Page 41 of The Dolce Vita Divas
Leo took off his pullover. ‘Sit on this, buddy,’ he said, ‘this is nice and soft.’
‘Leo, that sweater is Hugo Boss,’ Raleigh hissed.
‘Well, does anyone have a cheaper one for him to sit on?’ Leo hissed back.
I did but I wasn’t going to admit it.
Eric struggled to get comfortable and in the process, he kicked me. He gave me a knowing look like a cat who recognises immediately the person in the room who distrusts it least.
‘Honey, be careful, you’ll hurt yourself,’ Raleigh said, looking at me reproachfully as though it was my fault.
The sun set and the daylight began to fade.
‘Sit on my knee, Eric,’ Leo said, reaching out a welcoming arm. Eric gave a babyish grizzle.
‘No, want to sit there.’ He pointed towards me, and I stood up so I could move out of his way. Perhaps I could walk around the back of everyone. Or maybe I could wander off to the bar, pretend to get lost and have a cocktail?
Before I could do either, Eric clambered heavy-footed onto my lap and settled down after turning round three times. Exactly like a blooming cat. There was something about that boy…
‘Well, thank heavens,’ Raleigh hissed. ‘Keep still.’
Not sure if she was talking to Eric or me, I froze and gradually the light faded and the stars over the dark sea began to twinkle.
I could hear Eric’s yawning somewhere below my chin. He didn’t seem to weigh much but he was all angles and bony knees, and it took some time before he seemed to be comfortable.
‘What’s happening?’ he said rather loudly.
‘Let’s be like little mice. Really quiet.’
Eric giggled and gave a squeak. He kicked out his feet, catching me a hefty whack on my leg.
I bit back a yelp.
‘And really still,’ I hissed.
‘Or what will happen?’
‘You won’t see the stars, and neither will I,’ I said.
‘Tell me about the stars,’ he said.
I dredged through my memory for information I had found for my own children when they were this age and prone to asking difficult questions.
Why doesn’t glue stick to the inside of the tube? If a mermaid has an accident, does she go to the doctor or a vet?That sort of thing.
‘Stars are giant balls of hot gas made up mostly of hydrogen and helium. Our Sun is a star.’
I heard Eric give a little gasp and miraculously he was still.
‘If you look carefully, you can see groups of stars called constellations. And they all have different names. One of them is called Leo, like your dad.’
I felt him relax against me and I could just make out his profile as he looked up at the sky.
I managed to point out the Plough and the North Star, and then the W of Cassiopeia, and then Orion’s Belt.
I was rather enjoying myself, despite the fact that my left leg was itching, and I couldn’t reach it as Eric was in the way. Leo went off to answer a phone call at one point, and Raleigh wandered off too, murmuring something about finding another glass of wine, leaving me and Eric alone in the gathering darkness.
‘Will the stars ever fall down and hit us?’ Eric wanted to know. ‘Like they did with the dinosaurs?’
