Least Said (68 page)

I
felt
the
ready
tears
fill
my
eyes,
as
I
admitted,
‘I
can’t
seem
to
get
anything
right
lately.
Can
you
let
them
in
when
they
get
here,
Calum?
I
have
a
few
things
to
do.’

Without
waiting
for
his
answer,
I
took
myself
off
to
my
work
room,
visualising
the
mess
I
had
left
it
in,
and
feeling
the
usual
need
I
had
at
times
of
crisis
to
keep
busy.

A
single
glance
round
the
pristine
room
was
enough
to
make
the
tears
that
still
threatened
spill
over
and
pour
down
my
face.
Tina
had
obviously
kept
herself
busy
until
it
was
time
to
collect
Will
from
school,
because
several
cakes
sported
a
marzipan
coat
and
the
work
tops
were
cleared
and
spotless.

I
really
thought
I
had
no
tears
left
to
cry,
but
somehow
they
continued
to
fall
though
I
made
no
sound.
All
day
I
had
felt
so
alone,
tormenting
myself
with
how
I’d
managed
to
get
everything
so
wrong,
and
then
a
friend’s
simple
act
of
kindness
had
reminded
me
that
there
was
actually
someone
on
my
side.

I
didn’t
hear
the
door
open,
but
suddenly
a
pair
of
arms
came
round
and
held
me
close.
I
knew
that
it
wasn’t
Jon.
That
would
have
been
too
much
to
hope
for,
but
the
very
next
best
thing
was
Tina,
offering
her
love
and
support,
just
as
she
always
had.

‘Thank
you
for
this.’
I
indicated
the
room
with
a
sweep
of
my
hand,
and
then
asked
in
a
rush,’
How
is
he?
How
is
Jon?’

‘Oh,
a
bit
battered
and
bruised
–
mostly
his
ego
I
have
to
say
–
but
he’ll
live.
What
the
hell
was
he
doing,
sneaking
around
the
house
anyway?’
she
demanded,
indignantly.

‘I
live
here,’
Jon’s
voice
was hard
and
strident
from
the
doorway,
making
us
both
jump,
‘though
you
both
seem
to
have
forgotten
that.
In
fact,
you
both
seem
to
have
forgotten
quite
a
lot
of
crucial
facts
that
concerned
me
over
quite
a
long
period
of
time.’

I
rushed
towards
him.
‘Oh,
my
God,
Jon,
I
can’t
tell
you
how
sorry
I
am.
Are
you
all
right?’

‘Well,
obviously
I’ll
live,
as
your
friend
so
nicely
put
it.
No
thanks
to
you
,
I
might
add.’

The
huge
bruise
so
apparent
on
the
side
of
his
head
made
me
flinch,
but
I
still
had
to
make
an
effort
to
defend
myself.
‘I
didn’t
know
it
was
you,
Jon,
I
would
never
hurt
you.’

‘Well,’
he
said
with
a
nasty
sneer
on
his
face,
‘we
both
know
that’s
not
true,
don’t
we,
Wendy,
 
especially
after
everything
that’s
come
to
light
over
these
past
few
days.’

‘Can
we
keep
it
down
a
bit
everyone?’
Calum
put
his
head
round
the
door.
‘Let’s
not
forget
we
have
a
little
guy
out
here
who
might
well
hear
every
word.’
He
looked
at
our
tense
faces,
and
then
suggested,
‘In
fact,
why
don’t
I
take
Will
with
me
to
buy
a
take
away
–
but
perhaps
you
could
try
and
sort
something
out
before
we
get
back,
eh?’

In
silence
we
listened
to
him
encouraging
William,
‘Come
on
then,
mate.
I’ve
just
been
told
no
one
fancies
cooking
so
it’s
takeaway
tonight
–
and
we
get
to
choose.’

Bless
Calum,
he
injected
so
much
enthusiasm
into
his
voice
that
William
immediately
became
very
excited,
shouting,
‘Pizza,
pizza,’
at
the
top
of
his
voice,
and
we
listened
to
the
ensuing
scramble
for
coats
and
then
the
slam
of
the
front
door
behind
them.

‘I
suppose
we
should
be
grateful
that
it’s
not
McDonalds
again,’
I
commented,
trying
desperately
to
inject
some
humour
into
a
situation
that
clearly
had
nothing
humorous
about
it.

‘I,’
Jon
interjected
bitterly,
‘have
bugger
all
to
be
grateful
for,
and
that’s
putting
it
mildly.
I’m
supposed
to
be
grateful
for
a
son
who
isn’t
even
mine,
and
a
wife
who
sleeps
around
and
tries
to
bash
my
brains
out.’

‘I
haven’t
–
I
didn’t...,’
I
struggled
to
defend
myself
against
the
charges
against
me,
but
it
amounted
to
pleading
that
Will
might
be
his,
that
technically
I
hadn’t
slept
around,
and
I
hadn’t
meant
to
bash
him
over
the
head.
In
other
words,
my
defence
didn’t
amount
to
very
much
at
all.