Least Said (39 page)

‘No
sooner
said
than
done,’
Jon
was
already
reaching
behind
the
kitchen
door
for
his
apron.

‘Is
this
what
the
Evil
man
eats
to
keep
fit?’
Will
asked
when
we
were
finally
sitting
at
the
table.
He
looked
like
an
angel
now
that
he’d
been
scrubbed
clean
and
was
in
his
pyjamas
and
dressing
gown.

‘I’m
sure
he
does,’
Jon
said,
tucking
in,
and
carefully
ignoring
the
fact
that
the
dare
devil
stunt
man
had
died
several
years
before.
‘Everything
on
this
plate
would
help
to
keep
most
people
fit
and
healthy.’
I
watched
him
sip
his
green
tea
with
every
appearance
of
enjoyment,
when
I
knew
quite
well
he
would
prefer
a
cup
of
good
strong
builders’
tea
with
plenty
of
sugar.
I
couldn’t
fault
his
enthusiasm,
because
he
was
certainly
throwing
himself
into
this
increase
your
fertility
diet
business
with
gusto.

‘But
I’m
sure
you’ll
find
that
he
never
did
any
of
those
dangerous
jumps
without
wearing
protective
clothing,
and
especially
a
helmet.
Don’t
tell
me
you
were
out
there
jumping
over
bricks
on
your
bike
without
even
your
helmet
on,
William,’
I
said
sternly.

He
hung
his
head.
‘Sorry,
Mummy.’

‘That
man
actually
broke
quite
a
lot
of
his
bones,
William.’
Jon
pointed
out.
‘It
might
have
looked
great
on
the
TV
programme,
but
sometimes
he
crashed
and
was
in
hospital
for
a
long
time.’

‘That
must
of
hurt,’
Will
said
thoughtfully.

‘Indeed,’
Jon
said,
‘so
you
might
want
to
find
something
safer
to
do.
It’s
my
fault
for
leaving
the
bricks
in
the
garden.’

‘And
mine
for
not
keeping
a
closer
eye
on
you,’
I
joined
in,
fully
accepting
my
share
of
the
blame.
‘I
think
you’re
beginning
to
get
a
bit
bored
and
have
been
out
there
looking
for
mischief
to
get
into,
but
you’ll
be
back
at
school
soon
with
plenty
to
do.’

‘Yes,’
Jon
picked
up
on
the
cue,
‘and
Mummy
and
I
were
thinking
we
should
all
do
something
special
together
before
the
holidays
are
over.’

‘Paulton’s
Park,’
he
yelled.

‘No,’
we
both
said,
and
then
I
added
quickly
before
Will
could
offer
a
protest,
‘We
go
there
an
awful
lot
anyway
and
so
it
would
be
good
for
us
to
do
something
completely
different,
but
I
think
besides
being
something
completely
different
it
should
be
a...,’
I
paused
for
a
moment
before
finishing
with
a
ta-da
flourish
in
my
tone,
‘a
surprise
.’

Will
clasped
his
hands
together
and
stared
at
me,
his
eyes
all
starry.
‘I
love
surprises,’
he
said,
and
made
no
effort
to
tease
any
details
out
of
us,
which
I
would
have
found
unusual
in
any
child
but
William.

‘Is
it
today?’
he
asked
every
morning
and
settled
down
quite
happily
to
eat
his
cocoa-pops
every
day
that
I
shook
my
head.

He
was
nothing
if
not
a
perceptive
child,
so
I
shouldn’t
have
been
surprised
when
he
burst
into
the
kitchen
on
the
following
Wednesday,
full
of
excitement
and
shouting,
‘It’s
today.’

I
picked
him
up
and
swung
him
round
exuberantly,
matching
his
enthusiasm,
to
yell
back,
‘It
is,
it
is,
but
how
did
you
know
?’

‘Daddy’s
wearing
his
going
out
clothes
and
not
his
going
to
work
ones.
He
pretended
to
pick
up
his
briefcase,
too,
but
he
was
just
kidding
me.’

‘Sharp
as
a
tack,
that
boy,’
Jon
commented
as
he
strolled
in,
looking
very
dashing,
dressed
head
to
toe
in
black.
I
loved
him
in
black
and
he
knew
it.
He
smirked
as
he
asked,
‘Do
I
look
ok?’

‘A
bit
more
than
ok,’
I
grinned,
and
lifted
my
face
for
his
kiss.

He
patted
my
bottom,
snugly
encased
in
skinny-fit
indigo
jeans.
‘Looking
good,
Mrs
Hammond,’
his
gaze
took
in
the
strappy
sandals
on
my
feet,
long
slim
legs
shown
off
to
advantage
by
the
tight-fitting
jeans,
and
then
went
all
the
way
up
to
the
floaty
summer
top
that
showed
just
a
hint
of
my
womanly
curves.

There
was
no
hanging
about
this
morning,
none
of
the
usual
pleas
from
Will
to
watch
‘just
a
little
bit’
of
his
favourite
DVD
before
he
had
to
get
ready.
How
he
was
going
to
cope
with
the
excitement
when
he
realised
we
were
going
to
see
a
real
live
stage
version
of
the
film,
I
had
no
idea.