‘What did you do?’
‘Um, I can’t really remember.’ Helena realised she wasn’t going to get much out of him. Getting a seven year old to think back to last week was a lot to ask, let alone last year.
‘Did you see your granny?’
‘I think so,’ Raffy said, already distracted by the sight of Podge and Perkins up ahead. He began to race towards them, pulling Helena along with him. ‘Podge! Perkins!’ he called excitedly. ‘Did you know pigs are actually very clever, some pigs can even swim? And did you know that pigs will eat anything, even human bones?’ He continued to regale Helena with a string of newly acquired facts about pigs. Helena laughed as she watched him throw clumps of grass into the mud, she had forgotten how animated he became when he was interested in something.
When he had finally tired of Podge and Perkins, they continued walking towards Hazel Cottage. He stopped in his tracks at the gate to Banham Cottage. She watched his face to see his reaction, but it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
‘Is it strange seeing our old house?’ Helena asked.
‘Yes,’ Raffy said quietly.
‘It’s strange for me too,’ Helena said, reaching for his hand and giving it a squeeze.
‘Does somebody else live there now?’ he asked.
‘Yes.’ Helena was about to explain exactly who when a riot of yapping barks erupted from Hazel Cottage as Margery threw open the door. Raffy ran through the open gate and crouched down beside the dogs who delighted in covering their appreciative visitor in licks.
‘Raffy,’ Margery said. ‘It’s so good to see you!’
Tammy, Trevor and Terry yelped happily as Raffy stroked their tummies and picked them up for cuddles. He said hello to Margery, rather shyly, and politely accepted a glass of squash from her.
Raffy did not stop chattering. ‘Did you know that in Ancient Egypt, if you were blind they used to mash up pigs’ eyes and put them in your ear? How gross is that? And the poor pigs! Imagine if that happened to Podge and Perkins! Also, if you wet the bed, you’d have to wear a bag of mouse bones around your neck to stop it happening again!’
‘My goodness! Where did you hear that?’
‘We’ve been learning about the Egyptians at school. When they died, they used to pull their brains out through their nose with a metal hook and wrap the body in bandages to make a mummy!’
‘How revolting!’ Helena laughed. Raffy warmed to his theme, racking his brains for more interesting facts to tell her. He was like a walking, talkingHorrible Historiesbook. It never ceased to amaze Helena what random snippets of information he had stored away.
As her watch edged closer towards half past twelve, Helena suggested they start making their way back to Lavender Cottage. She didn’t dare be late. ‘What are you reading at the moment?’ she asked, hoping that the enthusiasm he had found had not dwindled.
‘Beast Quest. Nana gave me the whole first series for my birthday. It’s absolutely brilliant. You’ll never guess what happened…’ Helena sighed with contentment as she listened to him recount the plot. It felt unbelievably good to be spending time with him again. She felt as though a huge part of her had been restored, and she vowed to appreciate every moment she was able to spend with Raffy from now on, as much as she possibly could. She had no idea how long she would have with him. That much was out of her control. Each second of his company would be an unexpected blessing to be treasured. She felt lucky to have this opportunity, and reasoned that putting up with Noah’s reappearance in her life was a price she would have to pay for the chance to see his son.
‘Ready for some lunch?’ Noah asked as he opened the front door, beer in hand. ‘I’ve got some steak on the barbeque. Helena, would you like to join us?’
Her stomach rumbled – Noah had always cooked a perfect steak –but she instantly shut down the part of her that was tempted to accept the invitation. ‘I can’t,’ she said, deliberately keeping her answer vague.
She crouched down, at eye level with Raffy. ‘It was wonderful to see you,’ she smiled, kissing his soft, rounded cheek.
‘You too Helly,’ he said, wrapping his arms around her for a hug, squeezing her so tightly she could hardly breathe. God, how she had missed those cuddles.
‘Good luck at school tomorrow. Everyone will be so excited to see you!’
‘Will I see you soon?’ Raffy asked.
‘Same time next week?’ Helena suggested, looking to Noah for approval.
He nodded. ‘Sounds good.’ Again, she waited for the ‘but’, but nothing followed. His seemingly easy manner didn’t sit well with her. She could tell it was just an act.
They waved her off as she walked down the path and out of the gate. She walked around the corner, making sure she was out of sight before she stopped. Overcome with emotion, she felt the familiar tugging and tightening sensations in her chest. She took in one long, slow breath, then exhaled. She did this again and again, waiting for the feeling to pass. It was over. She had been through her first encounter with Noah, by herself. And it had been bearable. Strange, extremely uncomfortable, yes, but it was over. He had been civil, there had been no huge explosions.
Suddenly desperate to discuss it all with Nathalie, knowing that she had been waiting all morning for Helena to call from the messages that kept pinging through on her phone, she decided to head for Stable Cottages. It had been an emotional rollercoaster of a morning, and she needed to talk it through. She noticed that there had been a message from Johnny too.
Here for you any time, just call. Hope you are okay Xx
She felt a warm glow in the pit of her stomach as she read the words. It felt goodto have friends. She was glad that she didn’t have to deal with this all alone. She typed her reply,
