Emily's Dream (8 page)

SEVEN

Emily and Maya checked with Lucy about the date for the party when she came to see how they were doing later on. She was amazed at how good they’d made the barn look.

“I wish we’d thought about doing something like this ages ago,” she murmured, wandering around the barn as they told her all their plans.

“We need you to help us choose when to have the party,” Emily explained. “It would be great if you could help with the dog-show judging – you know loads about dogs. And we’ll need to make sure there’s lots of volunteers at the shelter on the day too, to show people around.”

They were all really hoping that some party guests would fall in love with the cats and dogs they saw, and that lots of the pets would end up being rehomed.

“Do you think we can still have the party in half-term?”
Izzy suggested. “That’s what you said first of all, wasn’t it? Do you think we can be ready in time? It’s only three weeks from now. Four weeks if we made the party on the second Saturday. And that’s the first of June, so it’ll be an easy date for people to remember, too.”

Lucy nodded. “That sounds good to me. I’ll let all the volunteers know that it would be great if they could help out then.”

“And they get to come to the party as well,” Emily added quickly. “Just not all at the same time.”

Izzy looked down at her notes worriedly. “I really hope it doesn’t rain. I know we wanted the barn so things can be inside if it does, but it would be hard to squash a dog show in here too.”

Poppy nodded. “I know, and that bit does sound like it’s going to be really fun.” She looked modestly down at her feet, and then snorted with laughter as Emily elbowed her in the ribs.

“What are you going to dress Billy up as?” Maya asked

“I honestly don’t know.” Poppy frowned. “It would be good to find something he looks a bit like anyway… A little boy did once ask his mum if Billy was an anteater when we were in the park. But I’m
not sure how I’d make an anteater costume. Actually I’m not sure how I’d get Billy to keep any sort of costume on for more than ten seconds.”

“Why an anteater?” Emily asked. “He doesn’t look like an anteater!”

Poppy shrugged. “Well, I don’t think he does. But it was his long nose, I guess. I wonder if I could make him a dinosaur costume? Billy the T-rex?”

“I wish we could enter cats as well,” Maya said. “But I suppose it would be a disaster. I just like the idea of dressing Henry up.”

Emily raised her eyebrows. “Maya, I’ve met your cat. He’d have your hand off if you tried to dress him up.”

Maya sighed. “Probably. He isn’t talking to me at the moment, anyway. It’s because I was trying to get him to eat vegetarian cat food again. I tried ages ago, but I got it out again the other day, just to see if he’d changed his mind. Like people are supposed to have to try new foods seventeen times and then they get used to the taste.”

“I suppose he still didn’t like it?” Lucy asked, laughing.

“No. He just sniffed at it, then he went out and caught a mouse. I’m not sure if he was trying to tell
me something, or if it was just a coincidence, but he did give me a really dirty look. And then he let the mouse go in the kitchen, and it got under the dishwasher. Anna blamed me, as well!”

“He
is
descended from tigers, Maya,” Emily pointed out. “He probably thinks vegetarian cat food is an insult.”

“It’s very expensive!” Maya protested. “But he just likes tins. Or catching his own.” She grinned to herself. “If I did dress him up, I think I’d dress him as a dog, just to be really mean. Oooh, Poppy, he could be a double act with Billy. You could make Billy a cat!”

Poppy rolled her eyes. “He’d probably try to chase himself.”

“Maybe I could enter one of the dogs from the shelter?” Emily said thoughtfully, but then she saw Lucy’s doubtful face. “No, I suppose not. They might be a bit too nervous for something like that.” She sighed quietly. Mrs Everett would probably have let her enter Charlie, but it wouldn’t be fair, when she was one of the judges!

It would have been so much fun to enter her own dog in the show, that was all.

“I emailed the man at the newspaper,” Izzy told Emily at school later that week. “I told him about the party, and I attached the information you sent about the shelter, and the photos of Twinkle, and Honey and the puppies, and that gorgeous white cat. I said people could ring up the shelter and book their tickets, and then pay on the day. That’s right, isn’t it?”

Emily nodded. “I can’t think of a better way. We can’t really give out our phone numbers when we’re going to be at school all day.”

“I really hope they put it in the paper,” Izzy said. “We’ve put lots of posters up, but everyone gets that paper through their door, so it would make a big difference. I emailed the local radio people too, and the TV news programme – the ones who came to film the fashion show. I hope Lucy doesn’t mind, because I said they could call the shelter as well, if they wanted to go and film there.”

