Page 59 of The Secrets of Dragonfly Lodge
Jack and Jess hadn’t visited the reserve before except by boat, and they were delighted by the merchandise in the visitors’ centre. Being a Sunday, it was busy. Josh was there at the till, and Jackie, the talkative middle-aged volunteer, was serving coffees. Stef managed to resist the twins’ demands for toys. ‘An ice cream maybe later,’ she said sternly. ‘Look, there’s Livy!’ She ushered the children through the door that led to the reserve. The twins rushed ahead to join Aaron and Livy, who were waiting beside the entry gate.
‘Hello!’ Stef sang out and was glad to see Aaron’s face light up as he returned her greeting.
The day was cool and cloudy, but the rain was holding off, though she made the twins zip up their cagoules before they set off. The children walked ahead together, the girls chatting and pointing out flowers and birds, while Jack made occasional little dashes off the path, once having to be prevented from climbing a fragile tree. Then he found a fallen branch and charged ahead brandishing it, lost in some mysterious game. Stef called for him to wait.
‘They’re exhausting, kids, aren’t they?’ She laughed.
‘Boys are exhausting in a physical way,’ Aaron agreed. ‘Or at least, the kind of boy that Jack is.’
‘He’s going to be very like his father, I can tell already. Straightforward, not very reflective.’
‘Ooh, that sounded strongly felt.’
‘Sorry, we’ve been having a difficult morning.’ She explained how Rob had turned up unannounced and how she hoped that he and Pippa were sorting things out.
‘Best thing to do, leaving them to it.’
She allowed a beat of silence to pass, wondering if he’d say something about his own experience of marital discord, but he didn’t. Perhaps that was a good sign, she mused as she watched him stoop to collect a fallen iris head and give it to his daughter. She’d once dated a man who’d talked incessantly about the circumstances of his divorce and realized reluctantly that he wasn’t ready for a new partner.
When Aaron talked about Nancy, Stef was touched by the tenderness of his concern.
‘Her ankle is much better. She’s able to put weight on it and I don’t feel so bad about leaving her again this afternoon. I’d be happier if she slept downstairs for a while yet… if your mother wouldn’t mind her keeping the bed a little longer.’
‘I’m sure she wouldn’t.’
‘I don’t know when I’ll be able to come down again, though,’ he said wistfully. ‘This week’s something of a nightmare. We’re filming down in Cornwall on Wednesday.’
She felt a sudden pang. Maybe she wouldn’t see him after today. Trying to keep her voice steady, she asked him about the project. It was a biopic about the sculptor Barbara Hepworth and they talked enthusiastically about her work. When she broke off their conversation to tell Jack to stop menacing his sister with his branch, it struck her how easy Aaron was to talk to.
But when he fell back in step with her once more, he brought the conversation round again to their old subject of dissent. ‘What about you?’ he asked in a suspicious tone. ‘Have you finished with my grandmother yet?’
‘Finished? What do you mean?’
‘Are the interviews over?’
‘No, not yet. Hasn’t she said?’
‘She won’t talk to me about the matter. Says it’s her business.’
‘I suppose it is.’ She was sorry, though, if she’d caused him to argue with Nancy again.
His expression stiffened and she sensed with dismay that their warm connection had cooled again.
Their footsteps slowed, for they had come to a break in thevegetation where a short platform, guarded by a rail, ran out over the water. They waited until another family there moved on, then Stef found a coin in her pocket and lifted Jack up so that he could feed it into a small telescope clamped to the rail. The children took turns to look through it at the distant birdlife.
Aaron, however, waited to one side, aloof, lost in his own thoughts.Well, let him, Stef told herself. Her father had been a sulky man and once he’d left the family home it was as though something lifted. But to her relief, Aaron roused himself, his eyes crinkled at her, and he joined the children at the rail, pointing out the dragonflies that were dancing over the water like bright jewels.
I wish this moment would last, Stef mused. She imagined briefly that they were a proper family on a day out, two parents, three young siblings, and liked the feel of it.Though it’s nonsense, of course.She’d got to know the twins a little more this week. It should be easier as they grew up and became more individual. And Livy, gorgeous with her long, thick hair and striking features, was comical with the adult attitudes she struck.
It began to rain, a desultory shower, but heavy enough for Aaron to help Livy zip up her jacket and for them to move off under the thick canopy of an oak tree. Here, they stood listening to the patter of the raindrops on the leaves and the songs of the birds, who were undaunted by the weather. Jack poked his nose into a bole in the tree and made owl noises. ‘Careful, something might nip you,’ Stef said, laughing, but this didn’t put him off.
‘I want a go,’ Jess said, butting his face with hers like a baby goat until he shifted. Then Livy had a try, her owl hoots trembling with laughter, before making her daddy squat down to do it, too. By the time the game was over the rain had eased and they were able to move on.
‘Shall we try a bird hide?’ Aaron suggested when they reached a large wooden shed. As he drew open the door, he raised his finger to his lips. ‘Shh. You need to be quiet in here.’ The children filed past him inside, their faces solemn and intent.
‘You keep quiet, too,’ Aaron joked as Stef followed them into warm darkness.
‘Cheeky,’ she muttered, and was aware of the warmth of his breath on her face as he pulled the door shut behind them. For a second, they all stood huddled close together. When he nudged past her to take Livy’s hand, she felt an immediate sense of loss.
