Page 10 of Beg, Borrow or Steal
‘You never told me you had a daughter.’
‘Well, I did try a couple of times but you didn’t – ’
‘I cut you off.’ Jamie ran his fingers through his hair, his mind going over the past two weeks and both of the times she had tried to explain, only to have him close the conversation down. Pav’s words came back to haunt him as he took in the two females huddled in a soggy-looking mess on the chair:Everyone’s fighting their own unique war, man.‘Shit, I’m sorry.’
Rosie stopped crying for a moment, her head popped out from her mother’s neck and she turned wide eyes to him. ‘What’s “shit”?’
Libby rolled her eyes to the ceiling again and she groaned. ‘He said ship honey,ship, with a p.’
‘Why’d he say ship?’
‘Because I’ve got a ship,’ Jamie told Rosie, his face heating. When he glanced at Libby she had widened her eyes and was shaking her head frantically for some reason.
‘Really?’ Rosie breathed, all her hunger and tears forgotten at this news. ‘Can I go on your ship?’
‘Ah … I … well it’s more of a boat than a ship to be exact and …’
‘I wanna go on your boat.’ She was bouncing up and down now; poor Alan fell to the floor forgotten.
‘I don’t think …’ Jamie trailed off as Rosie’s eyes started to fill with tears again and her bottom lip started trembling. ‘Of course you can come on my boat,’ he told her helplessly and watched as Libby closed her eyes and shook her head.
‘Right, come on, Little Louse,’ Libby said as she stood up from the chair, the child still clinging on to her like a barnacle. ‘Let’s leave Dr Grantham alone and get you home. It’s way past your bedtime.’
‘I’m gonna be a pirate when I get gwowed up,’ Rosie told him. ‘So Ineedsto go on a boat. I never been on a boat before.’
‘Yes … um … that makes sense,’ Jamie said as Libby started heading towards the door. On instinct he moved to block her path. ‘Are … are you guys okay? Rosie said something about “Brian” being broken? Do you have another kid?’
Libby huffed and stepped to the side but Jamie mirrored her movement. ‘Brian is a car and he won’t start. I only have one child.’
‘That’s why you couldn’t stay,’ Jamie muttered, running a hand down his face and breathing out a sigh as he blocked another move by Libby to get past him.
‘Yes,’ Libby told him through gritted teeth. ‘She goes to the hospital nursery but I have to pick her up by six. I don’t have anyone else to …’ She took a deep breath and blinked a couple of times as her eyes grew suspiciously wet. ‘My family live across London and they can only do so much; most of the week its just me and Rosie.’
‘And Bwian,’ Rosie chipped in.
‘Well, yes, and Brian … when he’s not conking out on us.’
‘And Alan … where’s Alan?’ Rosie twisted in Libby’s arms to look for her spider, her voice growing panicked. Jamie, fearing the return of the lip quiver, moved quickly to retrieve Alan from under the office chair and deposited him in Rosie’s outstretched arms. Libby gave her a look when she didn’t say anything.
‘Thank you,’ he eventually heard the child whisper at record speed. They started towards the door again but Jamie couldn’t let them go. He moved to block the doorway.
‘How long will the bus take?’
Libby looked from the doorframe to his big body blocking the way and frowned. ‘Not long, it’s fine.’
‘Mummy! That is a porky pie!’ Rosie shouted. ‘The bus takesyears!’
‘I can give you a lift,’ Jamie told her, surprising both of them.
‘I don’t think that – ’
‘I’m hungwy,’ Rosie moaned, and Libby closed her eyes in what looked like defeat.
Chapter 6
‘Why’s Mummy all jerky?’
Jamie stared at the ancient rusted dented light-blue Polo as Libby rummaged in the back seat, retrieving various bits of kid detritus that Rosie claimed shehadto take home with her. Brian it seemed was a tin can on wheels. Jamie wasn’t surprised the bloody thing wouldn’t start; he was more shocked that it even managed to get them to the hospital in the first place.
