A Family Holiday (32 page)

Charlie found it hard to keep still on the flight; she found she couldn’t get comfortable and fidgeted constantly. A million different scenarios of what lay ahead had all been unleashed from their cell in her brain and were now running riot, creating all sorts of carnage.

She was relieved that the police didn’t board the plane when they landed – this had been one of many possible scenarios – nor were they waiting at baggage collection or customs. They wandered out like lost souls caught in a gust of people and stood in line waiting for a taxi. It wasn’t cold but the sky was grey and weighed heavy on them. The children had slept intermittently on the plane but all looked weary now.

The taxi deposited them outside their house and again, like the airport, there was nobody to meet them. It was all suspiciously quiet. Surely somebody had noticed that they had been missing for four weeks? There was some post and lots of free flyers on the doormat and the answer machine was flashing manically. Ted took the luggage upstairs and Charlie settled the others on the sofa with a Disney film and a blanket. It was mid-morning in the UK but it would have been super-early back in Antigua, so it would take them a while to adjust.

Charlie sorted out drinks and she and Ted stood next to the answerphone with a notepad. ‘Ready?’ Charlie asked.

‘Go on…’

Charlie pressed play and tried to concentrate. The first message was from Fleur wishing them a nice holiday and Wriggly was barking in the background; she must have got their flight times wrong. There were a couple of marketing calls. It then moved on a few days and there was a series of calls from Mrs Van Benton and Poppy looking for Fleur. There were three messages where the caller put the phone down and left no message. Ted slumped against the wall and sipped his Coke.

It was now down to four remaining messages and Charlie found herself taking in lungfuls of air at the end of each one to steady herself. The next one was from Camille asking for an update and saying that people were getting worried, and then came a message from Ruth.

‘You are no longer in the employ of the Cobley Trustees. Unless you contact me within the next twenty-four hours I will have to assume that you have taken unlawful action and I will be forced to notify the authorities.’

‘She’s still as charming as ever,’ said Ted, letting his head fall back against the wall.

‘Message was two days ago,’ pointed out Charlie, ‘and it’s Sunday today, so we might be…’ she fell quiet as the next message started to play.

‘Hi Charlie, hi children,’ came Camille’s voice, ‘please get in touch as soon as you get this message. An emergency meeting has been arranged for eleven o’clock, Monday, and it is key that everyone attends. You’ve got my numbers, but here they are again…’ and she fired them off in quick succession.

‘Meeting tomorrow, great,’ sighed Charlie.

‘Doesn’t say where,’ said Ted, who looked as if he was trying too hard to stay calm, but he kept twitching his hair out of his eyes, or he would have done had it still been long – it had become a nervous habit that needed breaking.

‘Let’s hope it’s not at the police station.’

The last message started to play and there was silence until a hesitant voice kicked in, ‘Er, hello Charlie, it’s Roger here. I don’t like these damned machines. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about all this business with the children. Ruth is getting herself in a terrible state about it all. So that was all. Perhaps you’ll call me. Bye.’

Ted and Charlie exchanged varying degrees of raised eyebrows. As Charlie pressed the delete button the phone sprang into life and they both jumped and smirked at each other. Charlie was tempted to let it go to voicemail, but after four rings she picked it up.

‘You’re home! Hurray!’ said Fleur, and Charlie mouthed to Ted who it was but he had already worked it out and was walking away.

‘Hello Fleur, how are you?’

‘I’m brilliant. I couldn’t remember when your flight was, but anyway you’re home and you’ve not been arrested. Yay!’

‘No, but there’s some big meeting arranged for tomorrow, which I’m not looking forward to.’

‘I’ll be there to support you, Charlie. Just tell me where and when.’

‘You don’t need to…’

‘No, I insist. I want to help and I won’t take no for an answer.’

Fleur then babbled on about her business venture and Charlie had to wind up the call. They agreed that Fleur should come over that evening as she had lots she wanted to talk to Charlie about.

Charlie settled herself in the kitchen, ready to ring back Camille. Ted got another drink from the fridge and paused. ‘I think I’m going to stay here for my A levels and go to uni in the Caribbean or America,’ he said, as if it was the most normal piece of information to impart.

‘Let’s work out if you’re all going to be flung into care first,’ said Charlie, and she instantly regretted it. ‘I’m really sorry, Ted. I shouldn’t have said that. I can’t think past tomorrow.’ He looked at the floor, shrugged and went back upstairs. Charlie felt awful – he didn’t need this regular slap of reality. He had grown up so much, but that still wasn’t a good excuse to throw things like that at him. Her tongue was too quick for her brain sometimes.

