Tagan's Child (2 page)

I smiled to
myself. He was very sweet. I tapped out my reply.

‘Thank you.
It’s been pretty tough. I’ll have a look at what’s on and give you
a ring.’ I paused. Oh what the hell! ‘I’ll miss you. Sophiex.’

It was the
first time I had said anything like that to him. Maybe it was time
to settle for what I had and move our relationship on. My phone
bleeped back almost immediately.

‘I’ll miss you
too! Marcusxxx’

I put the phone
back on my bedside. Yes, maybe I would give Dr Marcus Hampton more
of a chance.

The persistent
buzz of the alarm clock woke me up. I had slept! I couldn’t believe
it. I had actually fallen asleep quickly and slept all night. I
couldn’t remember the last time that had happened. I jumped out of
bed. A good night’s sleep was a good omen. Yesterday had obviously
been somewhat of a watershed and I had woken up feeling
uncharacteristically optimistic. When I had showered and dressed I
went into Toby’s room. “Time to get up,” I said, pulling back the
curtains. There was a slight stirring but no answer so I left him
to come to on his own and went downstairs into the kitchen. Mungo
was lying in his bed and barely opened his eyes to register who it
was.

“You need to go
outside, whether you like it or not.” I held open the back door. He
ignored me. “Mungo!” I said more insistently. “Out!”

He got up,
stretched as if he had all the time in the world and ambled out,
not giving me a second glance. I switched the kettle on and put the
breakfast things out on the table.

“Toby!” I
turned the radio on and found myself humming along to it.

Mungo scratched
at the back door. I let him in and he went straight back to his
bed, grumbling to himself as he did two circuits of the confined
space before settling back down. I made a cup of tea and Toby came
into the kitchen in his pyjamas, looking half asleep.

“Morning
sweetheart,” I said brightly.

He mumbled
something which I think was ‘Morning’ and got into Mungo’s bed,
laying his head on the dog’s shoulder. He sucked his thumb and
absentmindedly stroked one of Mungo’s silky ears. I had spent the
last year trying to persuade him not to suck his thumb but had
failed miserably.

“Don’t lie in
the dog’s bed you’ll smell all doggy,” I groaned.

“But he’s nice
and warm,” Toby protested, making no attempt to move.

“Go and put
your dressing gown on. It’s cold this morning.”

“I can’t find
it,” he said around his thumb.

“It’s at the
bottom of your bed.”

He got up
reluctantly and mooched back upstairs.

I couldn’t help
marvelling at my nephew’s lack of urgency in the mornings. If it
was up to him, he wouldn’t get to school much before lunchtime,
whereas I felt the pressure in the morning, largely due to my
reluctance to come to terms with the alarm. Once I was able to drag
my body out of bed and stumble downstairs to make a cup of liquid
first aid, I would gradually start to come round. A shower and a
second cup of tea was the final passage into full consciousness.
When it hit, I usually had about twenty minutes to have breakfast,
chivvy Toby along and take him the eight minute drive to his
village school. We rarely got to school before the bell.

But this
morning was different. I looked at the clock. This morning I was
actually early. And as if to celebrate my good start, the sky was a
brilliant blue and the November sun was doing its best to look less
like a watery Satsuma and more like the fiery ball it was. It
buoyed my spirits no end.

Toby re-joined
me wrapped in his dressing gown and poured the milk onto his
breakfast, slopping a glug of it over the side of his bowl.

“Toby!” I got
up to get the dishcloth.

“Sorry,” he
said sheepishly.

I could never
be cross with him for long, he was always so endearingly contrite.
“Have you put your homework in your bag?”

He nodded his
mouth full of Cheerios.

“And you’re
reading book?”

He nodded
again. He was getting better at being more organised.

“And don’t
forget you’re going to Adam’s for tea tonight.”

“I know. Can I
take my army gear?” he asked. One of Toby and his best friend’s
favourite games was playing armies. It usually involved building a
camp with cushions from the sofa and then hours of quiet discussion
as they planned and plotted their next move. It was always more
about tactics and strategy than loud, raucous attack.

