You'll Be In My Heart Part 6

Now that she was back with Belle again, Lady was in much brighter spirits as she trotted happily alongside her owner on their way to Tony’s. Belle was surprised when Adam led them to the very restaurant where she had put up a poster only the day before, but then began to wonder if perhaps there really wasn’t such a thing as coincidence.

“Not that way, Tramp and I have our own private entrance,” Adam grinned as she made to push open the front door. Belle raised one eyebrow but followed him around the back as Adam knocked on the half-open stable door leading to the kitchens and called “Tony!”

“Just a minute, I’m coming,” Tony called back, wiping his hands on a cloth as he came into view. Tramp barked in excitement and he grinned at once. “Well, hello, Tramp! Adam, long time no see! Hey, Joe, look who’s here?”

A man in a chef’s uniform popped up behind Tony and laughed. “Well, whaddaya know, our favourite customers!”

Tramp barked again and began licking Tony’s face. He laughed. “Hey, Joe, get him something before he eats me up!” Belle giggled as Lady peered shyly around her legs. Tramp barked and bounded over to her, as if showing her off to Tony. “Hey, Joe, look, Tramp’s got himself a girlfriend!”

“Well, son of a gun!” Joe grinned. “He’s got a Cocker Spanish girl!”

“Eh, she’s a pretty sweet kiddo, Tramp,” Tony said, stroking Lady, who decided quickly that these two men were definitely dog lovers. “You take Tony’s advice and settle down with her, eh?” Then he spotted Belle. “Ah, Signorina, you found your dog!”

“Yes, thanks to Adam,” Belle smiled, politely.

“Ah, well, then, this is a good time for a celebration breakfast,” Tony decided, clapping his hands to get Joe’s attention. “Joe, Tramp says they want the spaghetti and meatballs, heavy on the meatballs!”

Joe, in the kitchen, scratched his head. “Tony, dogs don’t talk.”

“He’s talking to me!” Tony insisted, ushering Belle and Adam to a table and handing them menus. “Joe doesn’t know how to understand animals,” he explained to Belle before making his way back to the kitchen. “What do you want? It’s on the house.”

Belle smiled. “I think I’ll have the Breakfast Special.”

“Make that two, Tony,” Adam agreed.

“Uh-huh,” Tony replied, before clapping his hands. “Hey, Joe, two for the Breakfast Special!” He re-emerged a second later with a large plate of spaghetti and meatballs which he placed down for Lady and Tramp, ruffling their fur as he straightened up. “Here you are, the best spaghetti in town.”

“Is he always this generous?” Belle asked, quietly.

“Only if you’ve got a dog,” Adam grinned, making her giggle. “No, I’m serious, he’s got two himself he adopted from the shelter.”

As if on cue, a large terrier with a red bandana tied around its neck and a large brown Saluki poked their heads around the kitchen door and barked.

“Hey, Tramp!” Dodger called.

“Hey, Dodger, Rita!” Tramp barked back.

“No, no, that is not for you two!” Tony scolded, shooing them back into the kitchen. “I’ll feed you in a minute!” Joe almost fell over the two dogs as they darted back upstairs but he managed not to spill both breakfasts as he handed them to Tony, who just shook his head at his chef before serving them.

“Thank you,” Belle smiled.

“You’re welcome, Signorina,” Tony replied, cheerfully, stepping back into the kitchen as his dogs barked from upstairs. “Alright, alright, I am coming!”

“Those two are a bit rough around the edges, but they’re friendly,” Adam said. “Tramp likes playing with them.”

“What are their names?” Belle asked, trying her biscotti.

“Dodger and Rita. They were abandoned at around the same time and I guess Tony just didn’t want to split them up when he decided to take one home,” Adam shrugged, sipping his coffee.

“Well, at least they’ll be well fed here,” Belle pointed out.

“And walked,” Adam agreed. “Tony takes them out every evening after closing time, well, unless he’s annoyed at Joe and then he makes him do it.”

Belle laughed. It was quite companionable sharing a meal with someone she had only just met, she decided, and their dogs. Lady and Tramp were certainly tucking happily into their meal and both she and Adam had to giggle when their dogs both picked up the same strand of spaghetti and ended up with their noses pressed together like they were kissing.

“Your Tramp’s quite cute, actually,” she decided.

“Cute?” Adam pretended to take offence. “Tramp’s not cute, he’s handsome. Lady’s cute.”

Belle mock-gasped. “She is not, she’s beautiful!”

They laughed as Tramp nosed the last meatball over to Lady. “What are they saying?” she asked him.

“No idea,” Tramp replied. “I can understand when Adam wants me to heel or stay or sit or whatever, but the rest of it’s just gibberish to me.”

“Me too,” Lady admitted. “Sometimes Belle talks to me and I can’t understand a word, but it’s nice just hearing her voice.”

They ate in silence for a while and then Tramp said “So, I guess you and Belle will be going back home now, then.”

“It looks like it.” Lady felt a little down-hearted. “Maybe we’ll come here again sometime, although I don’t think Belle will want to stay with Aunt Sarah again after what happened.”

“Or we could come up and see you,” Tramp suggested.

“Yes, you could. I think you’d like the farm.”

“Right, well, that settles it, then. It’s not goodbye forever.”

