‘What’s that?’
‘For this holiday you call me Amelia. Auntie makes me feel too old now.’ Amelia also sounded more of a friend, less of an authority figure, and perhaps he’d respond better this way. She was willing to try anything.
The twenty was still in full view, its corner beneath the box of fries so it didn’t blow away in the winter winds that seemed to be picking up now, reminding them of the season they were in. ‘If the girl comes back we’ll pass her the money,’ said Amelia. ‘Otherwise, charity, like I told that horrible man.’ Who hadn’t exactly been hit with the ugly stick.
‘Not a collection bucket though, you never know whether the person holding it pots some of the cash.’
The burger warmed her hands and the peppers were delicious, smothered in a special dressing. ‘That isn’t very trusting.’
‘Yeah, well, when you’ve been doubted enough times in your life it kind of makes you a bit pessimistic.’
It was a shame for kids like Kyle who had to prove themselves to all those who didn’t believe in them. This evening was supposed to be pleasant, a stop on their way to their accommodation. They should be smiling and chatting below magical rows of twinkly lights and bunting that looped from the Shake Shack across the sky above them, not defending Kyle’s honour to someone who had adopted the guilty-until-proven-innocent philosophy.
During their time here Amelia would love to reach Kyle in a way nobody had managed to do in the last few years, and she needed him to learn to believe in himself even though she wasn’t the best role model in that respect. Because while she was assertive and even a bit pushy at work, when it came to life outside that environment she didn’t have the same confidence. Paul had ended things with her because he said she never put their relationship first. Maybe if she’d been more headstrong and had learnt to say no to her sister, no to overtime demands at work, been more invested in their relationship, they’d still be together and she’d be well on her way to having a family of her own. Until now she hadn’t really seen how it must have made Paul feel, to come second best.
And now it was too late. He hadn’t called or emailed her, he’d gone from her life almost as quickly as he’d come into it.
Chapter Three
Nathan
‘This place is dreamy.’ Scarlett looked up above them at the lights looping in the sky in Madison Square Park. ‘I love all the bunting too.’
‘Well done for picking a table with a view of the tree.’
She snapped back to teen mode, which meant a shrug as though his comments didn’t matter much at all. ‘You took ages.’
‘That’s because I caught some kid stealing. He thought it was OK to pick up a twenty dollar note dropped by a woman when she left the table. He claimed he hesitated about running after the girl because he had luggage with him and didn’t want it nicked.’
‘And did he have luggage?’
‘Yeah,’ Nathan admitted. ‘But I still didn’t believe him.’
‘Just because your wallet was stolen once, doesn’t mean everyone’s out to get you.’
‘I beg to differ. It was the same boy.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘Same kid, from Cornwall.’
‘No way.’
He harrumphed. ‘I saw the panic in his eyes when he recognised me too. Guilty.’
‘Dad, you can be scary sometimes, doesn’t mean this time he wasn’t telling the truth.’
‘Your problem is you’re too innocent, you haven’t been out in the real world as long as I have.’
‘Here we go again, the Dad lecture.’ She rolled her eyes.
When the buzzer he’d brought to the table vibrated it at least stopped a fight in its tracks and he went to grab the burgers and fries they’d ordered. They were sharing cheese fries at Scarlett’s insistence, and seeing as he wanted this to be the trip of a lifetime for his daughter, he wasn’t going to argue. At least not on day one, at least not about something so petty.
All animosity had gone when he set down the food and they tucked in. He’d been absent far too often as Scarlett was growing up, and ever since it had become just the two of them he’d spent every waking moment wishing he could make it up to her. He hoped this holiday was a start. Here in New York for the first time, they were embarking on the longest holiday they’d ever taken together. Finances were good – Nathan had worked hard over the years – but he’d decided that with Scarlett having finished her GCSEs and in her first year of sixth form, he didn’t have long left to whisk her away and try to rebuild bridges before she lost interest in him altogether. He got the impression she’d do her A levels, go off to university and she’d never look back. And the thought of that scared him every single day.
Every year, around this time with Christmas fast approaching, Scarlett showed a softer side and would spend more time with her dad, less hidden away in her room. She didn’t have a television up there but she adored Christmas movies and so it was either be together with your uncool dad or miss out. Thankfully she always chose the former and they’d exhaust all their favourites, sitting together on the worn maroon sofa in their two-up two-down home in Hove, East Sussex. They’d write the titles of all their favourite movies and jumble them up, then pick one. It was always a winner, no matter what it turned out to be. And with some set in New York, they’d got to talking about the city that never sleeps and last year he’d begun to wonder whether it might be time to plan a visit. He’d been on Facebook, scrolling through friends’ updates, and saw his ex-colleague Myles Cunningham’s post from earlier in the year with Central Park buried under snow, him and his wife, Darcy, posing for a selfie as they rode in a horse-drawn carriage, and another picture of them indulging in cupcakes from a famous bakery that according to Scarlett was featured inSex and the City. Nathan also remembered that Myles had had a strained relationship with his father and although they were on good terms now, Myles could’ve easily come here to New York and severed all ties.
Nathan never wanted that to happen with Scarlett, and with no mum or siblings to help mend rifts, it was all down to him.
