Enter Others , livre ebook

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd - Laurie Brady

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57 pages

English

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Enter Others is a sequel to Enter Spice. The endearing characters of the novel are Toby (an Irish Wolfhound), Roxy (a Boxer), Princess (a Labrador), and Curly (a Poodle). Their 'coming out', or revealing their talents, is through a television interview with an annoying interviewer who doesn't like dogs, but the four dogs 'get the better of him'.They receive great praise from preventing the robbery attempts of two criminals, from rescuing trapped miners in a collapsed shaft in a coal mine, and from proving themselves to be extraordinary at a number of sports.When Princess is injured by bullies, Toby and Roxy seek revenge, but at the last moment they decide that doing so would make them no better than the bullies themselves.They begin to help people who are not as fortunate as others (the old, the disabled and prisoners), and learn an important lesson from Private, a homeless man who is not what he appears to be.They are approached to be superheroes in an action movie, but the venture has a comical result, and teaches the dogs another lesson.The conclusion to the 'dog trilogy' is a heart-warming ending to the growing status of dogs.

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Humour

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Publié par	Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd
Date de parution	06 janvier 2023
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781398447516
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

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Extrait

E nter O thers
Laurie Brady
Austin Macauley Publishers
2023-01-06
Enter Others About the Author Dedication Copyright Information © Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10
About the Author
Laurie Brady is a published poet, a writer of short stories, a novelist, and a great dog lover who lives in Sydney, Australia. He has a keen sense of humour, particularly a liking for the ridiculous, and a love of literature and sport. He has spent most of his working life as a teacher and a teacher educator, promoting engaging and quality schooling. He retired recently as professor of education at the University of Technology, Sydney.
Dedication
To dog lovers everywhere.
Copyright Information ©
Laurie Brady 2023
The right of Laurie Brady to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781398447509 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781398447516 (ePub e-book)
www.austinmacauley.com
First Published 2023
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd ®
1 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5AA
Chapter 1
Tom was tired when he returned from taking Spice to Heathrow Airport in England. That was not surprising, as apart from a couple of hours when he’d had a doughnut and a cup of coffee at Heathrow, he had been in the air for nearly forty-eight hours. Spice had rushed away, and he didn’t have to wait for very long at all for his return flight.
She hadn’t rushed away because she wanted to see the last of him. Her years with the Ellis family had been the happiest in her life. She’d had a small group of dogs she could call “family” – Toby the Irish Wolfhound, Rocky the Boxer, Princess the Labrador and Curly the Poodle – but Tom, Beth, Scott, Lara and Tiffany had been her real family. They were the people she lived with and who had made her their equal. She was one of them.
On the flight home, Tom wondered why Spice had to leave them. They were all so happy together, and he had no doubt that Spice was happy too. But he understood that sometimes there is a voice in us all that calls us to do things that takes us away from where we are comfortable. At times, that voice is small, and sometimes, it gets louder so that we can’t ignore it and have to obey. It might mean telling someone a hurtful truth, accepting a new challenge, finding new friends, or for some adults, leaving the safety and comfort of home to help people who are less fortunate.
Spice rushed away, not just because other dogs were probably waiting for her outside the airport but because staying with Tom for too long would have been painful, a reminder of the love she was leaving behind.
So Tom experienced a mixture of feelings as the plane began its return journey. He peered out the window from thirty thousand feet in the air, seeing the houses below, looking as if they were knitted together like a patchwork quilt, each house with its joys and pains and its countless dreams. He knew that the more you cared for someone, the greater the pain of losing them. But he didn’t regret the time he’d had with Donegal and Spice. Not for a second.
‘You must be tired, Tom.’ The smooth and sweet voice of Princess, the Labrador, was the first he heard when he finally arrived home and opened the door in the very early morning hours.
‘Can I get you a coffee, Tom?’ The deep, throaty voice of Toby, the Irish Wolfhound, was the second voice he heard before Beth rushed down the stairs to hug him. She didn’t have to ask how his farewell of Spice had taken place. There are some things you know without having to be told.
