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Chapters (62)
  1. Title
  2. Copyright
  3. Contents
  4. About the Author
  5. About the Book
  6. Dedication
  7. Your Worst Nightmare
  8. ONE
  9. TWO
  10. THREE
  11. FOUR
  12. FIVE
  13. SIX
  14. SEVEN
  15. EIGHT
  16. NINE
  17. The Answer to All Your Prayers
  18. TEN
  19. ELEVEN
  20. TWELVE
  21. THIRTEEN
  22. FOURTEEN
  23. FIFTEEN
  24. SIXTEEN
  25. SEVENTEEN
  26. EIGHTEEN
  27. NINETEEN
  28. TWENTY
  29. TWENTY-ONE
  30. TWENTY-TWO
  31. TWENTY-THREE
  32. TWENTY-FOUR
  33. TWENTY-FIVE
  34. TWENTY-SIX
  35. TWENTY-SEVEN
  36. TWENTY-EIGHT
  37. TWENTY-NINE
  38. THIRTY
  39. THIRTY-ONE
  40. Somebody Else’s Child
  41. THIRTY-TWO
  42. THIRTY-THREE
  43. THIRTY-FOUR
  44. THIRTY-FIVE
  45. THIRTY-SIX
  46. THIRTY-SEVEN
  47. THIRTY-EIGHT
  48. THIRTY-NINE
  49. FORTY
  50. FORTY-ONE
  51. FORTY-TWO
  52. FORTY-THREE
  53. FORTY-FOUR
  54. FORTY-FIVE
  55. FORTY-SIX
  56. FORTY-SEVEN
  57. FORTY-EIGHT
  58. FORTY-NINE
  59. Sunlight on Water
  60. July
  61. September
  62. Acknowledgements

There are goodbyes, and Matt puts the phone back on its stand. When he sits back down in the armchair, his face is pale.

‘What was that about?’ she asks.

‘Bad news about Mum,’ he says. ‘She’s had some tests done. It’s cancer, cancer of the stomach. They’ve offered her treatment but she’s saying no. I said I’d go up and try and get her to see sense.’

‘I’m sorry, honey,’ Claire says quietly.

‘I’d better go and pack.’

He’s almost out of the room when she calls him back.

‘Do you think Evan might like to go?’

Matt’s face registers his surprise.

‘Really? I’m not sure that’s a good idea.’

‘Why not? I think a change of scene might do him good. He always loved it there, and what is there for him to do here? There’s no school and he’s no friends.’

‘OK. Let’s all go.’

But Claire shakes her head.

‘I think you two should go without me.’

‘Why?’

‘I put too much pressure on him. I know I do. I must be driving him nuts, always watching him, making sure he’s OK. I find it so hard to give him space, and he needs space. I think it would be better to make it a father–son thing. A boys’ road trip.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes. I’ll worry about him every minute, and I’ll find it really hard to let him out of my sight. But I think he needs some time without me smothering him.’

Matt shrugs.

‘If he wants to go, of course.’

Claire follows Matt up the stairs, and stops outside Evan’s room, listening. There’s nothing to hear, not even Evan’s breathing, but there’s a light shining under the door so she thinks he must still be awake.

She taps gently.

‘Evan? Can I come in?’

In this, there’s been improvement. In a few moments, the door is opened, though Evan’s blocking it with his body, not allowing her in.

She tries not to mind.

‘Grandpa’s just rung to say Grandma’s not very well,’ she says. ‘Dad’s going to drive up in the morning and stay a night or two to see if there’s anything he can do. So I was wondering if you wanted to go along for the ride.’

Evan looks at her with his sad eyes, and a flicker of something crosses his face.

Without speaking, he slowly closes the door; but before she moves away, she hears the sound of opening drawers, as Evan chooses clothes to pack for his trip.

TWENTY

TWENTY

11 August