Team Bella and the Case of the Imaginary Friend

Chapter 1

Staycation

The Sunday afternoon was hot and sunny, as forecast, and Dad was now busy cooking sausages, burgers and lamb chops on the barbeque, watched closely by two hungry dogs.

“You did put on two extra sausages for Bella and Jack, didn’t you, Dad?” asked Pearl as she took the wrappings off the cheese slices and placed them on a plate.

“Do you think these two would let me forget?” replied Dad with a smile as he looked at Bella and Jack.

“I just needed to check.”

“Pearl, why don’t you come and sit with me and Prim?” said Mum. “Everything has been brought out now, and you need to drink more of your juice; it’s very hot today.”

Pearl sat at the patio table and took a long drink. Primrose waited for Pearl to finish and then nodded her head to her; a signal. Pearl nodded back and then looked at Mum.

“Mum, what is a staycation?” she asked.

“It’s just another name for a holiday in this country,” Mum replied. “Why do you ask?”

“Reggie said it yesterday and I didn’t really understand what he meant, because he is only going to Llandudno again, just like they do every year. Except for last year, of course,” replied Pearl.

“Yes, last year we couldn’t even go to Wales for a day out because of the coronavirus lockdown,” Mum said in agreement.

“Do you think lockdown will ever end completely, Mum?”

“Of course it will.”

“It just takes time,” said Dad, as he looked up from the barbeque.

“But, everything always gets put back, doesn’t it?”

“I want everything to be like it was before,” said Primrose.

“And it will be, Prim.”

“So are we going on holiday this year, Mum?” asked Pearl.

“Yes, but not abroad.”

“A staycation?” Pearl said with a smile.

“Yes, a staycation. Any ideas?” asked Mum.

Dad smiled to himself as he flipped the burgers.

“Well,” said Pearl, “me and Prim were talking last night and we would like to go to Llandudno, to the campsite that Reggie is going to.”

“Really?” Mum said in surprise. She turned to look at Dad. “Do you know anything about this?”

Dad shrugged his shoulders, as if he knew nothing.

“They allow dogs, you know,” added Primrose, “so Bella and Jack could come.”

“Camping? Are you sure?” said Mum.

“Not really, but we could hire a caravan like Reggie and his mum do,” Pearl said enthusiastically.

“Has Reggie put you up to this?” asked Mum, eyebrows raised.

“No, Mum.”

“Pearl?”

Primrose glanced at Pearl, wondering what she would say.

“A little bit,” replied Pearl. “Milly’s already persuaded her parents to go.”

“Has she?”

“Yes, it’s easy for them, they’ve got a campervan.”

“And do you have any dates in mind?” Mum asked, curious to find out just how much had been planned.

“Actually, yes. Prim, you’ve got the dates, haven’t you?” said Pearl.

From her pocket, Primrose took a neatly folded piece of paper and passed it to Mum.

“Pearl wrote the dates down last night,” Primrose said proudly.

“It’s the first week in August, and there is one caravan left, isn’t there, Prim?” said Pearl.

“How do you know that?” Mum was now even more surprised.

“Oh, Reggie asked his mum and his mum asked Mr Richardson, and he said he would hold it for us until tonight,” Pearl said quickly.

Mum’s mouth dropped open in surprise.

“Bella and Jack could go swimming in the sea with Patch and Pip,” said Primrose.

“It would be great, Mum, don’t you think?” added Pearl.

“Well, I suppose, but we will have to see if Dad can get the time off work,” Mum said as she looked over to Dad.

“He can, Mum, his boss said yes,” said Pearl, nodding her head.

“You’ve already asked him?” Mum said, a little puzzled.

“Yes, but he said we had to ask you; didn’t you, Dad?” Pearl looked over to the barbeque.

Dad held his hands up in the air and smiled.

“So what do you think, Mum?” asked Primrose.

“I guess the answer is yes,” Mum said with a big smile.

Pearl and Primrose both cheered.

“But I do have one question,” said Mum. “Who is Mr Richardson?”

