Page 25 of Hold On

“Not sure.”

“What do you do?”

“My brother’s talking about us going into property development together.”

He wasn’t really answering Ren’s questions, but Ren let it go. “I don’t think I could work with mine. Well, Iamworking with him, but not really. I’m a co-opted volunteer, not an archaeologist.” Ren tossed his bottle into a recycling bin. “Finished?” He held his hand out for Dominic’s, but he shook his head.

Ren waited for Dominic to ask him what he did, but the question didn’t come, which was just as well since Ren hadn’t decided what he wanted to be. There had been a time when he could have joked that he was a drug trafficker or arms dealer but it wasn’t funny anymore.

“Let’s follow this stone wall,” Dominic said. “Col told me there’s a garden inside. We might be able to find the way in.”

Ren spotted a couple emerging a little further along the path and when they reached the door, Ren read out the sign.“Asquith’s Hidden Garden. No running in the water maze. You are likely to get wet! Children should be supervised at all times in the maze and tree house.”He huffed. “Why does that make me want to run in the water maze and misbehave in the treehouse?”

Dominic smiled. “Are you going to be trouble?”

You have no idea.Ren went through the door and Dominic followed him inside.

“Wow.” Ren wasn’t much for flowers, but this was amazing. A riot of colour in every direction, an English country garden gone wild, dotted with statues and tinkling fountains. The water maze had a summerhouse in the middle and a couple were trying to persuade a small child to make his way back to them from it.

“Now! Ari!” the woman said. “You’re not to go around again.”

But the kid did. Just as Ren would have done. The man strode after him, got soaked by a jet of water, then scooped the giggling boy into his arms and carried him back to the edge. The three passed them on their way out of the garden and Ren wondered if the guy would be angry with the kid, but all three were laughing.

“Looks fun,” Ren said. “Want a go?”

Dominic hesitated. “I only bought these shoes today. I don’t want to get them wet.”

And you aren’t fun.But then Ren didn’t want to wet his shoes either. He was thinking about saying they could take them off, but Dominic had already moved on. The large oak tree in the centre of the garden had a treehouse in the bottom branches with a short ladder to reach it. A thick layer of bark chippings had been spread around the base.

Dominic climbed up. The house wasn’t high off the ground, but Ren couldn’t see him once he was inside. He followed him up and found Dominic sitting with his back to the trunk, his legs stretched out to the far wall. Ren sat beside him, their thighs almost touching. When Dominic offered him his beer, Ren took a drink and handed it back. “Thanks.”

“This is nice,” Dominic said.

“It is. Did you have a treehouse when you were a kid?”

“Not in a small paved backyard. I used to make dens for Col with an old sheet, a clothes airer and our mother’s sun lounger.”

“What’s the age difference?”

“Five years.”

“Same as me and my brother, but I’m the younger one.”

Dominic handed the bottle over again.

Ren took it. “You’re not a big drinker?”

“No.”

Ren’s brain was trying to click two and two together, only to be interrupted by a buzzing. “Is that your phone?”

Dominic looked flustered as he pulled it from his pocket. For a moment, he seemed to have a problem answering it. “Hi… I’m fine.” He glanced at Ren. “No, he’s not run away screaming…yet… No, nor has he murdered me, Theo.”

Ren laughed.

“Okay,” Dominic said into the phone. “No, don’t wait… No… I really am fine… Are you sure? … Maybe. I’ll see you later.”

He put his phone back in his pocket.

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