George chortled. ‘You big chicken,’ he said. ‘Not to worry, Tommy and me will wave at you.’

Feeling relieved at being let off the hook, Sarah stepped out of the queue to look for a good vantage point. If she couldn’t enjoy the rides, she could at least watch Tommy appreciating them. She found a place that offered a good view and waited for the ride to start. As it began to spin, she could hear squeals of laughter and a few anxious screams. As the ride began to speed up she felt queasy just looking at it and was glad she’d opted out. Tommy looked delighted when she spotted him and seemed to wave at her as a second thought. She waved back eagerly, but the airplanes were whizzing past so fast that she had trouble keeping her eyes on him. She saw a couple walking towards her, and suddenly, her stomach flipped, only this time it had nothing to do with the rides. Ron Lyons was approaching, presumably with his wife.

Sarah wanted to run and hide, but it was too late, he’d seen her and she noticed his face pale and his smile vanish. She stared at him, transfixed and terrified at what he might do. She felt intimidated, and as he walked past her, he grimaced threateningly. She kept her eyes on him, too afraid to look away, and eventually he walked around a ride and out of sight.

Tommy appeared in front of her. ‘Did you see me, Mum? Did you see how high we went?’

‘Yes, love,’ Sarah answered, but she was looking out for Ron.

‘You feeling all right, Sarah? You look a bit peaky,’ George asked.

‘Er … yes, I’m fine, George. Can we go in the Happy House next?’ she asked, thinking it would be the ideal place to hide for a while.

‘Ow, but that’s boring,’ Tommy moaned.

‘How do you know? You’ve never been in there,’ George said, ‘and I think it’s only fair that Sarah picks a ride too.’

The Happy House was dark, but had many long mirrors that reflected a distorted image, each mirror giving a different reflection. Tommy ran from one to the other, laughing at himself with an extra-long face and tiny legs, and giggling at another that made him look three feet wide.

‘Something happened when me and Tommy was on the Jets, didn’t it?’ George asked while Tommy was out of earshot.

Sarah sighed. ‘Yes, I saw Ron Lyons and he didn’t look very happy to see me.’

‘Why not? I thought you said he isn’t your dad.’