Darley Street: Season Two Ep 6 - Hey Doggie, Hey Mrs Mac

By Steve Gray

Bijay didn’t always walk Shnuk as he headed down Darley Street but if the weather was right he liked to give the dog a different walk to his usual one, which was around their block at home.

Today Bijay was heading to the bakery and was all set to cross the road at the corner of Hill Street, a car made a noise coming around the corner and Shnuk got a fright. In an instant it pulled harder than usual and slipped its collar, Bijay's wife always said it was too loose!

Bijay called out to it as it headed off down the street in a hurry ‘Shnuk! Come back!’ The feisty little dog was well down the street and then headed into the nursery, the only open door on this side of the street. 

Shnuk ran in and hid under the front counter tucked into one corner, Pat and Germaine heard Bijay call out and heard something come in their front door, the dog was lower than the people sensor and so it didn’t cause the bell to ring.

Bijay saw it head in the door, fortunately, and wasn’t far behind. The pair stood in wonderment as Mr Mandal came in, in a huff and a puff, it was only a short run but enough to cause him to breathe a bit faster.

‘Hi girls, Shnuk headed in here, he slipped his lead and did a runner!’ together they looked out the back and then shut the back door just in case, they were sure the dog hadn’t gone past them. Pat then closed the front door and Bijay scoured the space calling the dog. There it was, under the front counter.

He called it but it wouldn’t come, thankfully he carried a small bunch of dog treats for such events. While on his hands and knees Bijay explained how a car made a noise and the dog took off. 

All three were now on their knees trying to coerce the dog to come out. Shnuk happily ate the treats that landed close by, after a while it came out further, enough that Bijay was able to coax it closer to put the collar back on, crisis averted.

The dog got its fair share of pats from the girls as the three of them chatted, Bijay was most pleased that the girls cared enough to shut the back door and help him. Mr Mandal was a regular and had been for a long time, the girls were only too eager to help out.

Bijay headed out ever thankful for their support and gave a wave.

Later that day Mrs Mac came down the street walking frame doing its thing, providing support. She stopped just outside the nursery, she sat on the walker gathering her breath, something she never did, something she didn’t have to do before.

Across the road at Eclectica cafe a customer was watching, they had an elderly parent and knew that a person stopping to sit could be a warning sign. Mrs Mac sat motionless for a while and then slumped in her walker and fell to the ground.

The customer was still watching and called out ‘Oh shite, someone call an ambulance!’ She headed out the door and rushed across the road, quickly checking for traffic. Other people ran over also, two women and a gent who said he had some first aid training.

Laura and Penny in the laundry, noted the call out and the people rushing in the street, Laura came out and saw what was happening and provided a blanket, just in case. They did their best to make Mrs Mac comfortable, now sporting graze on her face.

Dan poked his nose out, remembering that the Accountants had a defibrillator and raced up their stairs to get it. Thankfully it wasn’t required but it was there just in case.

For some reason the Ambulance wasn’t far away and was there in a matter of minutes. Mrs Mac mentioned she blacked out and was very light headed. The Paramedics did a wonderful job, asking all the right questions about her address and next of kin. 

It wasn’t long before the scene was cleared, and Mrs Mac was off to the nearest hospital, Dan offering to look after her walking frame for her. The defibrillator returned, everything settled for the rest of the afternoon. 

Mrs Mac could have her moments, be a ‘little racist’ at times but in the main people saw her as a constant in the ever changing world that was Darley Street.

It would be a few weeks before she was out and about again, the hospital rang Dan and advised that Mrs Mac would want her walker back.

Mrs Mac came down the street one last time, she was preparing to head into an aged care facility, one near her sister's place in the next few days. Her local church had organised a crew to help clear out her old house and get things ready to sell. 

It would be the end of an era, one that most people figured would happen, but it was a matter of when. Everyone wished her well.

No two days were the same in Darley Street; people come, and people go. Today’s events were brought to you by the words ‘run doggie run’ and the notion that people cared.