Thicker Than Water (8 page)

And, as the conversation switched, his chance was lost. He stared down at the whitebait in front of him, wondering now he could force it past his closed throat. God, this couldn’t really be happening, could it? Not after all this time?

‘Remember that chap I told Callum about?’ Bob said, coming into the kitchen a couple of days later. ‘The one who was asking after him?’

Elaine paused in her ironing. ‘Can’t say I do.’

‘He asked if I knew him, and what his surname was. Actually –’ he frowned – ‘when I told him, he said, “So that’s what he’s calling himself now.” Odd, don’t you think? I forgot to mention that.’

Elaine picked up her daughter’s skirt and shook out the pleats. ‘So – what about him?’

‘Well, I thought I caught sight of him just now, in the park across the road. When I drove past, he ducked behind the gate, as if he didn’t want me to see him. Ironically, that’s what drew my attention.’ Bob paused. ‘Do you think I should mention it?’

‘It’s not important, surely? If it
is
the same man, he’s probably waiting for Callum, and if it isn’t, you’d have alerted him unnecessarily. Either way, it could look like interfering.’

Bob shrugged. ‘I suppose you’re right,’ he said, ‘though I still can’t fathom how he knew I was a friend of his.’

As the days passed, Callum’s panic began to recede. After bracing himself to be approached by every stranger he saw, and jumping each time the phone rang, he gradually regained a semblance of calm. He’d overreacted. Guilty conscience, he thought grimly. The stranger could be any number of past acquaintances – someone they’d met on holiday, a fellow attendee on a business course. It was only the query about the north that couldn’t easily be dismissed, and he convinced himself there’d be an explanation for that, too.

Judy, however, had noticed his jumpiness, and it worried her. He was a complex man, her husband, and over the years of their marriage there had, on occasion, been things that puzzled her, in particular his evasiveness when she asked about his childhood.

Then there was the way he’d reacted when she’d had a bump in the car. She’d broken the news over supper, nervous that he would blame her for the damage caused. What she’d been unprepared for was for him to lose colour, jump up from his chair and pull her feverishly into his arms, holding her so tightly she could scarcely breathe. It had taken her the rest of the evening to calm him down.

Sometimes, uncomfortably, she wondered if he loved her too much, wearying as she did of being asked repeatedly if she still cared for him. Continual reassurances were even required of the children. ‘Do you love Daddy?’ he’d say. ‘How much?’

And, laughing, they’d hold their little arms wide apart to show how much. Even now, with what she was beginning to think of as his obsession with Josh, that bedtime testimony was asked for, and willingly given. His childhood must have been very unhappy, she thought sadly, to leave him so insecure.

Yet, oddly, this apparent vulnerability was confined to his personal life; where business was concerned, he was confident, successful and well respected, attributes that, reflected in his generous salary, allowed them to live in one of Cambridge’s most affluent suburbs, enjoying an extremely comfortable lifestyle. If the past held demons for him, Judy reflected, they must have been of a very specific nature.

It was the first Saturday in March, and Callum had still not managed to fathom what was bothering Josh. They were leaving the football ground, his hand casually on the boy’s shoulder to pilot him through the crowds, when a voice made them turn.

‘Enjoy the game, Firbank?’

It was one of his business rivals, a man he privately disliked.

‘I’d have enjoyed it more if we’d won,’ he answered levelly.

Benson’s eyes went to the boy at Callum’s side. ‘I didn’t realize you had a son.’

‘He’s not mine,’ Callum replied, his hand dropping from Josh’s shoulder. ‘His parents are friends of ours.’

‘Really?’ There was a wealth of innuendo in Benson’s voice, and to his fury, Callum felt himself flush.

‘Yes, really,’ he answered shortly. ‘Come on, Josh, they’ll be expecting us.’ And he steered the boy swiftly away. Filthy-minded bastard, he raged to himself; if Josh hadn’t been present, he’d not have got away with it. But if Josh hadn’t been there, the question wouldn’t have arisen. It was a sad world if you couldn’t take a friend’s child out without being suspected of perversion.

He was still bruised by the encounter that evening, which accounted for his sharp response when Judy broached the subject.

‘Darling, don’t take this the wrong way,’ she began, ‘but I think it would be wise if you cut down on your time with Josh.’

‘Why?’ he snapped. ‘Are people talking?’

Her train of thought disrupted, she stared at him blankly. ‘I don’t follow you.’

He bit his lip, not looking at her. ‘We bumped into Benson as we were leaving the stadium, and he insinuated I had designs on Josh.’

‘Oh, Callum, surely not!’ There was horror on her face.

‘Well, that was the way I took it. Just because I had my hand on the lad’s shoulder.’

The lad
, her brain repeated, before she could stop it. A northern turn of phrase, surely, yet one he frequently used. It hadn’t registered before.

She said quickly. ‘I’m sure he meant no such thing.’

‘I think he did, but I shouldn’t have let him rile me.’

‘Josh didn’t – notice, did he?’

‘No, I’m sure not. It would never have occurred to him.’

She nodded, partly mollified. ‘But to come back to what I was saying, the way things are, you’re in danger of usurping Bob’s place.’

Callum lifted his shoulders. ‘He seems happy enough to let me.’

‘That’s not the point. He’s Josh’s father, after all, and you’re showing him up.’ She smiled wryly. ‘Elaine described us as “paragons” – I, apparently, because I make my own cakes, you in what you do for Josh.’

‘There’s nothing noble about it,’ Callum said slowly. ‘I enjoy taking him to football, pointing out the finer parts of the game. And as to the coaching, he’s a quick learner, and it’s rewarding to see him begin to grasp the principles. Numbers have always intrigued me, and if I can pass that interest on, it’ll stand him in good stead.’

