Page 39 of The Long Walk Back

‘I tried, in the hospital. I came back just before he left the hospital. She sent me away.’

‘And since then?’

He looked confused.

‘Question too hard? Did you keep trying? It’s been months.’ I could hear the edge in my voice, this guy was rubbing me up the wrong way. I needed to calm down. Find Jamie.

‘I know it’s been months,’ he darted a look to the window, but the blinds were drawn closed. ‘Look, I don’t appreciate you coming here, talking to me about this. It’s nothing to do with you anyway.’

I nodded at him, agreeing with him in a way. I wasn’t Jamie’s father, but I had been there. He looked at me blankly. The guy was completely out of his depth.

‘Well,’ I said, moving my chair back towards the waiting taxi. ‘I’m glad I came anyway, not every day you meet a deadbeat dad up close.’ I pointed back to the house. ‘If that’s yours, do better this time around.’ His shoulders slumped at my words, and I felt a flicker of satisfaction that my barb had hit home. He’d already moved on. Before the ink was even dry on his divorce, he’d started another family. Does Kate know? She’d tell me that. Surely, she wouldn’t have kept that from me.

‘Will you tell Jamie I love him?’ he said from behind me. I got into the taxi. I couldn’t even acknowledge the guy. When the taxi was pulling away, I could see him staring at me through the blinds, back in the house. Hiding behind the strips of fabric. I pulled out my phone and dialled Kate.

She answered after two rings.

‘Cooper?’ Her voice was like a zap to the heart. I felt so protective over this woman that I almost asked the taxi driver to turn back.

‘I’m here, Kate. Did you find him?’

Kate could feel the skin ripping away from the side of her thumb as she chewed on the area around her nail. A blossom of blood sprang up and she wiped it down her jeans. The foyer of the centre was mercifully quiet. She wondered just how many people here ran the other way when they saw her coming. She knew she was causing drama, but she felt like it was all beyond her control. What could she do? Her in-laws had taken her child from the place that he lived, without her permission. Any other parent of a patient would be angry that procedures were not followed. The trouble was, the only person in the whole place that knew of her situation was Trevor. She’d never documented her wishes. At least she knew now he was safe. She worried at the torn skin, pulling down her cardigan sleeve to cover it over.

A minibus pulled up, and Kate’s whole body shook with relief when she saw the face of her son smiling through the window. She plastered on a grin and pulled the door open, running out to meet them. Jamie looked at her and she started to wave, but he turned away to talk to his grandparents before he saw.

‘Hello, Kate,’ Milly said. Roger busied himself talking to the driver, who was helping Jamie to operate the motorised ramp in the flash vehicle. A number of carrier bags sat on the floor, expensive clothes stores and games shop logos showing. Kate turned away, but Milly saw where she was looking.

‘I hope you don’t mind,’ she ventured. ‘We wanted to take Jamie for lunch, so we went into town. Bought him a few things. You can’t take it with you, you know.’

Kate nodded at the woman. ‘You didn’t have to do that. I can afford to take care of my son. You could have called ahead. I’ve been frantic. If you hadn’t answered when I called, I would have?—’

Milly scrunched her nose up, readjusted her handbag tighter against her side, as though it was shielding her.

‘I know you can take care of him, Kate. As we said on the phone, we thought it was okay to pick him up. The receptionist never said it wasn’t, and Jamie was excited. I’m so sorry we worried you. Neil told us where you were living, and we wanted to see you both. You have done a good job, I know that. We just wanted to help. When you last called, we…’ She swallowed, and Kate touched her arm. ‘We just felt so awkward. Neil should have been there for his son, and so should we. He asked us to stay away, that it was easier, but we know now we shouldn’t have listened.’ Milly flinched as Kate squeezed her, and she smiled kindly.

‘I’m sorry.’ The relief of knowing Jamie was back, that he was okay, cut off everything else. They had been caught in the middle of all this. They loved Neil so much, had pandered to their only child. To hear them say they knew he should have done better, it made her want to stop punishing them. Jamie needed people, and seeing his face, so happy. This was a good thing, even though the timing could have been better. ‘We shouldn’t fight. For Jamie’s sake, at least.’

Milly sniffed. ‘Neil doesn’t talk to us much about it, I thought it was your fault, that you might have been keeping him away, but Jamie says he hasn’t been in touch with you. Only calls his son once a week.’ She shook her head. ‘I didn’t know.’

‘It’s okay,’ she assured her, as Roger and Jamie came forward. Roger was laden down with bags, but he set them on the ground and went in to hug her awkwardly. Kate let him, tapping him on the shoulder as though she was soothing him. Glancing at Milly and Jamie, she saw misty eyes and approving nods. She wondered what Neil would think of this, or Coop. She imagined their reactions would be as different as they were as men.

As though thinking of Cooper had conjured him, a taxi pulled up and he got out. On two legs too. He stood there, as though he had all the time in the world, casually leaning on the open car door. He looked tired but utterly gorgeous. Kate’s whole body responded to his presence. She hoped that the flame in her cheeks wouldn’t be noticed by her company. He looked across at them all and smiled politely. The driver brought round his chair, and Jamie dashed over to see him.

‘Cooper, I got the new Star Wars game from Grandma and Granddad, will you play with me later?’

Cooper sat in his chair and immediately leant forward and ruffled Jamie’s hair. A move he did often now, a relaxed point of contact. Jamie giggled and they fist bumped.

‘Of course I will, big guy. You had a good day?’

Jamie looked at his grandparents and beckoned Cooper over to them with him. ‘Yeah, it was awesome. We went to a burger bar, and I had burger and chips. And pudding. We went everywhere, and I got some Avengers stuff for my room too. This is Cooper, he lives here too. He’s Mum’s friend.’

He presented Cooper to his grandparents grandly, with both arms spread wide. Ta-da, my new dad! He didn’t say that of course. He might as well have, judging from the looks Roger and Milly gave each other. Kate could only stand and watch, picking at the broken skin by her side.

Cooper smiled easily at them both.

‘Sounds like you have had a lovely day. Captain Thomas Cooper,’ he said to them both, looking them straight in the eye while holding his hand out firm.

Milly eyed him coolly, but Roger smiled and held his hand out to shake his hand in return.

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