Chosen Child

by Linda Huber

  Her face was uncomprehending. ‘What is it about that shed, Rick?’

  He swallowed, searching for words, then saw she didn’t expect an answer. She’d said it to annoy him, but he wasn’t annoyed as much as unsettled. A picture of him and Ella a few short months ago slid into his head – happy together, preparing for the adoption. At least… Ella had been happy. His own happiness hadn’t matched hers, and their decline started.

  ‘By the way, I’ve applied for a part-time receptionist post at the dentist opposite the station,’ said Ella nonchalantly. ‘I could do that when Soraya’s at school. And I know Dad’ll help me buy this place from you, Rick. So you be thinking about that, and we can discuss it when Mum and Dad have left.’

  She swept into the living room and joined Soraya watching cartoons.

  When he arrived at the flat Amanda was folding the washing, which seemed to be ninety per cent Jaden’s things. She glared at him and Rick sagged. First Ella – which was in a way understandable – but now Amanda was looking at him as if he’d poisoned her favourite cat.

  ‘You’ll never guess who I’ve just had on the phone,’ she said, shaking out a small t-shirt. ‘Your dear wife. She wants me to babysit for her while she goes for job interviews. Apparently there might be one next week.’

  ‘What did you say?’

  She looked at him, a tiny smile pulling at the corner of her mouth. ‘I said I’d be away visiting friends next week. And then I booked me, you, and Jaden into a B&B in Edinburgh for a few days. How about it?’

  And in spite of the truly terrible situation he was in, Rick’s heart began to sing.

  They were going to get through this.

  Chapter Four

  Wednesday 23rd – Friday 25th July

  ‘Darling! Lovely to see you! And Soraya! You’re just as pretty as you look on Skype!’

  Ella hugged her mother, who let go almost immediately to concentrate on her prospective grandchild. Soraya submitted to being kissed, which made a good impression, though Ella knew that the little girl’s restiveness might not go down well with her new grandfather, at least.

  ‘Come in. Rick was sorry to miss you, but it’s great you could come. Was the drive down okay?’

  ‘It was lovely. I see Rick’s taken your car?’

  Ella blinked. All this lying. But it wasn’t a lie, actually, Rick had – inconsiderately – taken the car. They hadn’t even discussed it, either.

  ‘Yes. I’ll need to get you a booster seat for Soraya. I should have thought to keep hold of ours.’

  Ella’s father swelled visibly, the picture of pride. ‘We’ve already got one. Can’t have a new granddaughter and no car seat for her, can we?’

  Soraya ran to look and was loud in her praise of the Muppets design on the booster. Ella began to relax; maybe this wouldn’t be so hard after all. If she avoided talking about Rick there shouldn’t be any problems.

  Her optimism took a dent at lunchtime, however.

  ‘Wonder what poor Daddy’s doing today,’ said June to Soraya, while Ella was dishing out the Cornish pasties that were her father’s long-time favourite.

  ‘Don’t care. Daddy’s always grumpy.’ Soraya dived into her pasty as soon as it arrived in front of her, and June frowned.

  Ella made a mental note to instruct Soraya on her grandmother’s version of table manners ASAP. Anything for a quiet life. ‘Daddy’s been working too hard and he’s been a bit, um, distracted,’ she said. ‘Let’s think of some places to go to while Grandma and Grandpa are here.’

  After the meal Soraya took June and Steve out to see her shell garden. Steve began to help the little girl rebuild the back section, and Ella and June wandered along the flower border.

  ‘Ella, is Rick all right?’

  Ella sighed inwardly. Mum had a nose like a bloodhound, but she had no intention of telling her parents the true state of her marriage.

  ‘He’s fine. Just busy. And as you’ve maybe noticed, tact isn’t Soraya’s middle name.’

  Steve was trotting towards the shed. ‘Got a gardening pad? The old knees aren’t used to crouching down any more.’

  ‘There’s a brown cushion on the bottom shelf,’ said Ella.

  He disappeared into the shed and emerged a few moments later with the cushion and a perplexed expression. ‘What on earth’s going on with the floor in there? The left side’s wobbly as a jelly.’

