On the way home, Leon felt down. He shouldn’t have bumbled in there, ruffling his parents’ quiet lives. He felt guilty about the whole thing, so he stopped in to see Grandpa at the old people’s home. Who better to talk to than someone who’d known Dad since birth and followed the trajectory of his life: the good, the bad and the ugly.

Irish Anne, the weekend receptionist, was on the front desk. She was a big woman with a generous bosom, as Grandpa liked to put it, and apparently she was a softie and you could get almost anything past her. ‘Just dropping in to see Grandpa,’ Leon said, passing the desk swiftly in the hope she wouldn’t notice Bonnie in his backpack.

Anne smiled with crooked teeth. ‘He’ll be pleased to see you. It’s always a good day when your grandson comes in.’

Grandpa’s door was shut, and Leon was tempted to shove it open and barge in like a nurse, give the old man a surprise. But something held him back—maybe fear of causing a heart attack. He knocked, and a rustling, scrambling sound came from inside, then Grandpa’s voice calling imperiously, ‘Who is it? Can’t a man have some peace?’

‘It’s me, Grandpa. Leon.’

There was a brief delay before the old man opened the door, naked except for a towel around his midriff. Leon was horrified to see all that loose, saggy skin. Worse still, beyond Grandpa, perched on the bed with his green-checked dressing-gown clutched around her shoulders, was an old woman with a blue-rinsed perm. Under the gown, she was clearly naked too.

Leon tried to back away. ‘Looks like I’ve interrupted something. I’ll drop in another time.’

Grandpa grinned crookedly. ‘No, lad. Come on in. I want you to meet Glenys, my new best friend.’

Leon edged into the room, looking everywhere except at Glenys whose arthritic hands were doing a poor job of keeping her body concealed. ‘I remember you,’ she said, lighting up. ‘You’re the one who brought the dog to see us.’

Leon nodded. By this time, Bonnie was fed up with being squashed in the backpack and she let out a whimper.

‘What have you got in there?’ Glenys asked, excited.

‘Live cargo.’ Leon put the pack on the floor and pulled out the pup. ‘This is Bonnie.’ He set her down and she capered around, bouncing at Leon’s trousers and then at Grandpa, her sharp claws raking his skinny old legs, drawing beads of blood. ‘Watch out, she’s scratched you.’

‘I don’t care.’ Grandpa lifted the pup.

Glenys cackled with delight and reached for Bonnie. ‘What happened to your other dog?’ she asked Leon.

‘Rosie isn’t mine. She belongs to my neighbours. This is one of her pups. I saved her from drowning.’