She called Camille, who was overwhelmingly relieved to hear from her and must have been envisaging the worst. She explained about the meeting, which had the grand title of a ‘family council’ and involved everyone in the children’s support network.

A number of times during the call Charlie nearly mentioned Blue. He kept popping into her head, but each time something stopped her. She wasn’t sure what it was or why. Camille had had a lot of phone calls from Ruth and it sounded like she had worked hard to stop Ruth from going to the police. Camille promised to update Ruth after the call so that Charlie didn’t have to speak to her, which was a small blessing.

In between calls a sleepy-looking Eleanor and Millie wandered into the kitchen and hugged Charlie in turn before sitting down.

‘I miss Wriggly,’ said Eleanor, ‘and the beach,’ she added with a yawn.

‘Fleur’s bringing him later,’ said Charlie, and Eleanor instantly brightened up and her shoulders straightened.

‘I miss the stupid pirate,’ said Millie, with an even bigger yawn.

Not as much as I do, thought Charlie. ‘How about some hot chocolate?’ and she received two sleepy nods in response.

Charlie called Roger, who was thrilled to hear from her and they chatted for a while about the planned family council and Antigua. Charlie put each of the children on for him to speak to and, although listless, they did each manage a brief conversation with him. Eleanor handed the phone to Millie.

‘…found pirate treasure with a pirate and fed a whale and there was poo in the pool. Bye-bye!’ said Millie showing the most enthusiasm she had all day before she handed the phone back to Charlie and returned her attention to the television.

‘You did the right thing, Charlie. They’ve all had a marvellous time. A holiday was exactly what they needed. Thank you.’

Charlie felt a lump in her throat and shook it away.

Charlie did the lazy thing and ordered pizza delivery for lunch – much to the delight of everyone. Excited barking at the front door interrupted more television.

‘Wriggly!’ yelled Eleanor, and she ran to get the door. The dog was so excited to see Eleanor he wee-weed on the front-door step. This was announced to the street and surrounding area by great shouts and broadcasts from the now-assembled children.

‘Sorry,’ said Fleur, when Charlie appeared with a mop.

‘I’d assumed it was the dog,’ said Charlie, as Fleur tip-toed around the puddle. Charlie had barely sorted out the clean-up when Fleur threw her arms around Charlie and squeezed her tightly.

‘I’ve missed you, Charlie.’

‘Hi, I’ve missed you too. Are you okay?’

‘Me? Marvellous. Could not be better. Give me a hand with the things from the car, would you?’

‘Christ, Fleur, you’re only stopping two nights. How much did you bring?’

‘Not luggage, silly! Shopping. I did a supermarket shop, as I knew you’d be tired, and I’m cooking tonight. No protests, please. You’ve looked after me often enough – now it’s my turn.’

Charlie tilted her head to one side and studied the person in front of her, ‘Who are you and what have you done with the real Fleur?’ she asked, her face deadpan.

‘You are funny,’ said Fleur, giving her a playful shove.

The children beat an early and hasty retreat after dinner as they were all struggling with the combination of travelling and jetlag. Fleur poured out wine for herself and Charlie and they relaxed back into the sofa.

‘How did you leave things with Blue?’ asked Fleur.

‘Not great. His life is in Antigua. Mine is here. End of story. Let’s not talk about him. So what did you want to talk to me about?’

Fleur smiled. ‘I wanted to make sure that you knew how much I love you.’

Charlie took a sip of wine and raised an eyebrow. ‘Don’t tell me you’re giving lesbianism a try?’

Fleur giggled. ‘No, silly. I’m going out with Jonathan, but I’ll tell you all about that in a minute. I know you had a rubbish childhood and you hate flies but other than that I don’t know as much as I should about my best friend. You’ve been part of my life since… forever. I love you as much as I love Poppy and Ma and Pa. You’re family to me, Charlie, and I want to get to know you as well as you know me. I’m starting with being there when you need me and listening more.’

Charlie was touched. ‘Thanks, Fleur, that means a lot.’

‘So what is it with the flies?’

