Free Paws for Alarm by Marian Babson

Babe.’ Arnold patted me on the shoulder. ‘We’ll see what we can do with this tonight and things will look better in the morning.’

Eight
    Things were better in the morning. Arnold had always been good at jigsaw puzzles and I had discovered that my green eyeshadow was almost the same shade as the jardiniere. I rubbed it well into all the chipped places until they lost their glaring whiteness and acquired a slightly mossy aspect. I could never kid anybody that they were supposed to look like that, but at least it gave the impression – that the damage had been done some time ago. We moved the jardiniere to a darker corner and decided that was as much as we could do for the time being.
    If only we were at home,’ I said wistfully, ‘we could ask Viv and Hank to find a duplicate jardiniere. It wouldn’t take them long. We don’t even know where to begin to look for one here.’
    â€˜If we can’t find one,’ Arnold said, ‘we’ll just have to give Rosemary about three times what it’s worth and let her find another one herself — or buy something else. Maybe we ought to do that, anyway. For all we know, she doesn’t like it, anyway. It may be something she got stuck with – a Christmas present, or a bequest from a relative.’
    â€˜Maybe she’ll be glad we did it.’ Donald was even more optimistic than his father. ‘Maybe she’s hated it for years and always wanted an excuse to get rid of it.’
    â€˜I wouldn’t bet on that,’ I told him. ‘Just keep quiet and eat your breakfast.’
    â€˜That’s right,’ Arnold said. ‘Hurry up and finish your breakfast and run out and play.’
    â€˜It’s still raining –’
    â€˜You won’t melt. English kids have been playing out in the rain for thousands of years and it hasn’t done them any harm.’
    â€˜Angela and Perry are out in their backyard now.’ I looked out of the window at the exquisitely ordered garden aligned with ours. ‘Why don’t you go over and play with them? Or, better still, invite them over here – they don’t seem to have any swings.’
    â€˜Are you kidding? Their mother would kill us.’
    â€˜Don’t get my hopes up,’ I snapped.
    â€˜Look, kids –’ Arnold intervened. ‘I’m the one who was driving. Lania will have it in for me – she won’t be so mad at you by now. Just you go ahead out there and see if that isn’t so.’
    After Arnold had left to catch his train, the twins settled down to play on the swings. I gave them some paper towels to mop the seats, vetoing Donna’s suggestion of removing a couple of cushions from the sofa to put on the seats. We would not add muddy cushions to the damage already done.
    Sure enough, the prospect of cadging rides on the swings brought Angela and Peregrine first to the dividing fence, then over it and into our yard. If Lania disapproved, she evidently was not about to make an issue of it. Maybe, like me, she felt it was hard enough to keep children entertained on a rainy day and anything that kept them out of the house and happily occupied was not to be discouraged. I wondered why they weren’t in school. It was probably some local holiday I didn’t know about.
    I settled down with another cup of coffee and the morning paper to enjoy a few peaceful moments before I started the chores.
    There was the perfunctory ring of the doorbell, then the scrape of a key in the lock. Arnold must have missed his train.
    Footsteps came along the hallway, too light and quick for Arnold’s. I looked up from my newspaper to see a strange female walk into the kitchen and set down a shopping bag. She was obviously quite at home.
    â€˜Oh ...’ After a moment, the blankness cleared and my mind began to function again. I recognized her from Lania’s dinner party. ‘Good morning, Mrs