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wee any more and it trickles on to the floor.
    “Sorry,” I say.
    “No problem, Tiffany, I’ll buzz for someone to come and mop it up.”
    Benita presses a red button on the wall.
    “As for you,” she says, ruffling Chardonnay’s fluff, “I’m afraid we’re going to have to put you in kennels for the night.”
    My lake of tears starts pushing up again. I blink hard because I won’t let myself cry.
    “Can’t she come with me?” I ask, “Please? We only just got her and she hasn’t even had one whole night with us yet.”
    “I’m sorry, but no one will take on you and a puppy as an emergency at this time of night. But don’t you worry, we’ll take good care of her – promise.”
    The lump in my throat rises up again and I can’t swallow it down. Now I know how Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz feels when the nasty neighbour tries to take her dog, Toto, away. I can’t lose my puppy, not now that I’ve finally got her. Why can’t my mum sort this mess out and take us home? Surely there’ssomething she can do? Chardonnay’ll be scared. And lonely.
    I can hear my mum’s voice travelling down the corridor. She’s screaming and shouting and having one of her full-blown temper tantrums.
    “If I could just see my mum before I go, I’d be able to calm her down for you,” I say quietly.
    “I’m not sure it’s allowed,” Benita says.
    “Please?”
    A teeny river pushes its way out and stings my cheek. I rub my eye pretending I have an eyelash in it.
    Benita pats my shoulder. “You stay here and I’ll see what I can do, I’ll just be a sec.”
    She leaves the room and my ears fill with the sound of keys clattering and doors clunking and Mum shouting. I look at my watch. It’s one o’clock in the morning.
    “You can have five minutes,” says Benita, coming back into the room, “I’ve spoken to the sergeant and he says you can pop in to say a quick goodnight to your mum.”
    I feel all jelly again, and I’m shaking all over. My heart’s pounding. We walk down the grey corridor towards my mum’s shouting. Benita thumps the door,I hear some keys jangling and we’re in. I fly into Mum’s arms and we squeeze each other tight, holding on, not wanting to let go.
    “I’m sorry, baby,” she sobs into my hair, “I’m so, so, sorry.”
    I cling on, breathe in her smell, and snuggle into her warmth.
    “Don’t leave me,” I whisper. “Please don’t leave me, Mum.”
    She sobs and sobs and I worry that she’ll never be able to stop. She clings on so tight that her nails dig in. The big policeman standing near the door coughs and I remember that I don’t have long to make her feel better.
    “Remember your mascara, Mum,” I say. I lick my tissue and mop up her face. “You don’t want to go around looking like a mess, do you? What would Bianca say, eh, Mum?”
    She pulls herself together. I untangle her hair, take her face in my hands and kiss her on the nose.
    “Now come on, Mum, all this screaming and shouting isn’t going to get us anywhere, is it?” I soothe.
    “Sorry, Tiff,” she sniffs, “I’ll be good. I promise.
    It was all Mikey’s fault. You do believe me, Tiff, don’t you? Just give me a bit of time to sort this mess out and we’ll be back home together before you can say ‘wizard’.”
    I don’t know what to believe any more. But I know it’s not normal to be in a police station with my mum in the middle of the night. And I know I’m the only one in the world who can calm her down. And I’m boiling mad inside because our life is always about her.
    “What about me?” I whisper. “What happens to me and Chardonnay while you’re sorting it all out?”
    “I promise you, Tiff, it won’t be for long and I’ll come and pick you both up as soon as I can.”
    “But, Mum, please!”
    “There’s nothing I can do, babe. Nothing.”
    Suddenly a brilliant idea pops into my mind. “Except…except maybe you could telephone someone…on Sark?”
    “Don’t even go there,