Charlie sighed. ‘My mother and I lived in a flat in Croydon. She was messed up with drink and used to go out, get wasted and then couldn’t make it home. I got left on my own a lot.’ Charlie paused. ‘I’ve never shared this before.’ Fleur took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

‘There was often food left on dirty plates and it attracted flies. I loathed them,’ Charlie shivered at the thought. ‘She used to tell me to play hide and seek and then not come back for hours. Social Services tried loads of times to help my mother cope but she couldn’t kick the drink. Eventually, when I was four, they took me into care. That’s where I met you.’

Fleur hugged Charlie tightly and Charlie hugged her back. ‘Whatever happens tomorrow, you’ll always have me,’ said Fleur. ‘I promise.’

‘Thanks, Fleur, and you know that if you wanted to trace your birth family I’d support you?’

Fleur nodded. ‘I know, but I don’t think I’m ready for that just yet. And, anyway, I’ve got all the family I need.’ Fleur hugged Charlie tightly and Charlie hugged her back.

Charlie woke and immediately a dark feeling crept over her and made her clutch at her covers. For a moment she looked around the room and took in the darkness created by the blackout blinds. No sun forcing its way through, she was back in London and something was wrong. Quite a few things were wrong. She knew she had a lot of explaining to do and there were most likely too many rucks to smooth things over this time. A look at the clock told her it was eight thirty-two – the jetlag had made her sleep in. But there was something else and she left her warm bed, dragged on her dressing gown and started checking the house.

The house was quiet. She stood on the landing and listened. She tried to feel what was unsettling her, wondering if she was losing her marbles; was her mind giving her off-beam messages? She opened George’s bedroom door. George was in a star formation and out cold. She shut the door and went to check on Millie and Eleanor. Millie was on her knees with her bottom in the air, sound asleep, her hair covering her face and a glimpse of tatty Pooh poking out from the crook of her arm. Eleanor was reading a book with her book light shining on her, giving her an ethereal effect.

‘Morning Charlie, did I wake you?’ she whispered.

‘No sweetie. The others are asleep. I’ll start breakfast in a minute.’ Back to the old routine, thought Charlie. There was no Berta here – she was on her own. She went to open Ted’s door and it was already open. The dark feeling clawed at her gut. She pushed the door open and it slowly swung into the deserted room.

Charlie ran downstairs, tightening her dressing gown around her although she wasn’t cold. She rushed into the kitchen, pulled open the pantry cupboard door and scanned the shelves as quickly as her tired eyes would allow. She went back to the top and started searching again, then she spotted it: the space where the honey jar used to sit. It was gone and she knew immediately that so was Ted.

Charlie got dressed at lightning speed and woke Fleur, who for once was ready to listen and do as she was told. Charlie grabbed the phone. She rang Ted’s mobile and she heard it ring out in his room. It was no more than she expected.

She heard a noise in the bathroom and rushed inside in desperation to see a bleary-eyed Millie sitting on the toilet.

‘Some piracy, please!’ stated Millie firmly.

‘Careful what you wish for, sweetheart,’ said Charlie, shutting the door.

Charlie left the house in a daze. She needed to think like Ted, to think about the warnings she’d given him because now he was starting to heed them and use them to good effect. She needed to find him before the meeting at eleven and, far more importantly, before anything happened to him.

Charlie paced the nearby streets and checked the five nearest tube stations in case he had decided that Monday-morning commuters might be good for loose change. She was always going against the flow, always the one fish trying to swim against the tide of suits. She felt the panic rising in her and this time she let it out. She stood in the vast tunnel that led from South Kensington tube station, threw her face to the ceiling and yelled at the top of her voice. It wasn’t a word, just a yell of emotion. She noted that she now had a good personal space around herself as people gave her a wider berth, although it didn’t halt their journey in any way.

She gave herself a little shake. She definitely felt better for it and she carried on out of the station. As she was exiting up the many steps near the Natural History Museum her mobile rang; it was an unknown number.

‘Ted?’

‘Hi Charlie, it’s Blue. How are you?’ The sound of his voice made something switch back on inside of her, but that was an extra emotion that she wouldn’t be able to manage right now.

Obviously timing wasn’t Blue’s strong point. ‘Can I call you back?’

‘Don’t hang up. I’ve got a surprise for you.’ And she heard the faint sound of a doorbell ringing in the background.

‘Blue, really I’ve not got time for this.’

‘Fleur? Hi, is Charlie in?’

‘What the hell is going on?’ asked Charlie, her small amount of patience ebbing away.

‘I’m here in London. I called your home but it was engaged, so I called the mobile and I’m standing on your front doorstep!’ She could hear the grin in his voice.

