Somebody To Love
Clare didn’t know how she’d fill the large gap looming in her life
Although most people would choose summer, with its sunshine and lazy days, or spring, with the promise of fresh starts and new beginnings, autumn had always been Clare’s favourite season.
She loved when the leaves began to change and she could feel a slight chill in the air, meaning she could dig out her scarves and gloves and get back into cosy clothes.
However, this year, the thought of autumn approaching didn’t hold the same appeal. It was already late August and Clare was dreading seeing the calendar turn over to September.
Her youngest child, Alfie, was going away to university.
Clare felt her heart breaking at the thought of losing him.
She had three children but Alfie was the youngest by eight years, so although the older two had gone off to university quite a few years ago, she’d always had her baby at home with her.
They had similar personalities, watched the same films and enjoyed the same books, and even though Alfie had many friends, he always made time for Clare in his life.
They both wore fitness trackers on their wrists and competed against each other to see who could get the most steps each day.
Clare tried to do hers early in the morning, when the streets were quiet, whereas Alfie, with school finished for good and his teenage body clock dictating his sleep patterns, often didn’t wake up till after 2pm.
However, they walked together at least once a week.
They chatted non-stop as they wandered through the park or along the beach.
Both dog lovers, their walks would often be stop-start affairs, as they paused to pat or play with the many dogs they met on their route.
“How come we never had a dog, Mum?” Alfie asked Clare one day. “That would have been cool.”
Clare smiled. “Dad always said that having three children was hard enough, without bringing an animal into the mix.”
In truth, Clare would have liked a family pet, but she understood that dogs were a lot of work, and sometimes just having a family and a job and a house to run seemed like more than enough.
Alfie laughed. “Trust it to be Dad’s fault!” he said good-naturedly.
He was such a sweet, kind boy. He’d been an unplanned baby – what might be called a happy accident – and had been named after the character in the family’s favourite children’s books, about a little boy called Alfie and his sister Annie-Rose.
Owen and Evan, his two older brothers, had loved having another baby in the house, but often teased Alfie about being a mummy’s boy, which Clare was secretly pleased about.
She loved that he was so close to her, that they could talk about anything, but this was what made his upcoming departure so hard to bear.
He was going to leave a huge gap in her life and Clare had no idea what could fill it.
Her husband, Jack, was sympathetic but didn’t seem to feel quite so sad about their soon-to-be empty nest.
“It’s good that Alfie has the confidence to study so far from home, love – shows he’s ready to make his way in the world. And aren’t you looking forward to having a nice, peaceful house for the first time in years?”
In truth, she wasn’t looking forward to it at all.
Clare liked noise and bustle and laughter – that’s what family life was all about.
But as the leaves changed from green to brown, she knew these cherished days were coming to an end.
She was in Alfie’s room one day, sorting through his clean and dirty clothes – which always mysteriously ended up lumped together in one big pile on his armchair – when she spotted something that had slid down the back of the chair cushion.
It was the Alfie and Annie-Rose story book, faded and worn after the hundreds of readings it must have had.
Clare felt tears prick her eyes.
The boys had all loved this book so much, but now it was simply cast aside and forgotten about.
Cast aside, just as she would be soon, too…
Just then, she heard the front door slam, as Jack and Alfie returned from a mysterious errand they had told her they were running.
Clare quickly brushed the tears from her eyes as they came charging up the stairs together.
Alfie was holding a cardboard box in his arms and he and Jack had big grins on their faces.
“Surprise, Mum!” Alfie said, as he thrust the box at Clare.
She lifted the lid and saw a tiny, fluffy brown face peering up at her. It was a puppy! An adorable puppy!
She gasped in delight and picked the puppy up and cuddled it. Jack and Alfie told her they’d been planning the surprise for weeks.
Alfie put his arm around his mum.
“I’m not saying you can replace a son with a dog, Mum, but – well, it might help…” He smiled. “The dog’s a female – I thought maybe we could call her Annie-Rose?”
Clare felt tears fill her eyes again as she hugged her thoughtful son and her precious new puppy.
Suddenly, that impending gap in her life no longer felt so big…
Our My Weekly Favourites series of feel-good fiction from our archives continues on Mondays and Thursdays. Look out for the next one.
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