I started to
clear the dishes away. “Go and get dressed and I’ll bring your
shirt up when I’ve ironed it.”

*****

We made it to
the school gates well before the school bell. I gave Toby a kiss on
the cheek. Adam joined him at the gate and they walked into school
with their heads together, thick as thieves. I smiled and pulled
away in my old red Land Rover that clung to life by a spark
plug.

I wasn’t happy
about having to buy stock from the Cash and Carry, it went against
all my principles of only using local produce but I was left with
no choice after being let down by one of my usual suppliers.
Fortunately, my dear friend and saviour, Audrey Goodfellow was
opening up the shop this morning.

The Coffee Shop
was a bustling little place and I was pleased to still be doing a
good trade in spite of the economic downturn. I had built on the
success of my mother and sister’s efforts and despite the sometimes
haphazard way I went about things, I discovered I had a natural
business sense which surprised nobody more than me. I’d tweaked the
menu since I had taken over. The local workmen still came in
religiously for a fry up but I had managed to attract the later
commuters with a more upmarket fare.

I got what I
needed at the wholesalers and drove back to the shop. The last year
had been a real period of personal adjustment for me. Not only had
I had my sister’s death to deal with, but I was plunged into
parenthood overnight, fulfilling my promise to Katie that if
anything ever happened to her I would become Toby’s legal guardian.
Nothing had prepared me for the daunting sense of responsibility
and self-doubt this new role had engendered. I sighed as I pulled
into the back yard behind the shop. I was determined not to dampen
the optimism I had felt first thing this morning. I ground the
gears putting my poor old Land Rover into reverse. It had been a
tedious three and a half hour round trip and the lunchtime rush was
starting to kick in.

“Hi Sandie,” I
said as I heaved a box up onto the counter in the tiny kitchen.
Sandie, a local girl who other than Audrey, was my only employee,
was busy frying eggs.

She glanced up.
“Hi Sophie, alright?”

“Yeah good
thanks, you?”

She nodded in
response and carried on cooking. She was a sweet girl but like most
seventeen year olds was master of few words. I smiled and finished
unloading the car.

The coffee shop
wasn’t a big place, it could seat thirty at a push but it kept me,
Audrey and Sandie busy. Audrey came rushing into the kitchen.
“Sophie love, thank goodness you are here, we are rushed off our
feet.”

“Don’t worry,
the cavalry has arrived,” I said, squeezing her shoulders
affectionately as she made her way back into the shop with an
order.

It turned out
to be a hectic couple of hours. A coach load of American tourists
had come to visit Betherlands, the local stately home, and had
wandered into the village. Apparently, they’d been told by their
tour guide that Hatherley was a typically quaint English village.
Fine by me, that kind of talk was good for business. By four
o’clock, however, the shop was empty, the sun had admitted defeat
and it was getting colder by the minute.

We all sat down
for a well-deserved cuppa. “Oh, I meant to tell you Sophie, a man
came into the shop looking for you this morning. He was most
insistent about knowing where you were,” Audrey said
disapprovingly.

I sipped my
tea. “Really, did he say what he wanted?”

“No, but he
wasn’t very happy when I refused to give him your mobile number. I
told him to come back at lunchtime. He didn’t come back though, did
he?” She turned to Sandie for confirmation, who just shrugged her
shoulders and shook her head.

“He seemed very
keen to find you,” Audrey continued.

“What did he
look like?”

“Well, he was
tall with very short blonde hair and spoke with a foreign
accent.”

“And he was
hot,” Sandie added.

Audrey gave her
a withering look.

“What? He
was!”

I was puzzled.
“I wonder what he wanted.”

Audrey looked
concerned. “I assumed you would know.”

“He’d be
difficult to forget if you had met him,” Sandie said.

Audrey ignored
her. “I don’t like strangers turning up asking for your number,
it’s not right and I didn’t like his tone at all,” she said,
sounding cross. “If he turns up again I shall give him a piece of
my mind.”

“It was
probably just some salesman,” I said, trying to reassure her. “If
it was urgent, I’m sure he will come back.”

