He's the One (8 page)

She had picked up Brooke on her way over to meet him, as she couldn’t expect her mum to have her again and in any case wanted to spend some time with her daughter. Brooke was usually one of the most easygoing of children, but she was grizzly when they got to the beach, and nothing seemed to pacify her. Liberty sensed that Cory was irritated. He was used to only seeing her daughter when she was being adorable.
She saw him glance over enviously at the couple lying next to them on the beach – a girl of around Liberty’s age in a bikini, chilling out with her boyfriend. There wasn’t going to be much chilling out with Brooke in this mood.

‘Come on, Brooke baby! What’s so bad?’ Cory asked the little girl, picking her up and swinging her round, a gesture which was usually guaranteed to make her laugh but this time made her burst into noisy sobs. He pulled a face and handed her back to Liberty, taking a swig of beer instead. ‘See – even your daughter hates me today. I can’t paint. I’ve got the mom from hell. Everything’s shit.’

Liberty was scarcely paying attention to him as she put her hand on her daughter’s forehead. ‘She feels really hot.’

‘It’s a warm afternoon; she’ll be fine. Hey, shall I buy her an ice cream?’ He looked at Brooke. ‘Do you want an ice cream, honey? A big whirly one with a chocolate flake? Ice cream makes everything better.’

‘Actually, she hasn’t had tea yet. Maybe it’s not a good idea.’

‘Don’t be such a killjoy! What difference can one ice cream make?’

It would mean Brooke wouldn’t eat her tea, but Cory didn’t seem in the kind of mood where she could explain that to him and Liberty didn’t want to sound like a nag. By then Brooke had stopped crying and was chanting, ‘I scream, I scream,’ in the cute way she did, and Liberty knew from experience that if she put her foot down now and said no, her daughter would have a complete meltdown.

‘Okay,’ she sighed, not at all happy about it.

But by the time Cory returned with the ice cream for Brooke, she was out of sorts again. She took one
lick of it, then screwed up her face and dropped it on to the pebbles.

‘Hey! What did you do that for?’ he said sharply, causing Brooke to cry.

‘Don’t speak to her like that!’ Liberty shot back, picking up her daughter. She really didn’t seem well at all. Her cheeks were flushed, and her hair was sticky with sweat. Liberty started gathering up her things.

‘What are you doing now?’

‘Going home, I need to take her temperature.’

‘But I haven’t seen you all day! I thought we could hang out on the beach. She probably just needs some fresh air.’

Liberty suddenly felt the distance between them. Brooke wasn’t Cory’s daughter and he would never understand how it felt to be her parent. Liberty tried not to reveal how hurt she was.

‘I really don’t think she’s well.’

And finally Cory seemed to realise that she was genuinely worried. Getting up, he helped her carry the buggy over the pebbles.

‘Do you want me to come with you?’

She shook her head. ‘That’s fine. It’s probably best if it’s just me.’

And that’s what she thought until she arrived home, expecting to find her mum, only to discover an empty house. Brooke had cried all the way back in the buggy, but once at the house she seemed to go floppy and lethargic, which made Liberty even more anxious. She laid her on her bed and stripped off her t-shirt, bathing her face and tummy with a flannel, trying to get her temperature down. But nothing she did seemed to make any difference and Liberty’s anxiety levels rocketed. What was wrong with Brooke? Was it something serious? Something like meningitis? She
desperately tried to remember the symptoms – high temperature, sensitivity to light, a rash.

There was no rash, but suddenly Brooke seemed to suffer some kind of fit. Her whole body contorted and she shook uncontrollably, foaming at the mouth. Terrified, Liberty reached out to try and comfort her. ‘It’s okay, baby. Mummy’s here.’ After what seemed like ages but was probably only a few seconds the child seemed to come out of it, but thoroughly panicked now and feeling desperate, Liberty dialled 999.

It was a nerve-wracking wait for the ambulance to arrive, during which time Liberty convinced herself that Brooke was going to die, as her daughter came out of the fit only to lose consciousness. She calmed down enough when the paramedics arrived to be able to answer their questions and comfort her daughter as they travelled to the hospital, but she wished she had her mum with her, so that she didn’t have to face this on her own. She held it together until they saw the doctor who said that Brooke had suffered a febrile convulsion because her temperature was so high. She would be okay once she’d cooled off. As soon as she heard that Liberty burst into tears of relief.

