting away about their trip to America. But two things puzzled her. When she saw her parents coming down the stairs carrying the duffel bag with Stamps in their wake, she could have sworn they were speaking Portuguese. And why bother to take Stamps to America, when she had already offered to take care of the dog while they were away?
The next surprise came when they set off for Heathrow after breakfast. When her father packed the duffel bag and their suitcase into the boot of the car, she was surprised to see three large bags already in the boot. Why bother with so much luggage when they were only going away for a fortnight?
Tracey stood on the pavement and waved goodbye, as her parents’ car trundled off down the road. When the old Rover reached the end of the street it swung right, instead of left, which took them in the opposite direction to Heathrow. Something was wrong. Tracey dismissed the mistake, aware that they could correct their error long before they reached the motorway.
Once Chris and Sue had joined the motorway, they followed the signs for Dover. The two of them became more and more nervous as each minute passed, aware that there was now no turning back. Only Stamps seemed to be enjoying the adventure as he stared out of the back window wagging his tail.
Once again, Mr. Appleyard and Mrs. Brewer went over their plan. When they reached the docks, Sue would jump out of the car and join the queue of foot passengers waiting to board, while Chris drove the Rover up the car ramp and on to the ferry. They agreed not to meet again until the boat had docked in Calais and Chris had driven on to the dockside.
Sue stood at the bottom of the gangway and waited nervously at the back of the queue as she watched their Rover edge toward the entrance of the hold. Her heart raced when she saw a customs officer double-check Chris’s passport, and invite him to step out of the car and stand to one side. She had to stop herself from running across so she could overhear their conversation—she couldn’t risk it now they were no longer married.
“Good morning, Mr. Appleyard,” said the customs officer, and then added after looking in the back of the car, “were you hoping to take the dog abroad with you?”
“Oh yes,” replied Chris. “We never travel anywhere without Stamps.”
The customs official studied Mr. Appleyard’s passport more carefully. “But you don’t have the necessary documents to take a dog abroad with you.”
Chris felt beads of sweat running down his forehead. Stamps’s papers were still attached to the passport of Mr. Haskins, which he had left in the safe back at Cleethorpes.
“Oh hell,” said Chris. “I must have left them at home.”
“Bad luck, sir. I hope you don’t have far to travel because there isn’t another ferry until this time tomorrow.”
Chris glanced helplessly across at his wife, before climbing back into the car. He looked down at Stamps, who was sleeping soundly on the back seat, oblivious to the problem he was causing. Chris swung the car round and joined an overwrought Sue, who was waiting impatiently to find out why he hadn’t been allowed to board. Once Chris had explained the problem, all she said was, “We can’t risk returning to Cleethorpes.”
“I agree,” said Chris, “we’ll have to go back to Ashford, and hope we can find a vet that’s open on a bank holiday.”
“That wasn’t part of our plan,” said Sue.
“I know,” said Chris, “but I’m not willing to leave Stamps behind.” Sue nodded in agreement.
Chris swung the Rover onto the main road, and began the journey back to Ashford. Mr. and Mrs. Haskins arrived just in time to join their daughter for lunch. Tracey was delighted that her parents were able to spend a couple more days with her, but she still couldn’t understand why they weren’t willing to leave Stamps with her; after all, it wasn’t as if they were going away for the rest of their lives.
Chris and Sue spent another uncommunicative day and a further