Audrey
harrumphed her disapproval. Dear Audrey, she was like my mother
should have been.

“How was
yesterday?” she asked, changing the subject.

“Well, pretty
hard, as expected. Toby was a little trooper though,” I said with a
sad smile.

“He’s a dear
little lad and he’s coped with the loss of his mother so maturely.
You are doing a great job.” Audrey patted my hand. Many a time I
had poured out my insecurities about being Toby’s guardian to
her.

“I’m doing my
best. He supports me as much as I support him.”

“You are lucky
to have one another.”

“It’s hard
though, I miss Katie so much.”

“I know you do,
we all do,” she said sympathetically.

I took another
sip of my tea. “But, do you know what? As tough as yesterday was, I
actually woke up this morning feeling optimistic about the future,
probably for the first time in the last year. Toby and I have an
easy relationship, he’s getting on well at school and the shop is
doing okay.” I left out the bit about moving things forward with
Marcus.

“That’s the
spirit my dear.”

I looked into
Audrey’s kind face. She was an attractive older woman. She was
lined but her bone structure was delicate and her skin
unblemished.

“Thanks Aude
you are such a support, I don’t know what I’d do without you.” I
squeezed her hand. “Let’s shut up shop and head home early, I don’t
think anyone else is coming in this afternoon.” I glanced outside.
“It looks like it might snow.” Even though it was dark the sky had
taken on a heaviness in the light of the street lamps that hadn’t
been there before. I picked up our mugs.

“Now that’s
enough of that kind of talk, I’m not built for the cold,” Audrey
said, shaking her head and shivering as she walked past me to get
her coat.

“Don’t be such
a spoil sport, there’s nothing like a dump of snow, especially when
there’s sledging potential,” I said, putting the mugs in the
sink.

“Yeah, I love a
bit of sledging,” Sandie agreed.

Audrey shook
her head. “I’m afraid I’m getting too old for that sort of
thing.”

“Rubbish,
you’re a spring chicken Aude,” I teased. “I bet you could give the
kids a run for their money.”

She laughed.
“Forty years ago maybe. I prefer a more sedentary pace of life
now.”

She had always
been very secretive about her age but she had to be in her mid to
late sixties. I smiled and shrugged on my coat. “Can you lock up at
the front? I’m going out the back.”

“Course love,
see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, see you
tomorrow,” I said. “Bye Sandie.”

“Bye,” she
replied.

I could see my
breath in the glow of the security light out the back. I pulled my
scarf up to my chin. My old truck started after a few throaty
attempts and I patted the dashboard. “Good girl,” I said gratefully
and reversed out of the shop’s back yard.

I drove home
and thought about Audrey. She was such a good friend and support.
She lived alone with two cats she adored, but the love of her life
was her friend and neighbour Paul Franklin. Unfortunately for
Audrey, Paul was his wife’s loyal and totally committed full time
carer. Once a week, Audrey and Paul would spend companionable time
together when Eva went into respite care. They did the crossword
together and discussed the news topics of the day and I knew it was
these moments that Audrey lived for.

I turned into
my road and was dragged away from my thoughts by the sight of a
tall shadowy figure standing by my front gate. My mind flitted to
the conversation Audrey and I’d had earlier about the mysterious
stranger who had come into the shop asking questions about my
whereabouts. I felt a shot of adrenaline as I did a quick risk
assessment of the situation. The street was quiet and there were no
lights on in the house next to mine. I contemplated turning around
and then thought better of it. Whoever this person was, he was
obviously persistent and would no doubt catch up with me sooner
rather than later.

I pulled into
the drive at the side of my house and glanced in the rear-view
mirror. I hoped the man might have moved on, but he was still there
and I watched him walk up the garden path ready to meet me at the
front door. I grabbed my mobile phone and brought Marcus’ number up
on the screen, I could hit dial if I needed to. I got out of the
car and put my phone in my pocket keeping it in my hand as I
approached my mysterious visitor, who was now waiting for me under
the porch.

He was tall and
wore dark jeans and a dark jacket. His collar was turned up and his
hands were pushed hard into his pockets in a gesture against the
cold.