The weekend before Halloween, my friend Milli drives up from Pretoria to stay overnight. She has brought me a Halloween present – a Stephen King book. A thick Stephen King book! The Tommyknockers, it’s called. It’s from a second-hand bookshop, of course. New books are disgustingly expensive.

But wow! The only thing better than a horror movie is a horror book! And Stephen King is the King of Horror Story Writers. The Shining, Carrie, Pet Sematary … Many of his books have been turned into movies as well.

“Thank you,” I say and hug Milli. “I’ll hide it away till after my exams. Else I won’t get any studying done!”

She shakes her head at me. “I still think you’re crazy. How can you enjoy getting scared out of your mind, Mel? It’s a mystery to me.”

Milli has brought her chee-wa-wa too. (Okay, I know the correct spelling is Chihuahua.) The thing starts yapping madly in this high-pitched voice. It sounds awful, like nails on a blackboard. And that sets off the dogs in the Surgery: they howl and howl like the Souls of the Damned.

So Tefo comes out, and sees Milli. “Oh no!” he laughs. “Mel and Milli, double trouble. Always causing havoc!”

He gives Milli a big bear-hug. And then he spots a second dog in her car. A second one! It has so much hair you can’t even see its eyes. You can hardly tell which end is the front and which end is the back.

Tefo picks it up in his arms. “Oh you are just beautiful,” he tells the creature. “And what’s your name? Milli is so lucky to have you, my little one.”

“Two dogs, Milli?” I say. “You must be crazy!”

But no-one is listening to me. Tefo and Milli and the two dogs head inside the house, leaving me behind. I find them in the lounge, all on the carpet. Tefo and Milli are playing with the two mutts like two little kids.

“I hope your dogs are house-broken,” I say. “I don’t want them peeing on Dr Dreyer’s carpet.”

But Tefo and Milli don’t even hear me. They’re too busy playing with the dogs, too busy discussing them.

* * * * *

By late afternoon, the two mutts are tired out. They lie on Dr Dreyer’s carpet, snoring and drooling and shedding hair.

Milli says, “It’s the ICC World Cup tonight. Pakistan versus South Africa. We have to watch, right? I think SA is batting first.”

“Of course,” says Tefo. “And Mel will make us some popcorn, won’t you, Mel?”

While I microwave two packets of popcorn, Tefo goes off to the Surgery to feed the animal in-patients. Milli comes to the kitchen to chat.

“So? How are you enjoying country life?” she asks.

I tell her I love it. She shudders and pulls a face.

“Rather you than me,” she says. “You are so weird. I’m too scared of snakes and creepy crawlies. Yuck! Give me city streets every time.”

The sun is beginning to set so it’s time for my country walk. I leave Tefo and Milli behind, sitting together on the sofa watching the boring cricket game. Eating the bowl of popcorn.

No doubt, Milli’s two dogs have jumped onto the sofa too, leaving smelly hair all over Dr Dreyer’s cushions.

***

Tell us: If you were Melissa, would you leave animal-loving Tefo and Milli alone together?