I focus on swallowing. Splints shoves his head onto my lap, nudging at my arm. I take my hand out from under my bum and give his nose a scratch. I can feel Lettie waiting for a reply. I think of filling another day when the rest of this one’s already stretching out endlessly in front of me. “Thanks.”

“You don’t sound pleased.”

“I like school.”

“Maybe you should have got up earlier, then.” Her face is sharp again. I’ve offended her.

I reach for my cup and take another gulp of my drink; it burns my throat. I cough, eyes stinging.

Lettie picks up a spoon and stirs her cup some more. I concentrate on the sound of metal against china; it’s annoyingly cheery. She flicks the tea off the spoon and wipes it on the hem of her jacket before placing it carefully back into its jar. She leans back in her chair again. “Anyway, won’t do you any harm to keep off that leg for a bit.”

“It’s fine.”

“Well, I don’t want to get into trouble for breaking a child. So give it another day, okay?”

It’s not like I’ve got much choice. I glance at her face and keep that thought to myself. I take a smaller sip of hot chocolate and shrug agreement.

“We could go somewhere. Get out of the city. A bit of fresh air.”

I imagine hiking through some muddy paddock with the old goat in the cold. I’m not filled with enthusiasm.

“Your Splinter can come too.”

“How?”

“I’ll drive.”

“You have a car?”

“Yes. I have a car.”

I know she doesn’t have a garage. “Where is it?”

“The white one.” She points across the road.

I look into the street. There’s a red SUV and an old white bomb of a van and a few normal cars.

“The old van?”

“I said car.”

The only white car is a very shiny-looking Prius.

“That’s yours?” I’d assumed it belonged to one of the other neighbors.

“Why are you so surprised?”

“Because it’s so . . . shiny.”

“It is, isn’t it.” She looks pleased. “My son bought it for me.”

She has a son? I try not to sound surprised. “What’s his name?”

“Christopher. So, you’ve got nothing on tomorrow, I’m planning on not being here to answer the door, and your big hound here’ll fit in the back seat. What do you say we go for a drive?”

She grins at me.

The idea doesn’t fill me with dread. I smile back.

Lettie finishes her tea in a gulp and bangs the cup down on the chest. “It’s a date, then.”

Looks like I’m going on a road trip.

DAY 40

THURSDAY