Roxy and Curly were also there and approached him with their greetings. The four dogs had decided to be at the Ellis house when Tom returned. He felt a little tearful, not just from the emotion of the trip but from the thoughtfulness of the dogs. They must have known it would be hard for him. They were all very close to Spice and must have been sad that she had left, but it didn’t show. They seemed fresh and happy. He wondered if dogs knew more than people. Did they have a deeper understanding?
After a late night out with Eric, Lara was slow to get out of bed. It wasn’t a working day, but she joined them all for breakfast, hugging Tom before she sat down. The four dogs were grateful for the invitation and sat at the table with their best manners. They’d been for meals before, and Curly and Toby had their special seats to fit their very different sizes.
Although Lara and Eric were close, they were not engaged, and Lara remained living at home. She was completing her studies to be a vet and was working part time in a small veterinary practice where she had been promised a job when she finished her studies. Her choice of career had been inspired by Donegal and Spice.
Shortly after breakfast, Scott and Tiffany rang from an island paradise where they were honeymooning. Spice had waited to attend their wedding before she left, and they were anxious to hear that she had arrived at her destination safely. They were to move into a flat in Beecroft when they returned.
The day Scott and Tiffany returned from their honeymoon, Tom called a family meeting. ‘Would it be possible to have four family pets?’ he asked. They’d all been wondering the same thing but hadn’t spoken about it. Having four dogs in the house was not the same as having one.
‘Where are they now?’ Scott asked. The other family members looked blank and felt a little guilty that they didn’t know. ‘I mean, where do they live? Do they all live together? Do they each have their own home with people?’
After the silence that followed, Tom asked again, ‘Do we want to have them all living here?’
‘It’s a lot of mouths to feed,’ Beth answered. ‘But they’re so easy to get on with…and we have two less mouths to feed now that Scott and Tiffany aren’t here.’
‘Do you think they expect to live here?’ Lara asked. ‘Now Spice has gone?’
There was another silence. No one knew.
‘And where would we put them?’ Beth was thinking aloud. She was very fond of the dogs and was in favour of having them all as part of the family. ‘Do you think they’d mind being in the same room together? Spice had a room to herself, but with four…’
‘I’m sure they wouldn’t mind being together.’ Tiffany was now a real member of the family and felt able to express her opinions.
‘And they could be a real help around the place,’ Tom said. He was always in favour of having them. ‘Toby and Roxy are as strong…stronger than a lot of men…think of what they could do in the garden.’
It was settled. Tom and Beth only had to wait a few days before the four dogs, always together, visited again. The dogs were delighted with the invitation to stay.
‘That is so kind of you,’ Roxy said.
‘And generous,’ Princess echoed.
Curly snuggled up to Beth.
‘Spice would be so pleased.’ Toby’s deep voice filled the room. ‘We sometimes have meetings with other dogs, a lot of them, so if you could help us get another house, something small…’ He saw the disappointed look on the faces around the room. ‘Not just yet, in a few months…and we’ll come to visit most days.’
Arrangements were made immediately. The dogs had no real possessions to collect and moved in to the room that Spice had left.
‘Ye-es, what do you want?’ Mrs Rouse was now an old woman. Old and round. She had opened her door to see four dogs standing together on the doorstep. One was very tall and another was small. She was uncertain how to behave.
She’d been hostile towards Spice when she first came to the door. But Spice had become her best friend. She’d filled a place in her heart that no person, except perhaps Reg, her long gone husband, had ever filled. It had been a great shock when Spice had left for England.
The four dogs were not standing upright. But they were standing together in a line facing her and appeared to be smiling. No, I’m being foolish , she said to herself. They couldn’t possibly be smiling.
She didn’t want to shout at them and tell them to shoo, to go away, because there was a chance they could be friends of Spice. There was even a chance that they, or one of them, might be able to talk. She didn’t want to be rude. She had learned that lesson when she had first met Spice. The world had changed so much since she was a little girl. It was changing all the time. That’s why her first word was a hesitant “ye-es”.
Toby, Roxy, Princess and Curly had all been good friends with both Spice and Donegal. They had all been told about Mrs Rouse, and the importance of becoming friends with her. They’d laughed at the stories. They’d been living in the Ellis house next door for a week now and thought it was time to introduce themselves to Mrs Rouse. She might think it suspicious to see four dogs wandering around next door, coming and going.
The dogs didn’t want trouble. They certainly didn’t want her to contact the media. After the television and radio reporting about Donegal and Spice, the television and radio people might just believe there was a story for them.
‘We just wanted to say hello, Mrs Rouse,’ Toby began with his throaty voice. ‘Our friend Spice said nice things about you. I’m Toby.’ And he stood uprigh