Page 35 of Beautiful Losers

Ari’s bottom lip starts to tremble. I place my hands on his shoulders and kneel down to his level.

‘Aribo, I’m sure she’s around somewhere, and if we did leave her behind, I’ll drive back to the aqua park first thing tomorrow and pick her up, okay? There’s no need to worry. Margaret will be fine, I promise.’

‘But Mummy, what if bandits or a crocodile take her? We have to go to the poolnow.’

‘Ari, we’re going nowhere. I need to get a wash on. I’ll have another look for Margaret before bedtime.’

‘But, Mummy …’

‘On you go now, baby. I’ve loads to do.’

Ari scrunches up his face. ‘You’re ruining my life! I’m leaving this family!’

He makes his second dramatic exit of the afternoon. I turn to Jack.

‘If this is a taster of adolescence, I’m sending him to boarding school.’

I grab a bottle of laundry detergent from under the sink and head towards the utility room. Hovering at the doorway, I turn round, biting on my lower lip.

‘Dinner this evening would be lovely, thank you.’

Jack’s face lights up.

~

It’s just after 6 p.m. by the time I finish the laundry and have a quick shower. I take some homemade tomato sauce out of the freezer and pop it in the microwave, then boil a pan of water for the spaghetti. When his dinner is ready, I call Ari in from outside, where I assume he’s been playing for the past forty-five minutes. We built a fort at the bottom of the garden last week and it’s been a daily battle getting him to vacate it at mealtimes. When he doesn’t answer, I make my way to his inner sanctum and stick my head through the opening. Inside, there’s a one-armed dinosaur, a colouring book and a pink bra I’ve been looking for all week, but no Ari. I head back indoors and check his room, the kitchen, the living room, calling his name as I move through the house.

‘Ari, you’ve had your fun. It’s time for dinner,’ I say, with the appropriate degree of firmness, as I peer underneath beds and behind sofas.

I head back into the garden, hands on hips as I scan my surroundings.

‘Everything okay there, kiddo?’ says a disembodied voice.

I look round. There’s no one there.

‘Up here.’

Leonard is standing on the top rung of a ladder leaning against the outhouse, clearing leaves out of the gutter.

‘You haven’t seen Ari, have you?’ I say, looking up at him, shielding my eyes from the evening sun with my hand.

‘I saw him about an hour ago. He had his backpack and swimming goggles on. Looked like he’d drawn some kind of map. He said Margaret had been kidnapped and he was going to rescue her.’ He chuckles. ‘To be a kid again, eh?’

‘Did you see where he went?’ I say, frowning.

‘In the direction of his fort, I think.’

I walk briskly back down the garden on the off chance Ari is hiding under a blanket, finding this one-sided game of hide-and-go-seek hilarious. After double checking the fort, I’m about to turn towards the house when I spot a hole in the cherry laurel hedge behind me. It’s too small for an adult to crawl through, but just the right size for a five-year-old. I feel a tightening in my chest as I force as much of myself through the gap as will fit. I can see the road leading to the village on the other side. Hauling myself back out, extracting twigs from my hair, I dash across the lawn. Jack is walking through the gate, holding a paper bag in his arms from which a bottle of rosé is protruding.

‘What’s the matter?’ he says, noting the look of concern on my face.

‘It’s Ari. I think he’s run off. I can’t find him anywhere.’

‘He must be around somewhere. Where would he go?’

‘To look for Margaret,’ I say, my voice straining. ‘I’m going up to the village to find him.’

‘I’ll come with you,’ Jack says, placing the bag on a chair.

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