“Oh, his name is Chris, and he runs the campsite with his dad, Tom,” replied Pearl, “and Reggie said Chris likes his mum.”

Chapter 2

Arrival

The drive to Llandudno had been smooth, no hold-ups, and passed in no time at all. Pearl and Primrose had been quietly chatting all the way, but when Dad turned the car off the main road and onto the pebble drive, they could not contain their excitement when they saw who was waiting underneath the large, colourful sign for the Happy Valley Caravan Park.

“It’s Reggie,” cried out Pearl.

“And he’s got Pip with him!” Primrose shouted at the top of her voice.

Pearl turned to Bella and Jack, who were sitting behind the grill in the back of the estate car. “Look, Bella, it’s Pip; Jack, there’s your little boy.”

The dogs began to bark. Mum, who was sitting in the front seat next to Dad, laughed and put her hands over her ears.

“This way, this way,” shouted Reggie as he waved his hand and pointed.

Dad lowered the driver’s window.

“I need to check in first, Reggie,” he said.

“No, it’s alright, Chris, er, Mr Richardson, said to go straight to the caravan and check in later. Follow me,” replied Reggie.

“Okay, if you say so.” Dad smiled and slowly followed as Reggie ran ahead with Pip.

“Well, I didn’t expect a personal guide to the caravan,” said Dad.

“You never know what to expect with Reggie,” Mum said with a big smile.

Reggie led them to one of the large static caravans, where he stopped and pointed at the door.

“This is it,” he said smiling, “and we are just over there.” Reggie pointed to the last caravan in the row.

“It’s much bigger than I thought it would be,” said Mum.

“Thank goodness. With two children and two English Bull Terriers, we need all the space we can get,” said Dad with a look of relief on his face.

Pearl and Primrose quickly unbuckled their seatbelts and in a flash they were outside with Reggie and Pip. That was when they had their second surprise of the day when who should walk round the side of the caravan but none other than Milly and Patch.

“Milly!” Pearl and Primrose cried out together. “And Patch!”

Milly ran over to them and gave them both a hug.

“You beat us here,” said Pearl.

“Only by a little bit,” replied Milly, “we got here just half an hour ago. Our campervan is in the next field.” She pointed to the path and driveway through the nearby hedge.

Inside the car, Bella and Jack were barking as loud as they could.

“They want to be with Patch and Pip,” said Dad.

“I know. We need to let them out before they deafen us!” Mum said with her hands over her ears again.

Dad got out of the car and opened the tailgate. Bella and Jack ran straight to Patch and Pip. With Pearl, Primrose, Milly and Reggie standing with them, Team Bella was together once more.

“This is going to be a great holiday,” said Reggie. “I just know it is.”

Chapter 3

Flamingos

“The next morning, soon after breakfast, Pearl and Primrose took Bella and Jack for a walk around the campsite. They knew exactly where they were going because Reggie had given them directions to the pink flamingo pond where he was already waiting with Pip, Milly and Patch.

“What do you think? Aren’t they great?” asked Reggie as he pointed at the pink flamingos.

“I thought you were joking last night,” said Pearl.

“Me, too,” added Primrose with a puzzled frown. “Why are they here?”

“And why do they look so old? They’re a bit odd, Reggie,” said Pearl.

“Yes, Pearl, I know, but that’s what makes them so good,” replied Reggie.

“Does it? I’m not sure,” said Pearl shaking her head. “Milly, what do you think?”

“I said the same thing, but after Reggie told me about them, I agree with him. I think it is really good that they were saved,” answered Milly.

“Saved from what?” asked Pearl.

“Being thrown away, like all the other figures. Go on, Reggie, you have to tell Pearl and Prim now,” said Milly.

“Yes, Reggie, you have to,” ordered Primrose, “but don’t take too long, we want to take Bella and Jack to the sea for a swim, don’t we, Pearl?”

“Yes, we do, but let Reggie tell us first,” said Pearl.

“Okay,” began Reggie, “we are staying at the Happy Valley Caravan Park and …”

“We know that,” interrupted Primrose.

“Prim!” Pearl was not happy. “Give Reggie a chance!”

