'I don't know how they get away with it. It's a wonder the company don't go bust. It's the fifth dispute this year.'
'Sixth. We were on a go-slow last month.'
The woman groaned. 'How you get any cars out at all beats me.'
'Leave it alone, Hazel. I have to follow the Union rules.'
'Yes, you all do, don't you? You're all bloody mindless.'
They get us more money, don't they? And better conditions.'
'And what are they going to do when there's no car plant left? When the Americans pull out?'
'Leave off. That'll never happen.'
'No, not until it does.'
The couple sat in silence for a few moments, each annoyed with the other.
'At least it gives me more time with the kids, don't it?' Terry said finally.
Hazel sniffed.
The two children returned, the boy kicking the ball ahead and the girl running after it, trying to smother it with her body. Terry leapt to his feet and ran towards them, kicking the ball away from the girl who shrieked with glee.
Hazel smiled at the three of them and pushed thoughts of strikes and unions and weekends spent indoors away from her mind. 'Lazy bastard,'
she said softly, still smiling, as she watched her husband kick the football with his knee onto his head.
'Okay, Keith, in goal,' Terry told the boy who immediately pulled a disgusted face.
'I'm always in goal. Can't you go in for a change, Dad?'
'Yeah, I will. When I've scored three, all right? In between those two trees, go on.'
The boy slunk off and stood between two horn beams hands on his hips, facing his prancing father.
The girl tried to grab the ball from her father's feet and giggled when he pulled it away from her with the underside of one foot.
'No you don't, Josie. You're up against a pro here.' Terry kicked the ball clear of his daughter then gave it a hefty kick towards the makeshift goal. Keith met it with a kick of his own and sent it skimming back past his father.
'Show off!' Terry called out and ran after it, slipping and falling onto his back as he stretched a foot out to halt the ball's progress.
Hazel and the two children laughed aloud as Terry struggled to his feet, a rueful grin on his face.
'All right, you asked for it,' he called back to Keith. 'Get ready for this one!'
He retrieved the ball, placed it firmly on the ground, took a few steps back, then kicked it high and hard towards the goal mouth Josie bravely jumped up and tried to catch the ball, but the boy was older and wiser: he ducked and let it sail over his head. The ball disappeared with a rustle of protesting leaves into the heavy clump of bushes behind the trees.
'Oh, Dad!' Keith moaned.
Terry, that's too hard,' said Hazel, reproachfully.
Well, go and get it, son,' said Terry, unabashed.
But Keith squatted on the ground, arms folded across his chest, a set expression on his face.
'I get it, Daddy,' Josie cried out, scurrying towards the bushes.
Watch her, Terry, don't let her go out of sight,' Hazel said anxiously.
'She's all right, it didn't go far.' Terry stretched his arms and gazed at the greenness around him. 'Beats bloody working,' he muttered under his breath.
Josie peered into the bushes, then jiggled her body through the small opening she had found. She squirmed further into the undergrowth, her eyes darting from left to right in search of the lost ball. Her mother's voice followed her through the tangle of leaves and branches, but the girl's mind was too concentrated on her quest to listen. She squealed in excitement when she saw the white round object of her search nestling beneath a leafy bush, and pushed herself forward, wincing as the branches scratched at her legs.
She reached the ball in a final determined rush, then squatted on her haunches to retrieve it. Something moved just beyond the football.
Something dark, hiding in the darker shadows of the thick undergrowth.
Josie's fingertips reached for the ball and flicked it free, rolling it back towards her. She hugged it to her chest and was about to rise when her sharp little eyes caught sight of the animal. She moved closer, ducking beneath the leaves to get a better view. The football was forgotten for the moment and left to one side, shiny and wet. Josie crawled forward on all fours, oblivious to the damp earth which muddied her hands and knees. In the dimness she could just distinguish a black, stiff-furred body and two close-set highlights reflected in the creature's eyes. It did not move, but waited for her to draw near.
'Good doggy,' Josie said happily. 'Come here. Come on.'
A thick branch blocked her way and she pushed at it impatiently, but it would not budge. She reached over, wanting to stroke the animal's head.
The pointed head jerked once, then stretched forward towards the approaching fingers. The girl giggled, overjoyed that the animal wanted to be friendly, and pushed even harder against the branch so that she could touch