  ‘Daddy tried to make a new floor but he couldn’t do it.’ Soraya danced off after a bright turquoise butterfly.

  ‘There’s a concrete base underneath, but it’s uneven. We’ll get it lifted again,’ said Ella. ‘Rick thought it would be more waterproof or something. I don’t know why he put the wood back down.’ She went into the shed and heaved the slabs up again, propping them against the side wall. At least now people could see what they were walking over.

  Steve brightened immediately. ‘I’ll have a go while I’m here, shall I? Be something to do while you’re all being girly.’

  ‘Daddy’s silly. It’s a stupid floor.’ Soraya pulled Steve towards the shell garden.

  ‘You shouldn’t let her talk about Rick like that,’ said June, turning back to the flower border.

  Ella massaged her hairline. A tension headache was lurking, and no wonder. ‘I know, but we have to cut her some slack too. Adopted kids often go through a ‘testing you’ phase. She’s doing very well, considering.’ Considering her new mother and father weren’t on speaking terms and her father had twice driven off with her. Ella squinted to see if her mother was buying into the explanation. Don’t rock the boat, Mum.

  The following day was overcast and June suggested taking Soraya to buy a new dress for that evening’s meal out. Steve folded his newspaper and winked at Ella.

  ‘I’ll leave you girls to do that. I can make a start on the shed floor.’

  Ella felt as if she was the punch bag between two warring parties that morning. Her mother’s idea of a dress suitable for a small girl was not the same as Soraya’s, and neither was prepared to compromise. Eventually they found a mid-green tunic with a white lace border that was feminine enough for June, and Soraya was persuaded that Kermit the frog was the very same colour. They continued towards the supermarket, grandmother and granddaughter pleased with their purchase and Ella fighting another headache. Her mother was so full on. Keeping up the ‘Rick on a business trip’ pretence was wearing, too, and Ella couldn’t imagine what June would say when she learned what was really going on. They returned home with a cheese and onion quiche for lunch, and found Steve washing his hands in the kitchen.

  ‘Rick’s no builder,’ he said. ‘I don’t think he even levelled the ground before putting that concrete down. I’ve been hacking round it – should be able to lift some like that.’

  Ella went out to look. The concrete was frayed round the edges as well as patchy and uneven.

  ‘Be nice when it’s finished,’ she said dryly, and Steve chuckled.

  ‘I don’t promise to finish it. But anything that makes for a quicker job for the experts will be less expense for you.’

  Ella was leafing through Steve’s paper after lunch when a job advertisement caught her eye. School secretary in the local secondary. Now that would be well worth thinking about. She went online and filled in the application, tears pricking in her eyes. The dream of being a stay-at-home mum had taken a battering. But if – when – her marriage ended she would need the money, and this job came with school holidays.

  And it would show Rick she was serious about keeping the house, too.

  The overcast weather turned to heavy rain, and Ella was glad her parents were there to occupy Soraya. The four of them spent an hour at the garden centre, and came back with some new parts for Rick’s drill, and a candle decoration set. With Soraya and Grandma decorating chunky candles in the dining room, Ella had some me-time, and spent most of it trawling adoption websites trying to find out what happened when a couple adopted and then split up. There were so many instances of singl
e people adopting, surely she would be allowed to keep Soraya? The problem was, she was afraid to ask. If she mentioned it to Liz there would be a big fuss and the adoption would be delayed at best. Ella shivered. The best way forward was to arrange her life into a place where she was financially independent, and in a pleasant, settled home with her child.

  Her thought of a couple of weeks ago niggled at the back of her head. An adopted child is never your own child… But nobody would remove a kiddie from a settled, happy home – would they? And how sick-making it had come to this. Grief for her marriage welled up inside Ella, taking its place beside the bitterness that Rick had changed so much. He’d cheated on her and deceived her – and possibly he’d deceived himself, as well, that he’d wanted to adopt.

  ‘Pooh! More rain,’ said Soraya on Friday morning.