“She’d love it,” Emily said. “Well, she would if they told her before they were coming so she didn’t have her worst jeans on, anyway. Think how many extra people would go to the shelter, or even just give them some money, if it was on TV.” She grinned. “And imagine how cute Posy would be. And the
puppies! Still, even if it doesn’t get on the news, I’m sure people will know about it. I went to walk Charlie last night, and Mrs Everett told me she went into town with her daughter to go shopping, and she saw four posters for the party! So we must have done something right.”

“Hi, Emily! Hi, Maya!” Lucy popped her head round the door to the cats’ area and waved. “If I were you, I wouldn’t go anywhere near Sal in the office. She says she’s done nothing but answer the phone to people wanting party tickets this week. She doesn’t usually come in on a Saturday, but she said she’d have to so as to catch up with all the other stuff she should have been doing.”

“Really?” Emily squeaked excitedly. “Have lots of people asked for tickets then? How many are coming?”

“More than a hundred already,” Lucy told her, laughing at Emily’s half-horrified, half-excited face. “And you’ve got eleven entries for the dog fancy dress, six for the dog who looks most like their owner, and ten for waggiest tail!”

“But that’s twenty-seven pounds just from the dog show bit!” Emily gasped, and Maya grabbed her
hands and they started to dance madly around the yard.

“I’m really glad my mum said she’d help with the food,” Emily said, panting, as they slowed down and staggered dizzily back towards Lucy. “More than a hundred people?”

“And that’s only after a week,” Lucy pointed out. “There’s another two weeks till the party. It could be lots more.” She put an arm round each of them. “I actually think you girls are going to raise enough money to get the roof mended, do you realise? The newspaper article was amazing – a couple of people have sent us cheques already, you know! There was one old gentleman who said he was probably a bit old for a party, but he really wanted to help.”

Emily nodded. “It was a lovely piece – a whole page, and they put all the photos in.”

“Do you want to hear the absolute best thing?” Lucy said, beaming. “A lady rang up yesterday to say that Posy was gorgeous, and her family loved Jack Russells, and could they come and meet her. They’re coming today.”

“Yeeeess!” Emily hugged her. “Oh, can we go and brush Posy? Or give her a bath, maybe?”

Maya grabbed her hand. “It might be too late.
Look, there’s a car pulling up. It could be them already.”

Emily looked anxiously over at the car, and the people getting out of it. Posy was really cute – she was quite stubborn, but Lucy said all Jack Russells were like that. And if these people loved Jack Russells, perhaps they wouldn’t mind.

“I want to listen to what they say about her!” Maya whispered. “I hope they’re nice. I want her to live somewhere lovely.”

Emily nodded. She wanted fabulous homes for all the dogs, especially Barney, because he was so funny, and she knew it was going to be hard to find owners for such an old dog. And then there was her favourite dog at the shelter, Twinkle the whippet. Twinkle needed someone really gentle. They all needed special people, that was the problem.

“Could you take Spike and Twinkle out for me, girls?” Lucy asked, as she hurried over towards the gate. “And Lulu and Sam, if you can manage two each?”

“Course,” Emily said eagerly. “Be slow putting their leads on,” she added to Maya in a whisper, and Maya nodded. They strolled over towards the pens, eavesdropping on Lucy talking to the family who’d
come to see Posy. They seemed nice – a couple, and their son, who looked about fourteen.

“Our lovely Jack Russell died three months ago,” the lady was explaining. “He was twelve, so we should have expected it, I suppose. But it was still a shock. We weren’t thinking of getting another dog, not for a while, anyway. But then we saw Posy in the paper…”

“She is lovely,” Lucy agreed, smiling at Emily and Maya dithering by the hooks with the leads on, as though she could tell what they were trying to do. “Here’s her pen, look.”

Luckily Posy was on her best behaviour. She looked angelic, with her little brown ears pricked up excitedly, and her tail blurry with wagging. Even the boy, who’d been completely silent until now, crouched down and made a fuss of her, telling her how beautiful she was.

Emily and Maya exchanged relieved, triumphant looks, and headed off to walk the dogs.

“I just wish there were loads of nice families like that,” Emily sighed, as they were dragged off towards the fields.

“It’s going to look amazing,” Emily said admiringly, watching her mum smooth the green fondant icing
over the huge cake. They’d made lots of cakes this week, and put them in the freezer ready for the party the next day, but this one was special.

Emily’s mum had said that as it was the shelter’s tenth birthday party, as well as a fundraiser, they really ought to have a special celebration cake. Emily had looked at her hopefully – her mum was brilliant at cakes. She made the best birthday cakes ever. Emily’s last one had been a glittery ice rink with tiny icing people skating on it, because they’d taken her friends skating as a birthday treat.