‘Is there someone you can call to come and get you?’ a nurse asked her kindly an hour later as she sat by her daughter’s bedside. Brooke was calm now and her temperature had come right down.

‘Yes, my mum.’ She didn’t even think of Cory.

When she arrived home, Liberty found that he had left a message but she felt too exhausted and strung out to phone him. Besides, there was nothing he could do now. Brooke was asleep and all she wanted to do was crash out in bed.

‘You should call him,’ Nina commented, handing
her daughter a cup of tea. ‘He’s bound to be worried.’

Liberty wrinkled her nose as she took a sip and realised that her mum had put sugar in the tea.

‘Good for shock,’ Nina said. ‘Drink it, it’ll make you feel better.’

‘He’s probably still pissed. Honestly, Mum, he’s been behaving like a little boy, since his parents have been here. So what if they want him to do law? He’s an adult, he should be able to do what he wants and tell them so.’

‘Other people’s families are always different, you don’t know exactly what’s going on in his.’

Liberty sighed. ‘I know. It’s just that it’s made me realise how differently we view life. Everything is about
him
. Cory doesn’t get what it’s like to be a parent, and he won’t until he is one.’

‘Don’t be too hard on him, Libs. Cory’s a very caring, loving young man, and he will get what it’s like eventually, but you can’t expect him to be there straight away.’

‘I suppose,’ Liberty conceded. ‘And his mum is a bit of a witch.’

‘She probably has insecurities of her own.’

‘God, Mum, stop being so reasonable! You wouldn’t think that if you met Melissa. She’s probably on her way back to Brighton now – by broomstick.’

Liberty checked on her daughter again, who was sleeping soundly and didn’t have a temperature any more, then crashed out on the sofa, aimlessly flicking through the TV channels, unable to concentrate on anything else, while her mum worked on an assignment for college. Liberty couldn’t help thinking that her inner conviction that it was all too good to be true with Cory had been right all along. Maybe she should try and see less of him, make things more casual. But even
as she thought that she felt a twist of pain. She couldn’t do it … whatever they had between them, it wasn’t casual.

At ten the doorbell rang.

‘Can you answer that?’ her mum called out from the kitchen. ‘I’m at a crucial point in my essay.’

Wearily Liberty got up from the sofa and padded out to the hallway. She opened the door to find Cory on the step.

‘Hey, I’ve been so worried about Brooke, why didn’t you call me?’ He seemed to have sobered up and looked fresh from the shower.

‘I don’t know. I thought you had other things on your mind and we had to go to the hospital and—’

‘I was an asshole, I know. I’m so sorry, baby.’ He stepped forward and took Liberty in his arms. ‘I wasn’t there for you when you needed me, but I promise it won’t ever happen again.’

She leaned against him, letting herself be comforted, but even then she wondered if this was a promise he would be able to keep.

He stayed over, holding her all night as she slept. In the morning Brooke woke them both up as she bounded into the bedroom and jumped on to the bed. She was delighted to discover Cory and immediately started chanting, ‘I scream, I scream!’

‘Someone seems better,’ he commented sleepily

‘Yeah, thank God,’ Liberty replied, instantly rolling out of bed.

‘Hey, where are you going?’ Cory asked.

‘To make breakfast for Brooke. What would you like? We’ve got porridge or toast.’

She’d expected him to stay in bed – he was terrible at getting up early – but he sat up, and rubbed his face. ‘Give me a minute and I’ll come down and make
pancakes. Would you like pancakes, sweetie?’ he asked the little girl.

‘Yes, yes, yes, pancakes!’ Brooke exclaimed.

Cory had to rush off and see his parents after that and Liberty decided to take Brooke to the park – her daughter seemed completely back to her usual self again. Once there Brooke discovered one of her friends from nursery and the two girls played in the sandpit – something involving making special cakes for the fairies who lived there … Liberty bought a latte from the small café and sat on one of the benches nearby, which had a prime view of the sandpit. For a few minutes she felt perfectly relaxed in the sunshine as she watched Brooke playing happily. Yesterday felt like a bad dream, but everything was okay now.

