A Spot of Bother

                                                                by                                                                                                                   Kate Loveday

Susie gazed longingly at the heavy gold chain displayed in the jeweller’s window. How she would love to have it, but with a thousand dollar price tag there was no way. Sighing, she continued her walk through the shopping centre. She stopped at the ‘Frosty Boy’ to buy an ice cream cone. Licking its rich creaminess consoled her somewhat as she went on her way.

‘Excuse me, but I wonder if you could help me? I’m in a spot of bother.’

She looked carefully at the young man who approached her outside the exit. He had an honest, open face with clear blue eyes that held a hint of desperation.

‘What’s the matter?’ she asked.

‘I promised my wife I’d pick up some fancy dinner rolls. We’ve got friends coming for dinner and she’ll kill me if I don’t get them, but I can’t take Buster inside with me. Would you be able to mind him for me for a few minutes? He’s only a baby and he’s quite friendly. He wouldn’t cause you any trouble.’

Susie glanced down at the large dog sitting obediently by his side. A docile Labrador gazing up at her with soulful brown eyes. Well, it wouldn’t hurt her to do a good turn and she wasn’t in a hurry.

‘Sure, I’ll mind him for you.’ Susie smiled.

‘Thank you so much, I won’t be long.’ Handing over the leash he hurried into the shopping centre.

No sooner had he disappeared than Buster abandoned his docile stance and jumped up, paws on Susie’s shoulders, knocking her off balance and the ice cream from her hand. Within seconds the ice cream disappeared down Buster’s throat.

An hour later Susie realised she’d been left with the baby. Leading him to her car she piled him into the back seat. They were halfway home before he vomited the ice cream over the seat covers.

If she’d looked around before she opened the door when they arrived home, she’d have spotted next door’s cat sauntering about before Buster chased it up the one tall tree in the garden. It took next door’s husband an hour up the ladder to coax it down.

When she came inside Susie found Buster sitting quietly on the sofa, a picture of innocence. It was the piece of ribbon dangling from the corner of his mouth that alerted her to the broken lamp and trashed lampshade in the corner. She shooed him outside.

‘It’s unusual for a dog to get its head stuck in the railings of a front fence,’ the man from RSPCA told her after he freed Buster’s head an hour later.

After being fed all the rump steak in the fridge Buster slept the night away.

The next morning Susie scanned the lost and found column in the local paper.

‘Oh my baby, I’ve been so worried about you,’ cooed the well dressed matron who came to collect him. ‘I tried to catch the scoundrel who ran off with him at the beach, but he was too quick for me,’ she told Susie. ‘I wonder why he passed him over to you.’

Susie shrugged. ‘Who knows?’

‘I hope he hasn’t been a bother.’

‘Not at all,’ Susie beamed as she pocketed the thousand dollar reward. She couldn’t keep the smile from her face as she thought of the gold chain in the jeweller’s window. She hoped it was still there. If not there was bound to be something equally as good to compensate her for the spot of bother Buster had caused her.