Shared Skies (3 page)

As she handed it over she said, “You're not
going to find them, you know. I saw them every week of my life,
without fail, for six years and then, they just left me! Never
heard from them again. Maybe they blamed dad and me for their
daughter dying, I don’t know.” She spoke lightly, but she couldn't
keep the hurt and loneliness from her voice.

Bryant spoke. “Look, leave it with me. It’s
quite obvious your dad wasn't aware of this situation.”

Andrew spread his hands in a gesture of
helplessness. “I'd no idea. I'm afraid I…I wasn't…I'm not...very
aware of what happens outside my studio. I haven't been any help to
Gaiah at all. I'm so sorry.” Gaiah took one of his hands. “Oh Dad,
there´s nothing you could have done anyway. Please don´t
worry.”

Bryant looked at them both and said, “Look,
if I could get Gaiah in somewhere else, just for the next few
months, to finish her education, wouldn't that be good?” She turned
slightly towards Gaiah. “A new place where no one knows you, no
preconceptions or history, and then you could be off to university
with all this behind you.”

Despite her bravado, Gaiah knew she really
didn't want to give up her studies. They were all she had been
interested in for the last year or two. The challenge of upping her
grade every term had been her main occupation, as she definitely
hadn't been socializing. “I suppose so.” was the most enthusiastic
reply she could muster.

The policewoman stood. She packed away her
files and pens. “As I said, leave things with me. Study at home for
the next day or two, these things take time, I’ll be in
touch.”Andrew escorted her to the front door, clearing his throat
and swallowing hard as he thanked her for her concern.

Perhaps I should run down the road after
her, pretend I have their phone number as well, and I’ll get her on
her own. Try to make her decide all was as it should be and close
the file.

Before Gaiah could act, Andrew called her.
“Gaiah, we need to talk.” She followed him into the kitchen, well
aware that once again there was a lost opportunity to ‘suggest’ at
Bryant.

They sat across from each other at the
gleaming wooden table. Her dad filled two mugs with coffee and slid
one across to her. His constant coffee drinking was one American
habit he never lost in his move to Britain. “I’m so sorry, Gaiah,
so sorry. I can see I've left you alone far too much, while I tried
to cope with…everything. I didn't realize how lost you were too,
how you were struggling.” The sleeves of his denim shirt were
rolled up to the elbows and his hands engulfed his cup. “I know you
think if you knew all about your mother, everything would be fine.
And honestly, I’d love to tell you about her, but the truth is,
whenever I try to think about that time, a fog comes down, it’s a
blur. No memories are clear, just the intensity of the feelings.
Your mother was the most incredible person I ever met.” He paused,
staring into his coffee cup as if it were a window to the past. He
chewed the inside of his bottom lip; the effort of dredging up
these memories and talking about them was obvious. “My life lit up
when I met Nia, Gaiah. Your mother and I were radiant and complete
together, it was like I saw and felt everything differently. And
when we found out we were going to have a baby, we felt truly
blessed. From the moment she discovered she was pregnant, your mum
called you her ‘Darling Gaiah. A name I’d never heard before, but I
loved it immediately. Then when you were born…my God…it was
unbelievable…”

“
We were very happy,
weren’t we Dad? I mean, really, truly happy–I remember Mum playing
in the woods with me.”

“
Happy is too small a
word. Oh, Gaiah, I’d give anything to be able to tell you every
detail about your mother. But the more I try to remember Nia, the
more I lose her. All I know is that from the day I met her, I was
filled with pure love, pure art, with the will and the ability to
do anything, to create anything. That was when I started on the
biggest work of my life,
Spirit of the
Forest
. Your mother would bring you to the
grove where I was working, you danced and played there like a
little forest cherub until, in what seemed like minutes, the day
was over and I had done wondrous work. I remember that happiness
alright.”

He paused and smiled. “We were a trinity,
Gaiah, and in that trinity we were far, far more than just three
people, we were a kind of force. Your grandparents, Alasdair and
Kaley, added even more to us. When they arrived every weekend, it
was as if our world was complete.” Gaiah closed her eyes. Andrew
was opening the curtains on a magical panorama; she could nearly
smell the pine cones in the forest.