Belle found herself thinking the same thing as they left, after thanking Tony and Joe for their hospitality and quick service, and wandered back through the park in the direction of Aunt Sarah’s house. Lady and Tramp were quite happy to run around together and Belle felt that her dog was safe with Tramp around, so she happily let her off the lead and fell into step beside Adam.

“Listen, I don’t know how to thank you enough for looking after Lady for me,” she began.

“You don’t have to,” Adam interrupted. “Dog owners have to stick together. I’m sure you’d have done the same for me if you’d seen Tramp about to be taken to the pound.”

“Of course I would,” Belle agreed, thinking that a playful mongrel like Tramp didn’t belong somewhere as gloomy and prison-like as a dog pound. “You were right about them liking each other. I think we may have a job prising them apart.”

Adam grinned. “Well, whereabouts do you live?”

“Villenueve, do you know it?” Belle asked.

Adam nodded. “That’s really not that far away from here. Perhaps one day I could bring Tramp up to your place for a playdate.”

Belle smiled. “I think Lady would really like that. Here,” she added, pulling one of the Lost Dog posters out of her apron pocket along with a pencil and scribbling quickly on the back of it before handing it to him. “This is the address. We’re home most days.”

“Thanks,” Adam murmured, returning her smile. “And...you know, if you ever come up here to see your aunt again, look us up.”

“I think we’ll come up here without bothering to see Aunt Sarah again,” Belle replied, suddenly shy. Thankfully, she was distracted by Lady and Tramp coming tearing towards them, barking madly. Lady wove in and out between her legs, playfully, and she laughed. “We should probably be getting back now, though, or she’ll create.”

Adam nodded. “We’ll see you back. Come on, Tramp.”

Tramp barked and began to lead the way back into town. As they approached Aunt Sarah’s street, however, they noticed a cart pulled up outside her front door and Belle felt her spirits left. “Oh, good! My parents are back! Now I can tell them what really happened without Aunt Sara trying to make out I’m lying.” She turned to Adam. “Thanks for everything.”

“You’re welcome.” Adam bent down and stroked Lady. “You take care now, Lady. Say goodbye, Tramp.”

“For now,” Belle agreed, patting Tramp’s head. “See you soon.”

Adam nodded. “Bye, Belle.”

“Bye, Adam,” Belle replied, softly.

“See you around,” Tramp grinned, nudging Lady with his nose, playfully.

“You’d better not be a stranger,” Lady replied, before following Belle back to the house. As they approached, the door opened and her father almost collided with them both. “Belle! Thank God you’re back!”

“I’m fine, Papa, we’re both fine,” Belle replied, hugging him before her gaze moved past him and to where her aunt was standing beside her mother, looking very nervous. “I only ran off because Lady did.”

Her mother frowned. “Why would Lady run off?”

“Because someone tried to muzzle her!” Belle snapped, glaring at Aunt Sarah, who turned scarlet as she puffed up like an indignant peacock.

Her mother turned to her in surprise. “Aunt Sarah, surely Belle told you that Lady’s not vicious?”

“Not vicious?” Aunt Sarah repeated, infuriated. “She was chasing my cats!”

“They were teasing her!” Belle insisted.

“Aunt Sarah, Lady hasn’t been around cats much at home, it was probably a natural reaction for her,” her father added, frowning. “You must allow for that at least. Did she hurt them?”

“No, but-”

“Well, then.”

Feeling that her aunt had been well and truly scolded, Belle picked Lady up. “Are we going home now, then?”

“Yes, get your stuff,” her father added, taking Lady from her. “We’d better hurry if we want to miss the traffic.”

Belle sprinted upstairs and grabbed her things, and Lady’s basket, overhearing her mother saying to her aunt “Aunt Sarah, I’m afraid you’ve rather let us down, not only losing our dog but our daughter too.”

“If she wants to run off on her own instead of letting the police handle it-!” Aunt Sarah huffed.

“Lady means a lot to Belle, of course she wanted to find her herself, and it seems she did a better job than the police around here,” her father replied, tersely.

Belle hurried back downstairs and loaded everything onto the cart as her father popped Lady up beside her. Eagerly, Lady propped her front paws on the side and began to pant, anticipating their return home. She spent the whole journey sitting up on Belle’s lap, her whole tail wagging the entire time and Belle couldn’t blame her, she couldn’t wait to put as many miles as possible between her and Aunt Sarah.

“You know, you were pretty reckless running away like that, Belle,” her father said as they reached the village.

“I know,” Belle agreed, “and I’m sorry, but-”

“We know, darling,” her mother interrupted, gently.

Lady barked joyfully and hopped down from the cart as they reached the farm. Belle giggled as she ran around sniffing everything as if to check that nothing had changed in their absence. She stretched as she got down from the cart and walked up the steps to put Lady’s basket back in the kitchen. It felt good to be home.

“No more cats to tease you,” she smiled fondly at Lady, ruffling the top of her head. Lady closed her eyes and nuzzled up to her. Wandering back out onto the porch, Belle glanced wistfully in the direction they had just come from. “Mind you, if you hadn’t run off, we might never have met Adam and Tramp.” She glanced knowingly at Lady. “You really like Tramp, don’t you?” Almost as if she understood, Lady gave her a pointed look, like she was pointing out that Belle liked Adam in the same way. Blushing, Belle sat down on the step and plucked a small pink flower from the grass, twirling it between her fingers. “Well...we could do worse, you know...”