‘But it’s not up to you to do it,’ Judy said gently. ‘Can’t you turn your attention to your daughters, who love you and who at the moment are being sidelined?’

She saw that had gone home. ‘You don’t really think that?’

‘Yes, I do.’ Her fists clenched. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t provide you with a son, but—’

‘Judy!’ It was a cry of pain. He crossed to her quickly and seized her hands. ‘Don’t ever, ever think that! You know my three girls mean more to me than anything, and I wouldn’t change them for the world.’

She smiled shakily, trying to lessen the tension. ‘Then just ease off, will you? Obviously, I’m not saying you should stop seeing Josh – it wouldn’t be possible anyway – just tone things down a bit.’

‘But – how do I go about it?’

Judy shrugged. ‘Simple enough. Tell Bob you’ve been happy to coach during the winter, but the guest room’s still waiting to be decorated and with spring round the corner, there’s a list of other things that need doing. He’ll understand, and I’m sure Josh will. It was never supposed to be a permanent arrangement.’

Callum nodded. ‘All right, but I’m committed for next Saturday; I promised to take him to the motorbike rally in Fenby.’

Judy looked surprised. ‘I didn’t know Fenby went in for that kind of thing.’

‘They’re trying to widen the appeal of their Spring Fair, offering a programme of stunts, followed by five-minute pillion rides. There’ll be the usual things as well – refreshments, side-shows, dodgems – you name it. It’ll be packed and very noisy, but Josh is keen to go, and Bob’s on call next weekend. As it turns out, it’ll make a grand finale, and then we can reinstate family days. Don’t know quite how they fell by the board.’

‘That’ll be lovely,’ Judy said contentedly.

She was weeding one of the borders the next morning, when Elaine put her head over the fence.

‘We’re having an impromptu barbecue, and yes, we’re quite mad! We’ll be eating inside, obviously, but the kids have been asking for ages, and we thought, well, why not? It’ll taste the same, but we can sit in comfort round the kitchen table. Bob will do the necessary, of course, and I’m sure he’d welcome Callum’s help, if you’d like to join us?’

Judy sat back on her heels. ‘Our two will jump at it. I was about to put the meat in the oven, but it’ll keep. Thanks, Elaine. Anything I can bring?’

‘You could do the baked potatoes, if you wouldn’t mind. And some of your special dressing. As you know, mine comes out of a bottle!’

Judy laughed. ‘I’ll bring it on condition you don’t refer to me as a paragon!’

‘Done! See you about twelve, then.’

When they walked round, Josh was in the back garden with his father, and Callum and the girls went straight out to join them.

Bob turned from lighting the barbecue and ruffled Luisa’s hair. ‘Hi there, Luisa-without-an-o,’ he said. That had been her standard answer when asked her name as a small child, and it was how he’d always greeted her. She supposed resignedly that he always would, at least until she was old – eighteen, or something. ‘Phoebe’s in her room, and she’s got something to show you both.’

The girls ran back into the house.

‘Don’t forget to wipe your feet!’ Callum called after them.

Bob passed Callum an apron. ‘Josh here tells me you’ve offered to take him to the rally next weekend?’

‘That’s right. He assures me he has your permission to ride pillion.’

Bob nodded. ‘Obviously they’ll have helmets and all the necessary safety gear. It’s very good of you to take him.’

‘I’ll enjoy it.’ Callum paused, then seized his chance. ‘Actually, though, I’ll have to back down for a while after that, and if you don’t mind we’ll call a halt to the coaching, too. The evenings will soon be getting longer, and there’s a list of things I should be seeing to.’

‘Of course. You’ve been more than generous with your time, and I’m confident we now have a mathematical genius on our hands.’

He lifted an eyebrow at Josh, who grinned self-consciously.

‘And all for the price of a few bottles of whisky!’ Bob added. ‘Seriously, we’re very grateful, aren’t we, Josh?’

‘Yes, thanks a lot, Callum.’

‘You’re very welcome,’ Callum replied, and breathed a sigh of relief. It had been surprisingly easy.

It was a happy and boisterous meal. Judy loved the Nelsons’ kitchen, with its Welsh dresser displaying a collection of blue and white pottery, the comforting bulk of the cream-coloured Aga. The pine table was a riot of colour with glasses of red wine and fruit juice, bowls of salad and glinting, foil-wrapped potatoes, and the patio doors stood open to the garden. Beyond them, the men were turning the meat, while Josh, proud to be one of them, made repeated forays back and forth with chops, sausages and burgers.

She sighed contentedly, and her eyes moved round the table – to Luisa and Phoebe with their heads together, to little Flora determinedly sawing her potato skin, to Elaine who, catching her eye, exchanged a smile. The tableau they made, with the men framed by the window laughing at a shared joke, seemed almost preternaturally vivid, as though it were painted on the canvas of her brain. How lucky she was, she thought, to have such a family and such friends.

It was as well she didn’t realize that image of them all would have to last her a lifetime.

Monday morning, and the school run. Elaine, harassed as always at this time of day, was shepherding the Firbank girls into the back with Phoebe, while Josh, as the eldest, took his place in the passenger seat, a heaviness in his stomach as the prospect of Dave loomed large.

His mother slid in beside him, and the car moved away from the kerb. Flora was engrossed in her Nintendo game, and the older girls, as always, were whispering together.

‘Mum,’ Josh began tentatively.

‘Um?’ Elaine switched on the radio, waiting for the travel news. There’d been heavy rain overnight, and she hoped the route she had to take after dropping the children wouldn’t be flooded.

‘Mum?’ Josh said again.