Advice

At five minutes past ten on that Wednesday morning five things occurred, all at the same time.

The woman from Ambrose Street picked up the dog lead that she needed to take her Yorkshire terrier for a walk, while the boy with the bad tooth got out of the chair at the Best Smile dental surgery. Not far away, and at that very same moment, the van driver from Westlake Delivery Services climbed back into his cab; while quite unseen, the flea hopped from the carpet onto the dog’s back, and at the same time as all this, the girl left the school yard to post a letter.

The woman made her way to the top of the street, crossed the road and entered the park, while back in the car, the boy’s mother gave him a couple of painkillers before returning him to school. The van driver always suffered from hay fever around this time of year. Meanwhile, the flea made its way to the underbelly of the dog, while the girl was playing hooky for a few minutes because her busy mother needed the letter to be posted without delay.

In the park, the woman took the lead off her dog to let it run free. Arriving at the school, the mother dropped her son off at the front gate. As soon as the van driver got settled he felt an enormous sneeze coming on. The flea huddled deeper into the warm hair of the dog. At the post-box, after posting the letter, the girl stopped to check the collection times posted below the slot.

The dog chased around while the woman walked to the far side of the park. Before entering the school, the boy stood and watched as his mother’s car disappeared up the street. The man in the van sneezed, and the flea hung on tight while the dog bounded around in circles. The girl made her way back to school.

At the main road, the woman put the lead back on. Nearby, the boy saw the girl walking back from the post-box and the man in the van went to move off, then remembered how his mother had always told him to blow his nose after a sneeze. The flea made itself comfortable again when the dog stopped moving, and the girl spotted the boy and waved.

The woman waited for a break in the traffic before crossing to the shops, while the boy wondered where the girl had been, and although the driver was never really sure whether this was good advice or not, he stopped to blow his nose. At the same time, the flea settled down in the warmth of the dog’s hair, while the girl wondered why the schoolboy was standing there.

At a gap in the passing vehicles the woman started to cross with her dog, while the boy decided to wait to find out where the girl had been, and the van driver took off. The flea came very close to the dog’s flesh, while the girl walked faster, as she was curious about why the boy was standing there.

The woman felt the dog tugging at the lead, the boy watched the dog, trying to remember its breed, the man in the van stepped on the accelerator, the flea bit the dog’s belly, while the girl glanced over at the woman crossing the road.

The woman shortened the lead and held the dog tighter, while the boy, who had always wanted a dog, was admiring its colours. Meanwhile, the van turned onto the main road, the dog dropped to the ground and rolled around, and the girl stopped when she heard the dog yelp.

The woman looked around frantically to see if any traffic was coming, while the boy gasped, and the van driver, thinking that he might be getting behind with the morning’s deliveries, sped up. The flea was swallowed by the dog while the girl held her breath.

The woman made it safely to the shop, the boy was pleased that the dog was OK, in the distance, the van-driver approached the spot, seeing nothing, the flea was being digested, and the girl looked relieved as she and the boy returned to school chatting about what they each had been doing.

A couple of minutes later, the delivery van passed safely down the street because the driver did what his mother had always told him what to do. The day was saved, and all because he took his mother’s advice and stopped to blow his nose.