“Sorry, Reggie, sorry, Pearl,” said Primrose sheepishly.

“It’s all right, Prim, I’ll make it quick,” Reggie said with a smile and pointed. “See the mountain over there, at the end of the bay? Well that is called the Great Orme and a long time ago, near the bottom of the Great Orme, there was a park called Happy Valley.”

“So this caravan site was named after it?” said Pearl.

“That’s right, and in Happy Valley was a trail you could follow that had all the figures from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

“What’s that?” asked Primrose.

“It’s an old book, Prim, with lots of strange animals and people,” answered Milly. “It’s a bit odd, but it is good.”

“I haven’t read it,” said Pearl.

“I’m not sure I would like it if strange things are in it,” Primrose said with a worried look on her face.

“No, you would,” Milly said quickly, “it’s funny and it’s magical. You would love the White Rabbit and the Cheshire Cat.”

“Anyway,” interrupted Reggie, “all the figures were made of wood but were not looked after very well and one winter, after a bad storm, most of them were broken, except for the flamingos, and Chris’s granddad saved them. When Chris and his dad, Tom, opened the campsite, they decided to put them here by the pond.”

“So what did the flamingos do?” asked Pearl.

“Oh, the Queen of Hearts used to turn them upside down and hit balls with their heads,” Reggie said smiling.

Pearl laughed. “You’re making it up!”

“No, he’s not; the Queen played croquet with them,” explained Milly.

“I don’t know what croquet is,” said Primrose, “but hitting a ball with a bird’s head is not very nice.”

“No, you’re right, it wasn’t,” agreed Milly, “but the Queen wasn’t very nice.”

It’s a shame the other figures were broken, I would have liked to have seen them,” said Pearl.

“You can see them, well, not all of them, but some new ones were made,” said Reggie.

“Really? Where are they?” asked Pearl.

“Most are in the woods in Happy Valley, but the nearest is not far away at all, it’s on the promenade,” said Reggie, very proud that he knew.

“Which one?” Milly asked, eyes wide in surprise.

“The Mad Hatter!” Reggie replied with a big grin.

Chapter 4

On the beach

The bay at Llandudno is a beautiful curve bounded by the Great Orme at one end and the Little Orme at the other. The beach is made up of countless pebbles of all shapes and sizes and a wide promenade runs the whole curve of the bay.

Pearl, Primrose, Milly, and Reggie, together with Bella, Jack, Patch, and Pip had crossed the road to the promenade at the pelican crossing outside the campsite, walked past the large paddling pool, and were now heading for the centre of the bay where the waves in the sea looked the best. Mum and Dad, of course, were not far behind.

“Do you think they will like the sea?” asked Primrose.

“I expect so,” replied Pearl, “all dogs can swim.”

“But how do they know they can swim, if they have never been in the water? We can’t swim until we learn, can we?” said Milly.

“I don’t know,” said Reggie with a shrug of his shoulders, “but we do know that Jack can swim because we saw him in the river.”

“Yes, he was brilliant, wasn’t he?” Pearl said, full of admiration for Jack.

“I bet he’s the first in,” said Reggie.

Primrose stared at the sea. “I just hope he’s careful. Those waves do look a bit big.”

“They’re not really, Prim. He’ll be fine,” Pearl said reassuringly.

“Okay, but let’s go to that spot over there where there are not many people,” replied Primrose.

Followed by Mum and Dad, Team Bella made their way over the pebbles to the edge of the sea.

“Let’s find sticks to throw for them,” said Reggie as he looked around. “Here’s one!”

“That doesn’t always work with English Bull Terriers, Reggie,” warned Pearl. “They like to run after sticks, but they never want to give them back!”

“Are you sure?” asked Reggie. “Because Pip always gives the ball back.”

“Well in that case, he is very different,” said Milly, “Patch just runs away with it in his mouth.”

“Like Bella does, and like Roxy did. Do you remember, Prim?”

“Yes, we always had to chase her.” Primrose smiled fondly at Pearl.

“Let’s test Jack first. Are you going to throw a stick, Prim, or shall I?” asked Reggie.