“
When your mother died,
I…we...lost all that. You were only six. I thought time would heal
us, and then Kaley and Alasdair left. I still tried Gaiah. I spent
a whole year trying to cope there. But I couldn't. So, when the
sale of
The Spirit of the Forest
made it possible, I jumped at the chance to take
us out of Scotland and move. But since then, I've been living a
half-life. Trying to…trying to…” His voice broke.

Gaiah’s eyes blurred with tears as she
rounded the table to hold her dad. The shock of discovering her
unhappiness and loneliness had made him open up to her more than
ever before, and while she was glad of this she was still filled
with unanswered questions.

Andrew took a deep breath and banged his mug
down on the table. He reached for the kitchen roll and blew his
nose loudly.“Right, well...will we do something together today? Go
to a park or something…a cinema…?” He trailed off and Gaiah had to
smile at him. He was going to try to fix ten years in an
afternoon.

“
It’s okay dad, I’m fine,
honestly, go back to your studio. We’ll work things out and I
really
do
have
work to do.”

He protested, but was already on his feet
heading for the door. “Things must change, Gaiah. I’ll come back
down soon and we’ll talk more.”

The day slipped by. Gaiah finished some
projects and caught up with the soaps she was following on TV. He
appeared for the dinner Gaiah had cooked from the freezer. He was
covered in clay and scribbling designs in a notebook, as usual.
However, during the meal he also questioned her on her school life,
and his eyes watched her carefully as she tried to make light of
her situation.

Later, he kissed her goodnight, hugged her
tightly and said, “Sleep well, don't worry. Let's see what tomorrow
brings.”

Gaiah worked up a smile and hugged him back.
“Okay Dad, you too.”

***

Around three o’clock in the morning Gaiah
gave up trying to sleep. Restlessly changing positions and dozing
for ten minutes at a time, she’d squirmed the sheets into hard,
uncomfortable ridges. Something had to happen, to change. Her hair,
her ability to influence people, it wasn’t normal. It had to mean
something, or at least, be good for something. She tip-toed down to
the kitchen. Her soft slippers and thick, white dressing gown
turned her into a ghost figure, floating through the silent
emptiness of this great house.

Toast–the answer to everything. The melted
butter dripped through her fingers as she bit into the warm,
crunchy thickness of the wholemeal bread. But she still fidgeted
and somehow fizzed inside. Anticipation, even excitement bubbled
through her. Whatever this whole situation with school and Bryant
meant, it was forcing something to happen.

Returning to bed, she fell into a fitful
sleep until the doorbell, shrilling through the morning silence,
shocked her awake. According to her bedside clock it was only ten
past nine. By the time Gaiah had pulled on her jeans and an old
grey sweatshirt, Andrew was opening the door yet again, to Officer
Bryant. Hearing who it was, Gaiah flew back to her room, piled her
hair into a black wooly hat and joined her father in the drawing
room.

Officer Bryant’s grim face matched her tone,
as she said, “I must say I’m surprised and distressed at the lies
you both saw fit to tell me yesterday.”

“
What?” Gaiah’s voice
squeaked in shock.

“
How dare you?” Andrew’s
voice overlapped Gaiah’s.

Bryant held up a hand, and continued.
“Directory enquiries had no trouble giving me a number, when I gave
them the name and address you’d given me. Not only are Kaley and
Alasdair Shaman at that address, when I rang them last evening,
they told me they have always lived there. I had a long chat with
them. They were sad, but not surprised to hear you'd told me they'd
disappeared. They said you'd gone off the rails after their
daughter died and refused them all contact with Gaiah.

“
That’s
not
true,” shouted
Gaiah.

Andrew grabbed for one of the ornate chairs,
and collapsed into as if someone had just punched him. Gaiah ran to
him. “Tell her, Dad, tell her this is bullshit! I don’t know who
she was talking to but it sure as hell wasn't my grandparents. Tell
her.”

Getting no response from Andrew, Gaiah
turned on Bryant. “This is completely mad. Show me any paperwork,
any documentation at all to prove it.”

