Least Said (21 page)

‘Shopping,’
Will
chimed
in,
‘yuk.’

‘So,
you
don’t
want
to
go
to
the
biggest
toyshop
in
London,
then?’
Jon
winked
at
Calum,
who
immediately
added,
‘Oh,
no,
because
that
would
be
shopping
,
wouldn’t
it?
And
we
don’t
like
shopping
,
do
we,
Will?’

‘Noooooo,’
William
danced
around
the
two
men,
‘I
meant
I
didn’t
like
clothes
shopping.’

‘Oh,
clothes
shopping.’
Jon
and
Calum
spoke
in
unison
and
nodded.
‘It’s
clothes
shopping
we
don’t
like.
Not
toy
shopping.’

‘Stop
teasing
the
child,’
Tina
scolded
and
swept
Will
up
in
her
arms
and
hugged
him
close.
‘If
your
Daddy
and
Uncle
Calum
don’t
take
you
to
Hamley’s
then
your
Mummy
and
I
will.’

‘You
might
not
have
time.’
Will
looked
into
her
eyes
anxiously,
looking
and
finding
reassurance
there.

‘We
will,’
she
assured
him,
and
Will’s
face
became
one
big
beam.

*

‘We
should
do
this
more
often,’
Jon
said,
just
after
we
hit
the
M27
on
Friday
afternoon.

‘Oh,
no,’
I
shook
my
head,
ignoring
the
exited,
‘Yesssss,’
that
came
from
Will
safely
strapped
into
his
booster
seat
in
the
back
of
the
car,
‘we
couldn’t
make
a
habit
of
landing
on
Tina
and
Calum
–
they’re
far
too
busy.’

‘I
meant,’
Jon
explained,
‘taking
off
for
the
weekend
like
this.
We
never
do
anything
spontaneous
anymore.’

‘Well,
with
you
at
work
and
Will
at
school...,’
I
began.

‘Nothing
stopping
me
leaving
work
early
on
a
Friday
like
I
did
today,’
Jon
sounded
almost
as
excited
as
William
and
over-rode
my
protests
before
I
could
voice
them,
‘and
leave
as
soon
as
we’ve
collected
Will
from
school.
We
could
do
much
more
now
that
he’s
a
bit
older.’

‘It
would
be
nice...’

‘And
we
should
be
thinking
about
going
on
a
proper
holiday,
too,
somewhere
abroad.’

‘Really?’

‘Really.’

‘What
about
the
expense?
We’d
have
to
pay
a
lot
more
in
the
school
holidays?’

‘Accepted,’
Jon
said
easily,
‘but
between
us
we
have
far
more
money
than
we
ever
expected
to
be
earning.
Certainly
enough
for
us
to
enjoy
a
regular
family
holiday
without
worrying
about
the
cost.’

I
felt
a
flicker
of
excitement
and,
glancing
at
Jon,
I
thought
how
lucky
I
was
to
have
him.
I’d
always
loved
him,
but
I
thought
I
loved
him
more
now
than
ever.
He
was
strong,
dependable,
the
rock
at
the
foundation
of
our
marriage.

‘I
love
you,’
I
said,
placing
my
hand
on
his
thigh
and
squeezing,
and
then
I
added
over
my
shoulder,
‘both
of
you,’
and
then
smiled
as
I
realised
that
Will
was
sound
asleep.

‘Soundo,
is
he?’
Jon
glanced
in
the
rear-view
mirror.
‘Never
takes
long
does
it?
Takes
after
his
old
man…,’

There
was
a
pause
before
Jon
continued,
and
I
discovered
I
had
stopped
breathing.

‘Yeah,
definitely
takes
after
me
for
being
able
to
practically
fall
asleep
on
a
clothes
line.’

I
started
breathing
again,
and
even
managed
a
light
laugh,
before
reminding
him
of
the
time
he’d
been
coming
back
by
train,
late
at
night,
from
a
business
meeting
in
London,
and
hadn’t
woken
up
until
the
train
reached
the
end
of
the
line
in
Weymouth.

‘The
taxi
fare
almost
broke
the
bank,
as
I
recall.
I
won’t
be
doing
that
again
in
a
hurry.’

‘Still,
it
was
worth
it,’
I
recalled,
‘for
the
news
you
brought
with
you.
Your
little
business
being
bought
out
at
a
handsome
profit
and
the
offer
of
a
well-paid
job
with
the
company
you
sold
out
to
on
a
salary
that
made
our
eyes
pop.
News
like
that
takes
some
topping.’

Jon
was
smiling
–
as
I
was,
too
–
while
we
were
talking,
but
then
his
expression
suddenly
became
serious.
‘It
should
have
been
a
great
time
for
us,
and
it
would
have
been
if
only
I
hadn’t
been
so
obsessed
with
the
fact
we
weren’t
conceiving.’

‘Jon,
don’t.’
I
touched
his
arm,
already
knowing
what
was
coming
next
and
dreading
it.

‘But
I
behaved
like
an
idiot,
Wendy,
and
we
both
know
it.
I
just
didn’t
want
to
accept
what
I
was
being
told.
Yet
even
from
the
early
tests
it
was
quite
clear
that
the
fault
was
mine.’