‘Blue…’ she started to talk but she could hear that Fleur had taken over at the other end and was calling the shots.

‘…so Charlie has been looking for him for over an hour and if they are not back for this meeting, it won’t look good. I need to stay here with the children and field any phone calls. What could you do to help?’

‘I’m thinking. I’ve had a long flight, but I’m thinking.’

Charlie huffed impatiently on her end of the phone.

‘Right, Charlie, you need to make sure that you are back for eleven whatever happens and you tell them that I’ve come to surprise you and I’ve taken Ted out. Okay?’ said Blue.

‘Okay,’ agreed both Fleur and Charlie together.

‘Ted asked me about survival techniques and I told him a few,’ said Blue.

‘Why would you do that?’ snapped Charlie.

‘Because he wanted to know and I’m an idiot. Now, where do you want me to look?’ he asked, handing Fleur his case before he jogged down the steps.

‘I don’t know,’ said Charlie, shaking her head. I’ve being looking for an hour and half but London is huge. I don’t even know if he’s still in London. He left his passport but that doesn’t exactly leave us with a small search area.’

‘We need to think like Ted. Where would Ted go?’

‘I’ve been trying to do that all morning,’ said Charlie, as defeat tried to wrestle her into submission, her anxiety starting to give way to despair.

Charlie talked Blue through all the places she had been and they agreed that she would check out the museum area. Blue headed towards the Thames.

Charlie’s heart was beating a little faster to think that Blue was nearby, but she didn’t dare to hope what his motivation for coming was. She saw a tall boy with short hair and slopey shoulders and all thoughts of Blue were lost as she broke into a run. She hurdled a park bench and nearly sent the slopey-shouldered youth to the ground.

‘Watch it!’ he shouted, his acne-ridden face twisting in alarm.

‘I’m sorry. You looked like someone I’m looking for. Sorry. You’ve not seen someone who looks like you, have you?’

‘Nutter,’ he said and sidled off, shaking his head. Charlie stood and looked around. Where the hell was Ted?

A few minutes later Charlie’s phone rang again – it was Blue. All he said was ‘Do they still have boats on the Serpentine?’

‘Er, yeah, they do.’

‘Meet you there.’ The phone went dead.

Charlie jogged back to the underground, glancing at her watch. It was nearly twenty past ten. If Blue was wrong about this hunch it was game over. There were so many people she had to queue to get back inside the tube station. The tube ride was hot, sweaty and, although there were seats, she chose to stand so that she could be first off the train. She looked around at the mixture of commuters, tourists and day trippers, some stony-faced, some animated but all trapped on a train for the duration.

It seemed to be taking forever, the train twisting and turning. Eventually, they came out of the tunnel and into the artificial light of Knightsbridge tube station. Charlie ran off the platform, swore at the ticket barrier, which took two attempts to recognise her Oyster card and sprinted out of the station. She knew there was a way through to the park down the side of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. She ran until she had to stop for breath. She bent double and stood for a moment, filling her burning lungs. Charlie looked up and was pleased to see the massive hotel ahead of her as she rubbed at the stitch in her side.

It was an impressive building of ornate red brick and had been the tallest building in London when it had been built over a hundred years earlier; more useless information someone had imparted to her. She stopped for a second – it had been Helen. Helen had told her all about the Mandarin Oriental and she swallowed hard at her memory. She needed to concentrate and find Helen’s son.

Charlie took a deep breath and tried to run again, but the pain in her side was a hindrance. She jogged as best she could down the side of the hotel and round to the original entrance at the back of the hotel, which was now reserved for the Royal Family and special occasions, past it and into the park. She found herself near to the Serpentine and scanned the area for anyone looking like Ted. Blue rang again.

‘Where are you?’

‘The moon,’ said Charlie. ‘Sodding Hyde Park, where are you?’

‘Hyde Park Corner tube.’

‘What makes you think he’s there anyway – we could be wasting time.’

There was a pause. ‘It’s where I would go. I’d want to escape to water, to feel the rhythm of its movement.’ He stopped talking. Charlie was breathing heavily on the other end. ‘It’s the boathouse we need to aim for.’

‘Get a bloody move-on then, I’m near the Serpentine.’

‘Wait there, I’m on my way.’

Charlie had no intention of waiting. Her stitch was easing, so she speed-walked nearer to the lake. It was vast and the boathouse was on the opposite side. Charlie turned right and followed the line of the water past the Queen Caroline memorial. She heard a familiar voice calling her name, but she was on a mission. The boathouse was in sight.

