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‘I wonder... Do you think I might do a telephone interview with you for my show? It would be great to get someone who understands the wider impact of the work that Alex and her charity are doing.’
‘Of course. I’d be very happy to talk about it.’
‘Fabulous. I’ll give you a call tomorrow if I may, and we can set something up.’ Now that he’d finished with the questions, he finally noticed Alex’s presence and his face broke into a broad grin. ‘Hey. I’ve just been hearing...’
He broke off as a minibus edged its way into the space next to his car, brushing one of the wing mirrors so that it snapped forward. Alex heard Belinda Chalmers’ sharp intake of breath.
‘Oh, really. There’s plenty of space on the other side...’
‘Looks as if he’s missed me.’ Leo tried to divert her, but Belinda Chalmers was already marching across towards the car park, no doubt intent on giving the driver a piece of her mind.
‘All the same. Your car’s blocking the side door of the minibus, and it’s easier for the children to get off that way. You might not be so lucky when he realises that and tries to back up again.’ Alex squinted at the gap between the minibus and Leo’s car.
‘Yeah. You’ve got a point...’ Leo pulled his car keys from his pocket and turned to stride towards the car park.
It seemed that the minibus driver had the same idea. He moved back a couple of inches then thought better of it and switched the engine off. Then the back doors of the minibus opened, and he jumped out and began to unload sports bags. There seemed to be some jostling going on inside the minibus and Leo suddenly increased his pace from a brisk walk into a run.
A boy jumped down from the back of the minibus while the driver’s back was turned. ‘Sit down everyone...’ The driver’s instruction came too late and another boy tumbled out after the first.
A high scream floated through the cold air. Then another. Alex dropped her bag and started to run towards the bus. She could see Leo kneeling beside the fallen child, who seemed to be fighting him off, and Belinda Chalmers climbing into the back of the minibus to restore order amongst the children who were still inside.
‘Andrew... Andrew.’ The boy who had fallen was almost hysterical and Alex knelt down beside Leo, trying to calm him.
‘Get off me...’ Andrew pulled himself up to a sitting position and aimed a punch at Leo’s face. Apart from a sharp intake of breath, Leo didn’t react.
‘Andrew.’ Leo took his cue from Alex and used the boy’s name. He couldn’t possibly know what the problem was, but he seemed to sense that there was one and held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. ‘Listen... Listen. I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to make sure you’re all right.’
He sat back on his heels, still holding his palms forward for Andrew to see. The boy stilled, staring at him intently.
‘Not too keen on doctors, eh?’ Leo smiled at him.
That was the understatement of the year. When Andrew had first come to the training sessions, he’d insisted that the doctors had stolen his left foot, and he hated them for it. He was working through that with his own doctors, who were slowly gaining his trust, but an unexpected injury and an unknown doctor were too much for him.
‘Andrew, this doctor’s like your doctor at the hospital, Dr Khan...’ Alex shot Leo a glance, wondering if he’d play along, and he nodded. ‘He’s not going to touch you unless you tell him that he can.’
A rush of tears spilled su
ddenly down Andrew’s cheeks. From the way he was holding his right leg, it looked as if he’d injured it when he fell, and it must be starting to hurt now. And the boy was reacting to the pain, trying to protect himself in the only way he knew how.
‘Tell him... I don’t want him.’
‘Tell me yourself.’ Leo’s voice was gentle, seeming to understand everything. ‘Loud and clear. Make sure I hear you...’
‘I don’t want you!’ Andrew turned his head, shouting the words straight at Leo.
‘Okay, that’s fair enough. But will you let me just watch? I won’t come any closer.’
Venting his feelings at the top of his voice seemed to have calmed Andrew, and he nodded silently. Leo slowly started to take his parka off and Alex caught the significance of the gesture. Taking it from him and laying it down on the icy ground, she sat down on it.
‘You must be cold. Come here, eh?’ Andrew let her lift him gently onto the warm down of Leo’s jacket and she put her arm around him, hugging him close as the shivers of cold and fear subsided.
‘That better?’ Leo ventured a question.
Andrew nodded in reply, and Leo tried another. ‘If you’ve hurt yourself...’ He shrugged as if it wasn’t completely obvious that Andrew had hurt his ankle. ‘You could just point, if you felt like it. Perhaps let Alex take a little look?’
Andrew pointed at his ankle and Alex reached for his leg, pulling the soft fabric of his tracksuit bottoms up a little. The boy nestled against her without protest and she carefully took his trainer off and then his sock. The ankle was red and already beginning to swell, and Andrew looked at it mournfully. Injuring one of your ‘good’ limbs was every amputee’s worst nightmare.
Leo’s brow darkened, just for a moment. He’d know as well as Alex did that the ankle needed attention, but quite how they were going to do it without distressing Andrew even more was another matter.