She happened to glance away from the girls and noticed Melissa opening the little wooden gate that led into the play area. Fuck! What was she doing here? Liberty had a sudden urge to run away and hide, but too late. Melissa had spotted her. She waved and walked purposefully over. There was no getting away.

‘Hi, Liberty, I called round to your house and your mom told me you’d be here. I really wanted to talk to you.’

Not for the first time Liberty bitterly regretted not being able to afford a mobile phone – then at least her mum could have warned her that the Wicked Witch was en route, and she could have legged it.

She managed to mutter ‘hello’, and realised she knew exactly how Cory felt around his mother.

‘I’m going to get a coffee, can I get you one?’ Melissa offered.

Liberty shook her head, trying to work out how she could make a quick getaway, but Brooke was still
playing with her friend and if she tried to extricate her that might well lead to a tantrum, and she didn’t want Melissa watching that and judging her to be a bad mother. She watched Cory’s mother walk over to the café. She stood out a mile in her designer clothes. God, what Liberty wouldn’t give for a toddler to plant his or her grubby hands on those perfectly white Capri pants …

Melissa returned with her drink and sat next to Liberty. ‘I had to get a herbal tea, they didn’t have any decaff coffee.’

And Liberty longed to come back with a sarcastic comment, along the lines of, ‘We have only just discovered coffee in this country.’

‘So, I’m guessing that’s your daughter there?’ Melissa pointed at Brooke.

Liberty nodded. She wanted Melissa to get to the point and then leave her alone.

‘She’s absolutely beautiful, I can see that she gets her looks from you.’

Hah! This was probably her playing good cop before she shoved the boot in.

‘And she’s better now? Cory told us that she had been unwell?’

‘Yes, thank you.’

‘It’s so upsetting when your child is sick, but also amazing how quickly they can bounce back. Cory had asthma as a child – did he tell you? At times he was very unwell. It was frightening, but he’s over it now – though that fear you have about them being okay never really leaves you. And when they get older you worry about them choosing the right path in life. You’ll find that with Brooke.’

Was Melissa now going for the sympathy vote? She didn’t seem to need any response from Liberty as she
continued, ‘Cory seems to have such a bright future. Jacob and I looked through his paintings this morning. I hadn’t quite appreciated how much progress he had made. Some of the pieces are quite stunning.’

‘He’s brilliant,’ Liberty replied, wondering where exactly this conversation was going.

‘So now we’re thinking that we should support him in his ambition to follow art as his career, rather than law. He clearly has a gift.’

‘But that’s great news! He must be so pleased you understand that now.’ Maybe she had been wrong to write Melissa off as an unfeeling witch. Liberty actually managed a smile for her. But Melissa didn’t return it. Instead she twisted her diamond bracelet round her wrist. ‘Actually, we haven’t told him yet. We are willing to finance his place at college, but only if he goes to New York to study art. We’ve looked into it and really it is the best place for him.’

‘Oh.’ Liberty suddenly felt deflated.

‘I know that Cory had the notion of studying in London but the truth is, he has no money to do that with and we’re not willing to fund him if he stays in the UK. His grandmother left him some money in trust that he can access when he’s twenty-five. But that’s six years away.’

What was she on about? Cory was twenty-one already. ‘Surely it’s only four years away?’

Melissa shook her head. ‘Cory is only just nineteen, whatever he might have told you. In many ways he is old for his years. He is very loving and in touch with his emotions, but he’s also very naïve. He doesn’t, for instance, know what it is like to be a parent. He’s far too young to take on board the responsibility of being a father to someone else’s child.’

And so here it came – bad cop.

‘He might say that he’s not too young, but he is, he really is. And he needs space and time to develop as an artist. It would be a tragedy for him not to reach his full potential, don’t you think?’

‘I don’t expect him to be a father to Brooke,’ Liberty said defensively. ‘And I know it’s early days, but we love each other.’

Melissa gave her a patronising smile. ‘I know you feel like that, but it’s only been two months. Cory has always been one to fall in love quickly. It’s exactly what happened with his last girlfriend in the States. He was with her for nearly two years, and was heartbroken when she ended things with him. It’s why he needed to get away. But he’s over her now and it’s time for him to come home. You and he have had a magical summer. Please accept, for his sake, Liberty, that it has to end now.’