Blue appeared at her side, ‘I know you heard me,’ he said falling into step, ‘can we talk as we walk?’

‘If he’s not here, we are totally kippered.’

‘I know. Hello, by the way,’ he said, leaning in for a fleeting kiss as they continued to speed-walk.

‘Hello,’ said Charlie and a brief smile escaped as she took in the shirt with rolled-back cuffs and the trousers he was wearing rather than his usual t-shirt and shorts. ‘Why are you here?’

‘Because I need to tell you something, but now might not be the time.’

‘I’m listening,’ she said, a tad impatiently.

Blue took a deep breath, ‘When I met you something happened, something I never expected to happen and, to be honest, it was a hell of a shock.’ He paused, but there was no response, so he twitched his head and carried on. ‘You drive me totally crackers, Charlie French, but I need you. My sad heart needs you. I thought it hurt when I left London but when you left Antigua it was like…’

‘Is this going to take long? Because I’m having a bit of a crisis,’ said Charlie, her tone matter-of-fact.

‘I know. I said it might not be the right time, but I’ve started now and I’ve travelled…’ Blue squinted, as if trying to work out the distance, ‘a bloody long way to tell you this.’

‘And that’s lovely but it’s not going to change anything if it’s the same conversation we kept having in Antigua. Is that him over there?’ said Charlie, stopping to focus her tired eyes properly.

‘No, it’s a tree stump. You need glasses. Charlie, please listen. I know you and the kids come as a package and I still think they have better options than me…’ Charlie opened her mouth to butt in but Blue kept going, ‘and I know you disagree. So let’s give it a go.’

Blue studied her face, the seconds ticking by until Charlie turned away and marched off. Blue took a deep breath and followed her. They carried on for a couple more paces until Charlie stopped dead. ‘What do you mean ‘Give it a go’? You’re not changing your sodding washing powder! It’s not a new syrup in your coffee!’

‘I mean, I have never been so bloody scared in my whole life as I am right now, but I’m here doing it anyway because I need my family around me and that’s you and the kids.’

‘Have you really thought this through?’

‘No, not in the slightest. If I were going to think it through I would be lying in a hammock sipping a Wadadli right now. But I know all I need to know.’ He paused and took a breath. ‘I know I love you.’

Charlie narrowed her eyes, ‘How do you know that?’

Blue laughed, his eyes looking brighter and bluer than ever. ‘Because you drive me insane, you are all I think about all the time. When you left it was like… you’d died. It felt like all the pain had returned.’ Charlie continued to eye him suspiciously. ‘How about you? How do you feel?’ asked Blue.

‘We need to find Ted. This can wait,’ she said and carried on round to the boathouse at a pace. Blue stood for a moment, looking panicked, and laced his fingers together on top of his head as he watched her march off. He let out a long, slow breath, shook his head and followed her.

Charlie carried on walking, staring straight ahead but not really seeing anything. Why did she feel so despondent if Blue was here, telling her he loved her? She already knew she loved him too. Because none of it matters if I can’t find Ted, she thought miserably. She reached the boathouse and stood on the decking. The boathouse was closed but there was movement inside.

She peered in the window and got shooed away by a grey-haired man. Charlie turned around to face the lake. She scanned the still water. There was nobody there apart from a couple of ducks.

‘Ted!’ she yelled and she heard an echo as Blue got nearer and started to call out too.

‘Ted!’ they shouted together and as he neared they locked eyes and a look of shared pain shot between them. For a moment there was nothing but the noise of an irritated duck further along the lake.

Blue got out his yo-yo and started to play. Charlie glowered at him. ‘Seriously, you’re playing with that now?’

‘It helps with stress,’ he said, reluctantly putting it away.

‘I have something similar,’ she said, rearranging the ‘Kipper List’ and Blue’s name dropped off the bottom. There were lots of things she wanted to do to him but slap him with a kipper wasn’t one of them. They both started to pace the decking and call Ted’s name in turn.

‘We’ve got it wrong,’ said Charlie after a few seconds. ‘Actually, you got it wrong.’

‘He might still turn up. He loved the boat, he was a natural. It’s where I’d go.’

‘You keep saying that, but he’s not you. He’s Ted and he has a mind of his own.’

‘Look, let’s wait here and…’

‘Teeeeeeeeeeeed!’ howled Charlie, her pain cutting through her voice.