Least Said (45 page)

‘Nobody
knew
that,
though,
did
they?’
Jon
pointed
out.
‘So
there
would
have
been
people
out
there
dodging
the
traffic
to
look
for
you.
Someone
else
could
have
been
hit
by
a
car
while
they
were
searching
the
streets
for
you.
I
think
that
would
have
made
you
feel
very
sorry. It
certainly
would
have
made
Mummy
and
me
very
sorry
that
our
son
had
been
the
cause
of
such
a
terrible
thing.’

‘And
you
do
remember
what
you’ve
been
told
about
stranger danger
,
don’t
you,
Will?’
I
said,
feeling
it
had
to
be
said.

‘I
wouldn’t
go
off
with
a
stranger,’
he
said
huffily.
‘I’m
not
silly.’

‘What
about
the
lion?
Did
you
know
him?’
I
thought
I
was
being
logical,
but
William
obviously
didn’t
think
so.

‘A
lion
isn’t
a
stranger
,’
he
was
looking
at
me
as
if
I
was
quite
mad.
‘A
lion
is
an
animal
.’

There
really
was
no
answer
to
that
statement
that
wasn’t
going
to
completely
spoil
Will’s
belief
in
The Lion King
story
and
the
marvellous
job
the
actors
had
done
in
convincing
the
younger
members
of
the
audience
–
and
even
some
of
the
adults
–
that
they
really
were
the
animals
they
were
portraying.

‘In
future,’
Jon
said,
in
a
very
stern
voice
this
time,
‘you
don’t
go
off
with
any
person
or animal
without
getting
permission
from
Mummy
or
me.
Now
is
that
quite
clear?’

‘Yes,
Daddy,’
Will
said,
and
we
really
felt
we
had
no
choice
but
to
leave
it
at
that
and
hope
he
had
taken
on
board
everything
he’d
been
told.

William
was
obviously
as
contrite
as
he
could
be
about
the
trouble
he
had
caused.
I
thought
that
the
mention
of
the
police
becoming
involved
in
the
hunt
that
would
have
ensued
if
he
hadn’t
re-appeared,
might
have
given
him
food
for
thought.
Like
most
young
children
he
had
a
healthy
respect
for
the
law
which
we
had
always
encouraged,
and
this
had
only
increased
after
law
enforcement
officers
visited
his
school
to
talk
about
the
job
they
did.

Of
course,
he
wanted
to
watch
The Lion King
on
DVD
as
soon
as
we
reached
home.
We
sat
with
him
and
I
think
we
made
a
good
impression
of
enjoying
it,
but
the
mood
was
tense
as
we
each
pondered
over
what
might
have
been,
and
how
differently
things
might
have
turned
out.

While
I
was
relieved
that
I
hadn’t
been
forced
into
confessing
my
tawdry
little
secret,
the
added
concern
for
me
was
that
I
had
once
again
seen
my
partner
in
that
adulterous
crime,
and
this
time
I
was
pretty
sure
I
hadn’t
imagined
his
interest
in
William.
Now
that
the
idea
of
kidnap
had
been
put
into
my
head
I
couldn’t
seem
to
dismiss
it.
Why
this
Gareth
would
be
interested
in
Will,
when
I
quite
clearly
recalled
the
fact
he
had
four
children
already,
I
couldn’t
have
said,
but
perhaps
it
was
something
I
needed
to
find
out.

‘Are
you
really
cross
with
me
about
going
off
to
find
the
lion?’
William
asked
as
the
final
credits
rolled.
‘I
didn’t
mean
to
be
naughty.’

‘If
we
seem
cross,
Will,’
Jon
told
him,
his
face
and
tone
serious,
‘it’s
because
losing
you
–
even
for
a
short
while
–
frightened
us
both
very
much.’

‘Yes,’
I
added,
‘we
didn’t
know
where
you
were
or
who
you
were
with
–
or
indeed,
if
we
would
ever
see
you
again.
That
made
us
very
scared,
upset
and
worried.’

‘How
do
you
think
you
might
feel
if
you
lost
Mummy
and
me?’
Jon
said,
hammering
the
point
home.

‘I’m
sorry.’
This
time
the
gravity
of
what
Will
had
done
seemed
to
have
finally
sunk
in
and
he
really
did
seem
repentant.

‘That’s
ok,’
I
said,
‘we
really
do
think
you’ve
learned
your
lesson
and
won’t
do
anything
like
that
again
–
don’t
we,
Daddy?’
I
looked
at
Jon
and
he
nodded
his
agreement.
‘We
understand
that
you
were
just
excited
about
the
show
and
all
the
animals
that
you
know
so
well
from
the
DVD.
Seeing
them
come
to
life
like
that
was
amazing,
wasn’t
it?’