Chapter 2

“No.” I let out a breath.

“Want to head home?” Mark asked when we came to the edge of the woods.

“Might as well. I could do with a cup of coffee.”

“Me, too,” Mark said.

On the way home, I asked, “So, now you know all about my boring early life, what about your past?”

“You already know the basics; you wrote them on the unemployment benefit forms. I left school at sixteen with a small handful of O levels, nothing to get excited about. I worked in a café for a while, then got a job at a supermarket, stacking shelves, that kind of thing. It wasn’t that interesting or well-paid—but I was glad to have a job. So many of my school friends just went straight on the dole.”

“You were lucky. So was I. I couldn’t believe it when I got the job at our local library. I thought I’d have to move. Hopefully one day I’ll get a promotion. I’ve got the qualifications and now the work experience. Just waiting for the right opening I guess.”

“Would you move?” Mark asked.

“I’d have to think about it, but I’d rather not. I’m settled where I am. I make enough to get by on, but it’d be nice to have a bit more to spend, and now I’ve got someone to spend it on…”

“So long as I can spend money on you, too, when I get some,” Mark put in.

“Maybe I’ll let you,” I said with a chuckle. “The one thing I would do though, if I had the money, would be to buy a car.”

“Have you passed your test?”

“Mum and Dad gave me a course of driving lessons as a present for passing my A levels. I thought about getting a car then, but everything was within walking distance at the university, and once I’d graduated I had enough debts without adding the costs of running a car.”

Mark nodded.

“I’d take a refresher course before I got back behind the wheel. I don’t have much practical experience of driving.”

“I never learnt,” Mark said. “When mum died, dad spent all his money on booze, and I didn’t earn enough for lessons, much less for a car, insurance and the like.”

“Well, once you’ve got yourself settled in a job, you might want to think about learning.”

“We’ll see.”

We ambled back to the house in silence, each with our own thoughts. Once inside I took off our coats and asked Mark if he wanted a coffee and something to eat.

“Have we got any of that boiled ham left?”

“Yeah,” I said after looking in the fridge. “A round of sandwiches will finish it off.”

We’d just finished eating when there was a knock at the front door. I went to answer it.

It was Paul Bates and his fourteen-year-old son, Sam.

“Sorry to bother you,” Paul said in a rush, “but Helen’s waters have broken, and—”

“She’s early,” I said, then realised Paul didn’t have time to debate such things. “Sorry. How can we help?”

“Would you mind looking after Sam? My parents are on holiday and—”

“No problem,” I interrupted.

“Thanks.” Paul dashed back down the street, leaving Sam standing on the doorstep, not looking terribly happy.

I gave Sam an encouraging smile, then stuck my head out of the door and called, “Paul! If you need to stay with Helen overnight, Sam can bunk on the sofa.”

“Thanks.” He waved before disappearing into his house.

Turning around, I saw that Mark had come into the living room. “This is Mark…a friend of mine.” I told Sam, beckoning him inside. “Are you excited about having a baby brother or sister?”

“No, not really,” came the meek reply. Sam’s eyes were hiding behind long lashes, which I suspected many girls would envy.

“Why’s that?” Mark asked.

“He or she will probably cry all night.”

“But it’ll be nice to watch the baby as he or she grows up, starts crawling, walking and talking.”

“Suppose,” Sam said with little enthusiasm. “What happened to your hands?” he asked Mark.

“Someone I knew was playing around with chemicals, and things went wrong. I should be okay in a week or so though.”

“That’s good.” Sam smiled; he seemed to be warming up to Mark.

“Would you like anything to eat?” I asked Sam.

“No thanks. We just ate when Mum decided she needed to go to hospital.”

“What about watching some television, or maybe a video?” I asked, pointing at the shelves of tapes. I felt out of my depth, never having had to keep a teenager entertained before.