Page 68 of The Life Experiment
‘Nothing.’
‘Nothing?’
‘Nothing,’ Angus confirmed.
‘Angus, this is absurd,’ Gilly cried. ‘Those houses are premium properties! There is no way your father and I will let you have one room in them, never mind both buildings.’
‘But you don’t need them,’ Angus protested. ‘So why have them?’
Gilly turned to Peter, slack-jawed. ‘I cannot believe what I am hearing. Can you believe this, Peter? Peter!’
But Peter wasn’t listening to his wife. He was looking at his son as if seeing him for the first time.
Angus inched closer to his father. ‘You have more wealth in this room than most have in their lifetime. Whatever monetary value those properties bring you, the value they would bring to others is exponentially greater. There are people out there you could help—’
‘Since when do you care about helping people?’ Gilly snapped.
‘Since I realised that all this means nothing if you aren’t happy with who you are,’ Angus cried. ‘I’ve spent years not knowing what to do and hating everything I’ve been given. I was wrong to hate it, but I’d be even more wrong to keep it all to myself. We have the ability to do so much for so many. Why aren’t we?’
‘This hospice sounds like it’s made quite the impression on you,’ Peter commented.
‘It really has. When I’m there, I think of Hugo. I know it’s silly when he didn’t die in a hospice but—’
Gilly covered her ears, shaking her head to dislodge Angus’s words. ‘Stop mentioning your brother,’ she shouted, but Peter held up his hand.
‘Gilly, it’s time we faced the fact that we lost our way after Hugo passed,’ Peter said before glancing at his son. ‘Perhaps Angus more than anyone.’
‘I feel like I’ve found it now, though. I really do.’
‘Angus—’ Gilly began, but Peter cut her off.
‘The houses are yours,’ he said, standing and squeezing his son’s hand. ‘We’ll meet with my lawyer tomorrow to start putting things in motion.’
‘Peter, you can’t be serious!’ Gilly objected, but her husband ignored her.
‘You’re going to do good things with this, Angus, I can feel it. Take the houses. Volunteer more. Find other ways you can help and use every resource at your fingertips. You have my backing, always.’ With that, Peter turned to his wife. ‘What about you, Gilly? Does Angus have your support?’
Gilly looked from her husband to her son and back again. ‘The… the houses, Peter. We can’t just give them away. They’re worth millions.’
‘I know, but I also know what it feels like to lose someone you love. If we could turn that tragedy into helping someone, shouldn’t we do that? Shouldn’t we have done that all along?’
Angus watched the lines on Gilly’s forehead deepen. Even after all this time, Angus saw the same pain in his mother’s eyes as he had the day Hugo passed. Gilly thought she hid it behind her putdowns and quick wit, but it was there. Sneaky and cruel, it was there.
Suddenly, Gilly met Angus’s gaze. ‘No, Angus doesn’t have my support,’ she said, before sweeping out of the room.
Her departure felt like a punch, but Peter didn’t allow Angus long to be hurt by it. Striding over to him, Peter lay his hand on his son’s shoulder. ‘Your mother struggles with the idea of death being such a big part of life, Angus. I suppose we all do, after Hugo, but she will come around.’ Pushing past the pain of his grief, Peter forced asmile. ‘You should call the venture Hugo’s House. It would be a fitting tribute.’
‘Hugo’s House,’ Angus repeated. Somewhere inside, the words clicked. From one look at his father, Angus knew they’d clicked with Peter too.
31Layla
Although she’d lived in London for a few years, Layla had never participated in the activities put on each year in the run up to Christmas. No glittering window display captured her attention enough to enchant her. No festive menu enticed Layla enough to nip inside for a bite to eat.
That was until Angus entered the picture. Now, Layla found herself bundled in a hat and scarf on her way to do the definition of a winter activity: ice-skating in the park. Cheesy and cute, like something from a Hallmark Christmas film, she couldn’t wait.
Layla had never skated before. She wasn’t sure she had the skills. In fact, when she’d called her dad earlier and told him what she was doing, he’d laughed. ‘You? On ice? Really? NowthatI would love to see.’
Even though she’d scoffed at his words, the idea of gliding around a patch of ice terrified Layla. What if she fell? What if she was terrible at it?
