“Youcould.”
Joe stopped walking so Kaden did too. “My money is yours too,” Joe said.
Kaden smiled. “A car’s not much use to us in London. We’d have to pay for every day it was in the city. Parking can be impossible and it’s much quicker to use public transport. But if we moved out of London, yes, we could get a car.”
“I want to see everything, do everything.”
Kaden chuckled. “Not sure that’s possible.” He carried on walking.
“I’ll make a list.”
“What’s going on that list?”
“Climb a mountain. Make a snowman. Swim in the sea. Drive a car. Explore a castle. Cuddle a cat. Learn to dance.” He could have gone on but he bit his lip.
“The world’s there waiting for you, Joe.”
“I’m not sure I’m used to wanting and not having. I didn’t used to want anything because that always led to disappointment. Now, anything seems possible. I don’t just want to see everything, I want to know everything too, experience everything.”
“That reallyisimpossible.”
Joe glanced at him.
“Seriously,” Kaden went on. “I understand the desire. It’s a mix of your natural curiosity, bearing in mind what you once were, along with a fear of missing out. But nobody knows everything. Not everyone can swim or drive or climb mountains. You learn to be selective and realistic about what you can achieve. I’m always learning and you will be too.”
Joe looked down at his hands, flexing his fingers as if checking they still belonged to him. “I didn’t like not being in control. My body not doing what I wanted it to. When I came out of you, I couldn’t even put clothes on, let alone stand up. In the water, I couldn’t save myself. If people can’t swim, why do they ever go near water?”
They walked on, slower now. The evening air had cooled, the faint smell of chlorine from the lido still clinging to their skin.
“I really thought I was going to drown,” Joe said.
“I wouldn’t have let that happen.”
“I know thatnow,” Joe replied. “But down there…” He shook his head. “It felt like my body decided something without asking me.”
Kaden let out a quiet breath. “Bodies do that. Panic isn’t something you can stop easily.”
Joe huffed a small laugh at that. “You weren’t scared.”
“I was,” Kaden said immediately.
Joe looked at him again, surprised.
“I jumped in thinking we’d have fun,” Kaden continued. “Next thing I know, you’re under too long and not coming up right.” He scrubbed a hand through his damp hair. “I was scared.”
“You got me to safety.”
Kaden gave a small shrug, like it wasn’t a big deal. “Course I did.”
They reached a crossing and stopped.
“I’ll learn,” Joe said. “Swimming. Driving. Everything I need to be able to do.”
“I know you will.”
“And then we can go to the sea.”
Kaden smiled, a real one this time. “We’ll go somewhere with proper waves. When you get a passport, we’ll visit a place where the sea is warm.”