Bryant stared blankly back at Gaiah, her
eyes narrowed and she scrubbed at her temple with her fingertips.
Frowning, Gaiah glanced at her father to see if he was noticing
this, but he was leaning forward, elbows on his knees, looking over
his twisting hands at the carpet.

Bryant shook her head as if to clear it, and
focused on Gaiah again. “Look, I double-checked all their
information with the Inverness police, who told me they are a
well-known couple in the area, because of their involvement with
the search and rescue volunteers. Now, this is clearly a most
unusual situation. I don’t know what´s going on, but I have a
suggestion, which, given the circumstances, I would strongly advise
you accept. Your grandparents sounded like lovely, caring people.
They suggested you go and live with them.”

She held up her hands to forestall Gaiah's
outraged comments. “As it happens, they are friends with the
principal of the local college which is having an open day next
Sunday, so you could join the school with any other new intakes.
Kaley herself suggested to me it would be best to get you there by
then. They are willing to help you comply with any supervision
requirements and help you complete your studies. So you…”

Gaiah interrupted her “No.
No, No! That’s
not
going to happen. They left us! They didn't write or call.
This is impossible, it can't be them. I'm not going anywhere. It
can’t be true! I don’t want to see them… how could
they…”

The policewoman shook her head. “This
appears to be a great shock to the two of you and I don’t
understand it. Nevertheless, it’s the most appropriate course of
action, and while I can't actually force you Gaiah, I'm strongly
recommending you grab this chance to leave all the unpleasantness
here behind.”

Andrew was silently shaking his head. Bryant
approached him and rested her hand gently on his arm.

“
I'm sure you want what's
best for Gaiah, don't you? She has obviously been deeply unhappy at
this school, whatever has been going on. And, no matter what the
reasons for the relationship breakdown with her grandparents, it
would be lovely for her to be reunited with them, wouldn't
it?”

Andrew turned glazed eyes towards her. “Are
you sure of all of this?”

The policewoman gave a small smile and
pulled a mobile from her pocket. “Yes of course. Look, why don’t
you ring them yourself now? Mrs. Shaman said she’d wait by the
phone for your call today.” She stabbed at the numbers and held the
phone out to Andrew. He stood and took it from her as if he were
handling some strange, poisonous creature. Ashen-faced he listened
to the voice that answered at the other end.

“
Kaley? Kaley!…How the…?
Where did you…? Where…? What…Can’t..?” He paced the square oriental
carpet in the centre of the room as he spoke, and Gaiah watched him
with wide, disbelieving eyes.

He stood still, eyes staring unseeing out
the window. “I...I… don’t, but where...how...yes…I see…I suppose
so.”

There was a long pause. Gaiah heard the
muffled sound of someone talking non-stop. She tried to catch her
father’s attention, shaking her head and frowning, but he seemed
oblivious. She moved closer to him, intending to make him look at
her, but the voice through the phone reached her ears, forcing a
shocking flood of recognition through her. She stumbled
backwards.

Andrew continued obliviously, “She would? So
soon? Oh right…Well, if you’re sure…yes, okay. Tomorrow
morning…with whom? She did? Oh, okay…So...oh…yes. You’re quite
right, a bit of time to settle in first of course, well,
okay…just…thank you, yes, I’ll put you on to Gaiah now–”

“
No way!” Gaiah turned her
back to them, folded her arms and stood staring out the
window.

Andrew continued into the phone, “She won't
talk to you. Yes, of course, it will take her some time to adjust
to this. Anyway, she’ll see you tomorrow with Officer Bryant.
Bye.”

Gaiah turned to look at
him.
What the hell was going
on?

He handed the phone back to the police
officer, a strange, abstracted look on his face, but there was a
light in his eyes, a glow, a sense of purpose that had been
missing. He looked at Bryant. “Don’t worry. I’ll see that she’s
packed and ready for you in the morning.”

Officer Bryant looked as if she didn't doubt
it at all. She nodded. “I'll leave you to talk to Gaiah now, and
I’ll collect her in the morning around nine thirty. As I said, they
seemed such nice people and we spoke for almost an hour. They were
anxious about her travelling on her own to Scotland, so I offered
to take her myself, well, as far as Edinburgh and they’ll meet us
there.”