Least Said (61 page)

Living
by
the
proverb
that
least said was soonest mended
–
as
I
had
managed
to
do
until
quite
recently
–
clearly
wasn’t
going
to
be
relevant
for
my
situation
any
longer.

Chapter 16

Of
course,
Will
was
full
of
the
fact
that
I’d
turned
up
at
the
school
gates
long
before
it
was
time
for
him
to
go
home,
so
there
was
absolutely
no
chance
at
all
of
keeping
it
from
Jon.

‘Mr
Montgomery
didn’t
look
very
pleased,
but
Mummy
said
he
didn’t
tell
her
off,’
he
told
Jon
glibly.

Jon
was
so
taken
by
surprise
that
I’d
turned
up
at
the
school
out
of
the
blue
that
he
was
actually
forced
to
look
at
me.

‘I
was
working
and
totally
lost
track
of
the
time,’
I
said,
equally
glibly,
managing
a
nonchalant
shrug
for
authenticity.
‘I
thought
it
was
an
hour
later
than
it
was,
and
rushed
off
in
a
panic
without
checking
the
clock
properly.
Mr
Montgomery
said
he
completely
understood
when
I
explained.’

‘Who
is
Mr
Montgomery?’
Jon
turned
his
attention
back
to
Will
with
a
speed
that
was
hurtful
in
spite
of
everything.
‘I
haven’t
heard
his
name
before,
have
I?
Is
he
new
at
the
school?’

‘Yes,’
Will
confirmed
importantly.
‘He
started
when
we
all
went
back
after
the
summer
holidays.
He’s
tall
–
like
a
real
giant
–
and
he
teaches
us
sport
and
PE.
He
says
I’m
a
natural
sportsman.’
He
paused
and
frowned,
before
asking,
‘What
does
that
mean
exactly,
Daddy?’

‘It
means,’
Jon
said,
ruffling
Will’s
dark
hair,
‘that
you
are
very
good
at
sports
and
games,
so
–
if
you’ve
finished
eating
your
tea
–
what
say
we
go
for
a
quick
kick-about
in
the
park
before
it
gets
too
dark?’

‘Yeah,’
Will
was
down
from
the
table
in
an
instant,
encouraging,
‘come
on,
Mum.’

‘Oh
,
not
today
Will.’

When
he
looked
at
me
in
astonishment
–
as
well
he
might,
because
he
and
his
Dad
never
went
to
the
park
without
me
–
I
realised
I
had
to
come
up
with
some
sort
of
fitting
explanation,
but
Jon
got
there
first
because
clearly
he
didn’t
want
my
company
even
if
Will
did.

‘Mummy
has
a
very
urgent
order
that
needs
to
be
completed
ASAP,
don’t you
,
Mummy
?’
he
said,
with
emphasis
and
a
sharp
look
that
dared
me
to
even
think
of
contradicting
him.

‘I
do,’
I
agreed,
and
then,
with
a
bit
more
enthusiasm,
I
encouraged,
‘You’d
better
get
a
move
on
or
it
will
be
too
dark
to
see
the
ball.’

I
felt
the
rejection
keenly
as
I
put
the
dishes
in
the
dishwasher
and
made
a
desultory
effort
to
tidy
the
kitchen.
By
the
time
I’d
finished
weak
tears
were
trickling
down
my
face
and
dripping
from
my
chin.
Jon
was
doing
his
best
to
keep
some
sort
of
normality
in
Will’s
life
-
that
much
was
easy
to
see
-
and
I
knew
I
had
to
applaud
him
for
it.
Given
the
appalling
information
he
had
stumbled
across
only
the
day
before,
I
knew
I
couldn’t
–
and
shouldn’t
–
be
expecting
more
from
him.

I
went
into
my
work
room
and
churned
out
rich
fruit
cakes
as
if
my
life
depended
on
it.
I
thought
that
my
sanity
probably
did
depend
on
me
keeping
busy.
William
came
in
to
say
goodnight
after
he’d
returned,
been
bathed
and
was
ready
for
bed.
I
kept
working
until
the
house
was
dark
and
silent
then
crept
upstairs
to
lie
on
the
edge
of
the
bed
until
sleep
finally
came.

Breakfast
the
following
morning
would
have
been
another
silent
and
uncomfortable
affair,
had
it
not
been
for
William’s
bright
chatter
forcing
us
to
respond.
It
was
while
he
was
upstairs
searching
for
a
book
he
particularly
wanted
to
show
his
class
tutor
that
Jon
suddenly
spoke
to
me
and
I
was
so
shocked
that
I
actually
jumped.

‘I’ll
take
Will
to
school
today
–
and
then
I
will
be
coming
home,’
he
said,
‘to
talk.’

‘Oh.’
I
thought
about
the
ten
o’clock
appointment
with
Gareth
Montgomery
that
I
wouldn’t
be
able
to
keep.
I
thought
about
telling
Jon
it
wasn’t
a
good
time
for
me
because
I
had
already
made
prior
arrangements.
However,
I
knew
with
absolute
certainty
that
I
had
no
rights
at
all
in
this
matter,
and
could
only
think
myself
lucky
that
Jon
was
willing
to
give
me
any
time
of
any
day.