“I think there are too many waves,” Primrose said as she held Jack’s lead tightly.

“It’s okay, Prim, the waves come in groups called sets, and there are usually seven in a set,” explained Milly, “after that the sea will flatten out until the next set starts.”

“How do you know that?” asked Pearl.

“My dad told me,” Milly replied in a very matter-of-fact way. “Watch.”

They all watched the waves and sure enough, Milly was right.

“Okay, Prim, count the waves and when you get to six, let Jack off the lead ready,” said Milly, “and Reggie, get ready to throw.”

After the last wave, Reggie threw the stick with all his strength and Jack bounded into the sea, swam to the stick, grabbed it in his strong jaws and swam back, but as predicted he would not give it back! Instead, he walked to Primrose and when she reached out for the stick, he barked and ran away.

“He wants you to chase him, Prim,” laughed Pearl.

“But I can’t run on these pebbles,” Prim said shaking her head.

“Let’s try Bella,” said Milly. “Pearl, you’ve got a stick, you go next.”

Pearl hurled the stick into the sea and Bella, just like Jack, swam for the stick, but wouldn’t give it back either. Now both Bella and Jack were running around with sticks in their mouths as Pearl and Primrose chased them.

They waited for the next set of waves to finish then Reggie picked up another stick. “Let me show you how it’s done,” he said proudly. He threw the stick for Pip, but not too far, because Pip was still only little compared to Bella and Jack. Pip swam out for the stick, grabbed it between his teeth and swam straight back to Reggie. Reggie grinned from ear to ear.

“Well, how about that!” said Mum to Dad from where they sat on the beach. “I have never seen an English Bull Terrier do that before.”

Now it was Milly’s turn. She let Patch off his lead and threw her stick into the sea. “Go, Patch, go get it!” she said.

Patch charged into the sea and swam furiously. He was halfway to the stick when a lone wave suddenly appeared and crashed straight over his head. Patch disappeared under the water!

“Patch!” cried out Milly.

Dad jumped to his feet. He couldn’t see Patch either. He ran to the edge of the sea.

Jack dropped the stick from his mouth and barked loudly. He looked out over the flat sea but saw nothing.

“Patch! Patch!” Milly started to run to the sea.

“No, Milly,” Dad said loudly. “Stay there!”

Bella began to bark at the sea. Reggie scooped Pip up into his arms.

“Patch! Where is he?” Milly cried at the top of her voice.

Suddenly, Jack barked again and bounded into the sea. He could see Patch bobbing in the water, coming up, going under. Jack’s legs kicked through the water until he was close enough to grab hold of Patch in his strong jaws.

“Jack’s got him!” Milly said as tears ran down her face.

Jack turned towards the beach and was swimming back when the next set of waves started to break over them, but he did not stop until he was on the seashore with Patch safe at his feet.

Then, to everyone’s surprise, came the sound of clapping and cheering. Mum turned and on the promenade she saw a group of people who had watched everything. Mum waved, relief on her face, and the people waved back before slowly walking away.

Jack had done it again.

Milly ran to Patch to pick him up, only to be covered in sea spray as Patch and Jack shook themselves dry. She laughed, wiped the spray from her mouth with the back of her hand then picked up Patch to cuddle him anyway.

Primrose put her arms around Jack and hugged him. “You’re such a hero, Jack.”

“He certainly is,” agreed Dad.

Bella walked to Jack and rubbed her head against his.

“Bella thinks the same thing,” Pearl said proudly.

“I’ve had enough of the sea for today,” said Milly as she put Patch down and attached his lead.

“I think we all have. Is it time to go and find the Mad Hatter?” asked Mum.

“I know where he is,” said Reggie, “I’ll lead the way.”

With the dogs now all on their leads, Reggie and Pip, Pearl and Bella, Primrose and Jack, and Milly and Patch crunched their way over the pebbles to the promenade, watched by Mum and Dad.

“I have to say, there is never a dull moment, is there?” Dad said with a smile, as he took hold of Mum’s hand.

“No, there isn’t, but thank goodness for Jack,” Mum added.