Page 31 of Break the Ice

‘I told you I’ve never had a dog!’ I say, and my emotion hits my eyes. I’d cry if my tears weren’t frozen. I stand there with this bag of dog do-do, glaring at him. I’d throw it at him if I knew I didn’t have to share a car with him. Instead, I push him with my free hand. It’s not a hard push but it’s enough to throw him off balance and skid on the ice, his arms flailing like windmills, until he lands on his arse. I laugh, but then out of nowhere he throws a handful of snow in my direction. The ice hits my face and I shriek at the cold. You absolute… I’m the youngest of four, I know how to fight. But before I have time to retaliate, a voice echoes around the stones.

‘PLEASE STEP BACK FROM THE STONES! THAT AREA IS PROHIBITED!’

Joshua rises to his feet and pivots, the colour draining from his face.

‘Shit, we’re going to get arrested,’ I mumble as I spot a group of people in hi-vis vests running towards us.

‘You told me that never happens here,’ Josh says, turning to me swiftly.

‘When?’

‘In big Tesco!’

‘You absolute spoon. RUN!’

‘What?’ he tells me.

But I don’t tell him twice. I put my hand into his and pull him towards me and we sprint as fast as we can back towards the perimeter fence and the car. He doesn’t let go. He actually squeezes it quite hard. I squeeze back. Steve, I really hope you’re close behind.

FOURTEEN

JOSHUA

Phoebe is crying. It’s a big sob, making her face bright pink, her bottom lip wobble and the tears fly out the corners of her eyes like a cartoon baby. We’ve lost Steve. He’s out there in the snow. So while Phoebe is sobbing, talking about how she’s failed in her responsibilities and how Steve is going to freeze, I am quiet, shivering with cold, trying to work out how to fix this. He could run into traffic. He may never come back.

‘Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!’ Phoebe says with every footstep. ‘STEVE!’ she yells again. ‘I’m not angry with you. I really am not. Please come to us!’ she yells into the field.

‘Did he have a name before Steve?’ I ask her. She turns to look at me. ‘Maybe if we shout his old name?’

‘I don’t know,’ she says, more tears forming in her eyes. ‘I didn’t even know his breed. His story.’ She wipes her hands across her cheeks. ‘I really can’t believe this has happened.’ We reach the car and she searches around it on the off chance that he’s returned there, but nothing. ‘Oh, remember that time Phoebe lost our dog and Christmas was ruined?’ I think she may be mimicking her sister now. Yes, but at least we weren’t arrested. She leans against the car, looking up to the sky, seeming to search for answers about what to do next. She scrolls through her phone desperately.

‘What are you doing?’ I ask her.

‘Trying to work out if I need to call the police, the RSPCA, or text my sister and break the bad news. I have no idea what to do,’ she says, exasperation filling her tone.

‘Or we could retrace our steps? Go look for him again.’

‘Yes, let’s go find a needle in a haystack. In the snow. With the light beginning to fade, excellent idea,’ she says, fuming.

‘We need a strategy, a plan at least,’ I say.

‘Maybe we could dig a hole and put a blanket over it with some treats and catch him like in the cartoons?’ she says.

‘Well, what other idea do you have? Just shout Steve into an empty field?’ I say. Her anger and sarcasm are starting to tick me off. ‘Do you have a dog whistle?’

‘No. I do not, Joshua,’ she says. She starts to cry again and then stares down at her phone. I can see Norah’s contact is up and I remember what she told me about being the youngest sibling. She sighs heavily.

‘We’ve not really looked for him, you know? Maybe hold off the phone call until we’ve exhausted all options.’ But she doesn’t reply. She turns her back to me as I look out across the snowy field. I take a walk to the other side of the car, thinking if I was a dog, where would I go? Somewhere warm, somewhere with bacon? I reach into my pocket, pull out a few treats and crouch. I place them on my palm, almost like I’m in prayer. Come back to us, Steve.

I don’t notice him at first, maybe because it starts snowing again, but then, all of a sudden, I see clouds of snow being kicked up into the air in the distance, and then I see ears wildly flapping up and down. Shit, shit, shit. STEVE! It’s Steve. I rise to my feet and punch the air, but I can hear Phoebe on speaker, initiating her phone call on the other side of the vehicle. I skid over, desperately holding on to the car.

‘Hey sis, where are you? Have you made it out of London yet?’ Norah says. ‘How’s the snow? We’re looking at it on the telly. The Thames is starting to freeze over.’

‘Yeah, it’s just—’ But before Phoebe has the time to say anything, I snatch her phone. ‘What the fuck?’ she exclaims.

‘Phoebe?’ Norah says, obviously annoyed.

Steve appears from around the back of the car, his head cocked to one side, looking a little confused. I put my hands out like a magician. ‘STEEEEEVE!’ Phoebe squeals.