Least Said (11 page)

As
I
swept
Tina
before
me
into
the
kitchen
and
switched
the
kettle
on,
I
could
remember
all
too
clearly
the
furore
when
Leanne
became
ill
with
meningitis
and
how
Tina
had
felt
obliged
to
make
the
decision
to
share
with
Calum
the
fact
that
he
had
a
seventeen
year
old
daughter.

To
say
he
was
angry
that
she
hadn’t
seen
fit
to
apprise
him
of
this
fact
sooner
–
seventeen
years
sooner,
in
fact
–
was
a
massive
understatement.
Tina
telling
him
that
she’d
planned
to
reveal
his
identity
to
Leanne
on
her
eighteenth
birthday
and
leave
her
to
contact
him
had
done
nothing
to
help
matters
at
all.

‘You’re
very
quiet,’
Tina
said
suddenly,
as
I
put
her
tea,
milky
with
two
sugars
just
as
she
liked
it,
in
front
of
her
and
pushed
the
plate
of
chocolate
digestives
her
way.

I
smiled.
‘Just
remembering
how
it
was,’
I
said,
‘when
Calum
found
out
about
being
Leanne’s
father.’

‘Oh,
please
don’t
remind
me,’
she
pleaded.
‘How
I
could
ever
have
thought
keeping
such
a
thing
from
him
was
the
right
thing
to
do,
I
can’t
for
the
life
of
me
imagine
now.
Thank
God
they
both
forgave
me
eventually
–
but
it
was
far
more
than
I
deserved.’

‘You
did
what
you
thought
was
best,’
I
assured
her.
‘It’s
all
that
any
of
us
can
do.’

‘Who
did
you
think
I
was?’
Tina
asked
suddenly,
and
I
stared
at
her,
until
she
continued,
‘You
know,
when
you
opened
the
door
to
me?
You
obviously
weren’t
expecting
me,
so
who
were
you
expecting?
Someone
you
didn’t
want
to
see,
evidently,
because
you
wrenched
the
door
open
with
such
force
and
stood
there
looking
as
if
you
were
ready
to
do
battle
with
whoever
you
imagined
was
on
the
doorstep.’

I
pulled
a
face,
felt
the
ready
tears
fill
my
eyes
and
finally
blurted,
‘I
think
I
saw
him
again,
Tina,
and
even
closer
to
home
this
time.’

‘By
him,
I
suppose
you
mean
the
rugby
player?’

I
nodded,
and
could
feel
the
sense
of
panic
that
was
becoming
all
too
familiar
since
that
first
sighting
sweep
over
me.

‘And
you’re
sure
–
quite
sure?’

‘Well,
that’s
just
it,’
I
admitted
reluctantly.
‘I
was
positive
at
the
moment
I
saw
him,
and
remained
positive
all
the
way
home,
then
I
calmed
down
a
bit
and
managed
to
convince
myself
I
was
wrong
–
until
the
phone
rang
and
a
man’s
voice
said
my
name.’

Tina
looked
startled.

‘It
wasn’t
him,’
I
shook
my
head,
‘but
I’d
no
sooner
put
the
phone
down
than
the
doorbell
went
straight
away.
It
was
you,
of
course,
but
I
swear
to
God
I
thought
he
would
be
standing
there
and
I
was
completely
terrified.
What
am
I
going
to
do,
Tina?’

‘Nothing,
 
is
the
answer
to
that,’
she
stated
in
her
calm
way.
‘You’re
getting
yourself
into
a
complete
state
about
nothing,
Wendy.
Okay,
I
accept
that
you
saw
him
once.
I
understand
that
it
was
a
huge
shock
for
you,
but
I
think
you
have
to
accept
it
for
the
coincidence
it
really
was.’

‘But
he
recognised
me.’

‘No,’
she
said
firmly,
‘that’s
not
quite
true,
is
it?
He
thought
he
knew
you
from
somewhere
–
there
is
quite
a
big
difference.
Remember
he
even
said,
“Don’t
I
know
you
from
somewhere
?”
So
he
obviously
just
thought
you
looked
familiar.
You
told
me
yourself
how
you
rushed
out
of
there, and
you
can
bet
your
life
that
he
will
have
shrugged
his
shoulders
and
forgotten
all
about
you
before
the
door
had
even
closed
behind
you.’

My
shoulders
slumped
as
the
tension
began
to
seep
out
of
me.
‘I
don’t
know
how
many
times
you’re
going
to
have
to
tell
me
I’m
being
paranoid.’
I
pulled
a
rueful
face.

‘As
many
times
as
it
takes
to
make
you
see
that
you’re
worrying
for
nothing,
is
the
answer
to
that.’

‘Thank
you
so
much.’

I
felt
like
flinging
my
arms
around
her
neck
I
was
so
full
of
gratitude.
I’d
never
found
another
friend
like
Tina
since
she’d
moved
out
of
the
area,
and
I
knew
I
never
would.
I
shouldn’t
be
wishing
to
turn
back
time
,
but
I
couldn’t
help
myself
wishing
with
all
my
heart
that
we
still
lived
in
those
much
smaller
houses
next
door
to
each
other.
Life
always
seemed
so
much
simpler,
somehow,
when
you
had
a
sensible
friend
on
tap.