Reef Chapter 10 - Lesson Learnt

The Ceilidh Place was one of the larger buildings in the village.  It had to be, what with its purpose being to house holiday makers and to hold dances and musical concerts of all varieties.  This being so, the Ceilidh Place had a lot of rooms but that did not mean Reef was allowed to go in all of them.  No indeed, the ktichen was never allowed, the dining room and kitchen out of bounds at meal times, the bedrooms only when they were being refurbished; once you'd taken away the areas Reef was barred from, there were only a very few to which she had access. She was allowed in the bar, as was any doggy visitor.  She was aloowed in the lounge - though not on the furniture.  And she was allowed the freedom to do as she pleased within the confines of the flat she shared with Big Bob and Mhairi.  but that was that.  And on days when the weather was bad, which happens frequently up in Ullapool by Loch Broom, these few areas could seem quite small to an active lass like Reef.

After Jeannie and Dougie had moved in together they had, in the usual manner, decided to start a family and so along came Moppet.  Moppet was the oddest little bundle of fluff Reef had ever seen.  Technically Moppet was a dog but secretly, to herself, Reef called her 'Mop-Head', for that's what she looked like.  Sometimes, until she started moving and you saw which direction Mop-Head was moving in, you didn;t know which nd was which, such was the soft woolly exterior of the silly creature.

Now sometimes people said that Reef could be a little bit aloof, a little too precious of her ways and her wants.  Reef was certainly in disagreement with this view, thinking it a little unkind.  But there was enough of a wiff of truth in it to irritate her.  What's more, she hated that it bothered her for it should have been like water off an otter's back.  And so she tried to be the opposite of aloof, whatever that is, whenever she was called it.

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A strange smell was in the flat.  Reef had slept in this morning, having had a bit of a poorly tummy alst night.  Before she opened her eyes or ears she always opened her nostrils first, smells tell so much more that sights or sounds.  Smells tell the truth.

Lying inher basket, she opened one nostril then the other and breathed in.  A flowery, powdery tang shot stright up her snout and into her sneezing apparatus. 'Tshooo!' She found herself bowled over on one side by the force of it, and none of her legs where they should be.  She licked her nose and cautiously tried again but managed to stop-up her nostrils when the first hints of that pong began once more to invade.  Whining cautiously, she righted herself and poked her head out the basket.

Sure enough, there on the kitchen linoleum in Bob and Mhairi's wee flat was the dreaded culprit herself,  Mop-Head.  The uninvied guest wagged something, presumably the rear end thought Reef, and yapped as a friendly good morning.

Reef growled, this was not the way she wanted to be awoken in her own home, especially with a poorly tum.

The pom-pom on legs stopped wagging and let out a querrulous whine.  Satisfied that she was keeping her distance for now, Reef barked a resentful hello and plumped back down in her basket in a huff.  Sleep did not come easy under the circumstances and both dogs were in the exact same stalemate ten minutes later when Mhairi came bustling ni to make herself an egg.

 

Once the pan was boiling nicely, Mhairi bent down to clap Reef,  'Good morning, sleepy.  Are you feeling any better?'  Reef looked at Mhairi, moving nothing but her eyes then looked pointedly across to Mop-Head. 'Alright, grumpy.  Yes, we've got a visitor.  And you're to be on your best behaviour. Moppet isn't just any guest, she is as much family as Jeannie or Dougie and she's staying with us whilst they're away to visit Jeannie's folks. So don't you go giving her any of your aloof-te-doof.'

 

Well, Reef had never heard that before! And though aloof-te-doof-iness was exactly what she felt like giving the sneeze-inducing wretch, she was too much offended by Mhairi's suggestion that she could hardly now, could she?! Stumped and confused, she wagged her tail and did a hopeful little 'biscuit' bark.

 

'There you go, madam. And here's some fresh water too.'  Reef gobbled the biscuit and got up to have a drink.  The mini-sheep, Mop-Head, was eating a biscuit as well, Reef only hoped they'd got extra in.  The water was delicious and her tummy seemed to appreciate the biscuit and so, little by little, Reef found her grumpiness began to leave her.  The puppy sat watching and wagged her tail hopefully every time Reef glanced in her direction.  Mhairi had left the room with her egg and toast and tea sand the door was closed behind her.

 

Mop-Head - well, Mop-Tail to be accurate - wagged some more and a little pink tongue hung daftly from her face, two round eyes peeking hopefully through the fur.  Reef retreated to her basket the better to observe her.  Neither Jeannie nor Dougie smelt so weirdly, she thought, which can only mean that Mop-Head is either a new dog-flower hybrid or they've washed her in something.  She winced a little at the memory of Big Bob bathing her once after she'd rolled in something gooey and delicious down at the beach.  She'd loved the pong, thought it very becoming, but Mhairi had refused her entry to the house or pub until she'd been hosed down.  Oh, the humiliation.

 

Outside, as if from nowhere and yet everywhere at once, thunder boomed, rattling the window pains and unseating two little doggie hearts.  She had not even seen the lightning, so it must be very close.  As she ducked down in fright, she looked out across to the enemy and saw that, contrary to her namesake, a liquid puddle was fast spreading out from the little Mop-Head.

 

Remorse and tenderness swept through Reef and she barked over to the younger dog.  mop-Head looked up, frightened of the thunder but wary too of the larger hound. Reef wagged her tail encouragingly and whined to show she would not be aloof-te-doof any more.  And with that, the puppy bounded across the room, touched noses with Reef, and clambered into bed beside her.

 

Although the smell of the shampoo was bad, Mop-Head's little accident had improved it somewhat.  But thunder was thunder and dogs were dogs, thought Reef, even if some dogs were a lot sillier than others.  We all live and learn, and I've got a lot to teach this one.  After all, she is family.