Page 53 of All Mine
‘That went well,’ Fox said, watching the children slam into the inflatable walls like mini cannonballs. ‘George has had a great day.’
‘Four already. Can you believe it?’ Rosie said, watching Riley and George jump together, holding hands.
‘He’s a lovely boy,’ Isabella said.
‘And that’s all down to you, Fox,’ Wren said. ‘You should be proud.’
There was a short silence while everyone thought about the fact that he had raised the boys on his own. Meg’s sudden death had been such a shock.
‘Did George ask about Meg this year?’ Walker asked.
Fox took a swig of his beer before shaking his head. ‘Nope.’
Etienne put a hand on his shoulder.
‘But I told him she would love to have celebrated his birthday with him and that she’s blowing kisses from heaven.’
‘That’s lovely,’ Rosie said, rising from the blanket to give him a hug. Wren wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.
‘The good thing is that the boys don’t remember her to miss her.’ Fox laughed softly. ‘It’s just me that does that.’
George torpedoed across the lawn and sprang into Etienne’s lap, narrowly missing kneeing him right in the nuts.
‘Let’s play hide-and-seek!’ he yelled far too loud and far too close to Etienne’s ear. Riley and Reggie stopped mid-bounce and turned like meerkats, awaiting the next words. Maybe it was on the back of what Fox had just said, but at that moment in time Etienne would have done anything in his power to make George happy.
‘Go on then!’ he said, tickling George’s ribs and making him squirm. ‘Everyone playing?’ He saw Wren pull Rosie to her feet and then extend a hand to Isabella. Walker’s eyes were already scouting the garden for hiding places.
‘I’ll seek first,’ said Fox, making the most of an extra minute in his deckchair.
‘Count to fifty!’ George shouted and took off, arms pumping like pistons, towards the house.
‘The office is out of bounds!’ Fox shouted back, before closing his eyes and counting out loud, ‘One, two, three. . .’
‘No peeking, Dad,’ Reggie warned before legging it round the corner.
Walker was already halfway up a tree, Rosie and Wren ran off holding hands and Isabella disappeared into the house. Etienne mentally scanned Fox’s house, thinking of best spots. Deciding that behind the sofa was a good option, he padded through to the living room only to find Reggie already lying there.
‘Taken!’ the boy said, looking surprisingly fierce, pointing at the door for Etienne to leave.
‘Okay, okay.’ Etienne raised his hands and backed away, laughing.
‘. . . thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven. . .’ Fox shouted from his deckchair.
Heading through the lounge, Etienne saw Riley’s purple trainers poking out from under the coat stand and heard Wren and Rosie giggling in another room and hushing each other. Glancing out the window, he saw Walker pull his legs up into the canopy of the tree and disappear from view. He was running out of time.
‘. . . forty-five, forty-six, forty-seven. . .’
He jogged past the cupboard under the stairs– too obvious by far– and through the hall to the big wardrobe where he knew they kept coats and skateboards. He only had a few seconds left as he pulled open the door. Isabella, standing inside surrounded by raincoats and woolly hats, blinked at the sudden light. Eyes wide, she wagged her finger at him fiercely. ‘No!’ she exclaimed.
‘Coming, ready or not!’ Fox shouted and Etienne stepped inside and pulled the door shut behind him.
‘What are you doing?’ Isabella hissed.
‘Shhhh,’ he replied and slid in beside her in the dark.
‘Go and find your own hiding place,’ she whispered, and he felt her breath on his face.
‘Shhh,’ he urged again, as they heard footsteps approach the hall and then pass by, taking the stairs above their heads two at a time.
