Page 52 of Hold On

A small boy bounded towards them and they both sat up.

“Archie! Come here this minute,” a woman yelled from somewhere they couldn’t see.

The boy sat down on the picnic blanket and picked up a sausage roll. “Hello.”

“Hello,” Ren said. “I think your mummy is looking for you.”

“I’m hiding.”

“Archie!”

“He’s here,” Ren called.

The boy pushed the sausage roll into his mouth.

A woman appeared in front of them. “Oh my goodness. I am so sorry. Archie! Did you help yourself?”

“Hungry.” Crumbs shot everywhere.

“Come here at once.”

The boy slunk to her side.

“I do apologise. He’s normally better behaved.”

“It’s fine,” Ren said.

He could hear her telling the boy off as they walked away, but not in an unkind way.

“You okay?” Ren whispered.

“He ate your sausage roll.”

Ren growled. “Did he? Not yours? One left. Okay. Make a grab on three. We’ll see who’s fastest. One, two, three.”

Dominic let Ren win. He stripped off his T-shirt, tucked it under his head and lay back in the sun. A simple pleasure and though he’d had occasional opportunities to sit in the sunshine when he was at Marsden, they hadn’t come often and he never relaxed because it wasn’t wise. In prison, the chances to sit in the sun were even fewer and ironically, he felt less secure there than when he was out in general population. Ren settled at his side, his T-shirt also removed. Dominic took his hand and rubbed his thumb on Ren’s palm.

“Are you okay?” Ren asked quietly.

“Depends what you mean by okay.”

“I didn’t…”

Dominic turned to look at him. “Didn’t what?”Let me touch you?

“Freak you out? I mean… I’m guessing… No, I’m not going to guess anything. You’ve not thrown yourself down the hill, or stamped back to the car park or screamed at me or yelled for help so…”

Dominic squeezed his fingers.

“I’ll shut up,” Ren said. “Otherwise I’ll keep talking about pterodactyls.”

“You do know there’s no such thing as a pterodactyl.”

“What?”

“No self-respecting palaeontologistuses that term. There were hundreds of types of pterosaurs and you have to be particularly careful not to confuse pteranodon with pterodactylus.”

“When I looked at you from behind, I knew you were a smart arse.”

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