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The next day, Raina spent the afternoon alone in the conference room, putting the finishing touches to her induction tal
k. Time ran away with her, and when she returned to the main office, she found that Kaia had finished her session with Anya, and Alistair was babysitting. She could see him through the glass partition, sitting on the sofa with his feet propped up on the coffee table. Anya was sitting next to him, her head resting against his chest, and Heidi shot Raina a grin, beckoning her over to her desk.
‘How long have they been doing that for?’ Alistair had stretched out his left hand in front of Anya, and was curling the fingers one by one. She mimicked the action with her own fingers. Then the harder part. He extended his right hand, moving his thumb. Anya frowned, trying to emulate the movement with her prosthetic.
‘Oh, about half an hour.’ Heidi grinned, shooting Raina a knowing look. ‘You can’t help liking a man who’s good with kids, can you?’
‘No. You can’t.’ Especially a man who was good with her child. And more particularly when it was Alistair...
A child’s shriek of delight came from the office. Anya had moved the thumb of her prosthetic and Alistair was grinning at her. She reached up, tapping his face and giving an instruction that Raina couldn’t hear. But she knew what it was. Again...
Alistair nodded, stretching out his hand again and moving his thumb. Anya copied the movement perfectly this time, and Alistair nodded, giving her a luminous smile.
‘Would you like some coffee, Heidi?’ The temptation to rush into the office, catch her little girl into her arms and hug her was pounding at her heart. But this was Alistair’s moment. He’d worked hard for it, and it was a shared triumph for him and Anya that Raina didn’t want to take away from them.
‘Don’t you want to...?’ Heidi gestured towards the office, and then smiled. ‘Yeah, it would be a shame to disturb them. And I could do with a coffee. Thanks.’
As she made the drinks, Raina glanced back at Alistair. He wasn’t pushing things, knowing that if he did Anya might reject the work they’d already done. He had one of the sparkly bricks in his hand and was fiddling with it absently as he talked to Anya.
He reached for the story book that was tucked down the side of the sofa, and offered it to Anya. The little girl had become used to the way that Alistair encouraged her to pass all kinds of objects back and forth between them, and she opened the book, giving it back to him so he could read to her.
Heidi nodded her thanks without even looking at Raina as she placed the coffee on her desk. Alistair and Anya seemed unaware that anyone was watching, completely wrapped up in their own world. Alistair dropped the brick on the open pages of the book, and picked it up again.
‘Oh, for goodness’ sake.’ Heidi whispered the words. ‘I wouldn’t have the patience. Is this killing you?’
‘Yep.’ All the same, Raina didn’t move. If she interrupted them now, Alistair would have to start all over again.
He dropped the brick again, and Anya reached for it. But he was too quick for her, picking it up and continuing with the story. When he dropped it again, Anya batted his hand away, and he coiled his fingers gently around her right arm, so that she’d have to use the prosthetic to pick the brick up if she wanted it. His smile indicated that this was all just a game.
Raina felt Heidi’s hand in hers, and she gripped it tightly. Heidi seemed to be holding her breath too as Anya reached with the prosthetic, clumsily moving the thumb, so that she could pick the brick up.
‘Nice one, Anya.’ Heidi murmured the words. Raina heard Alistair’s exclamation of approval, and he hugged Anya.
He held out his hand, and Anya opened her hand to put the brick into his. Then he dropped it, and she picked it up again.
‘She’s got it...’ Raina breathed the words softly.
‘Go in...go in.’ Heidi squeezed her hand.
‘No, I... I don’t want to disturb them.’
‘They’ve done it, Raina. Go and share it.’
The thought that Alistair might want to share this achievement with her, as much as she did with him, brought a lump to Raina’s throat. Suddenly he looked up and saw her, and beckoned her in. Heidi gave her a push, and she hurried into the office, stopping short in front of them.
‘Shall we show Mummy?’ Alistair looked up at her, smiling, and Anya nodded. He held out his hand for the brick and the two of them went through the process of dropping it and picking it up again.
‘That’s so clever of you, sweetie...’ Tears suddenly spilled from Raina’s eyes, and Anya looked at her questioningly.
‘Are you sad, Mummy?’
‘No, Anya. I’m happy to see what a clever girl you are.’ Raina wiped away the tears, and smiled at her daughter. Anya accepted the information as just another random thing that adults did, and went back to playing with the brick, passing it carefully from one hand to the other.
Alistair let her continue with the game for a while, as Raina watched. Then he got to his feet, taking Anya with him and delivering her into Raina’s arms for a hug. For one moment, it seemed as if he was about to put his arms around them both, and it felt like everything she’d ever wanted.
Then he drew back. Collecting up the bricks and the storybook, and putting them on the top of the filing cabinet, next to the castle, which was almost finished now, Raina mouthed words of thanks to him and he smiled, sitting down behind his desk.
‘You want to go home now?’ Anya seemed tired after the afternoon’s session.