  Ella had to agree. Being cooped up in the house wasn’t her idea of a fun summer either. She’d spent the past half hour teaching Soraya their phone number, as well as Lindsay’s and Owen’s, as contact people in an emergency. After thirty minutes of sitting still, Soraya was rarin’ to go, but the rain couldn’t have been heavier. The buddleia was bereft of butterflies, and the shell garden had sunk several inches.

  Steve appeared in the kitchen looking for coffee. ‘The forecast’s terrible all weekend. Ella, your mum and I were thinking about going over to visit Mary in Helston today, instead of on the way home. We’d come back at the beginning of the week when it’s supposed to be summery again, and stay another couple of days. We want to go to the beach with Soraya and hunt for more shells. And I think you said Rick would be back next week? Be nice to catch up with him too.’ He ruffled Soraya’s hair and she squealed.

  ‘Sounds like a plan,’ said Ella. ‘I’m not sure about Rick, but I’ll call him and find out.’ She smiled at her father. Rick was under the impression that the house would be guest-free by Sunday, but that didn’t matter. It would do him good to realise that her life and Soraya’s didn’t revolve around him. And presumably he wouldn’t say no to staying on with his girlfriend, whoever she was. A new thought struck Ella – did she even want Rick back here to live? It was scary how her feelings about him were changing.

  ‘I’ll have another go at the shed with the new bit,’ said Steve. ‘Then we’ll leave in the afternoon – if it’s okay with Mary.’

  ‘What’s a bit?’ said Soraya, staring after him as he ran through the rain.

  ‘It’s the new metal thing for the drill that cuts through stone – he hopes,’ said Ella. ‘No, don’t go with him, sweetheart. There might be chunks of concrete flying around in there.’

  There was certainly plenty of noise when Steve started, and Ella found time to be glad that the drilling wasn’t going to continue all weekend.

  At half past three she and Soraya waved her parents off.

  ‘Grandma’s funny, isn’t she?’ said Soraya as Ella closed the front door on the rain.

  Ella opened her mouth to say, ‘In small doses’, then closed it again. There was a lot to be said for tact around children. ‘She certainly is,’ she agreed. ‘Now, it’s been a filthy day and it’s going to be a filthy night too. Let’s have ourselves a lovely blobby evening with a DVD. And lemon pancakes for tea?’

  Soraya ran into the kitchen. ‘I want to see what Grandpa’s done in the shed!’

  Ella looked outside; you could barely see the shed for the rain. ‘Let’s wait till the morning, huh? If the shed hasn’t turned into Noah’s Ark and floated away by then.’

  Which, when you thought about it, would be a blessing in disguise.

  Chapter Five

  Sunday 27th – Monday 28th July

  ‘Pingu! Pingu!’ Jaden was warm and heavy on Rick’s shoulders as they watched the Penguin Parade at Edinburgh Zoo.

  ‘Pingu everywhere you look,’ said Amanda, reaching up to squeeze the little boy’s foot.

  Rick leaned over and kissed her head. Being here just felt so right – him and Amanda, and Jaden who would be his boy. Things might be messy now, but it was going to be all right. They belonged together.

  He hadn’t contacted Ella since leaving St Ives, and she’d made no effort to call him either. Worry about what was going on at home nagged at Rick; it was like toothache, the kind that isn’t bad enough to make you phone the dentist, but still jabs away at the back of your mind all the time. The news was unsettling too – horror-reports about landslides and flooding were coming from the south-west. Was Gareth still all right under the shed? What happened to a buried body when the soil was completely saturated – did it try to float, work its way to the surface? Good thing he’d put that concrete down; it wasn’t perfect but it would do the job until he got back. They were planning to leave Edinburgh tomorrow. Decision day was looming for him and Ella.

  ‘Let’s go for coffee,’ said Amanda. ‘I’m parched. Juice for Jaden?’

  Jaden bounced up and down, and Rick gripped the small feet more firmly.

  They were squeezed together in a bus on the way back to the B&B, Jaden dozing on Rick’s knee, when his phone rang. Hell, it was Ella. He couldn’t take the call here. He switched it off and tried to look nonchalant, cursing the fact that parking was limited at the zoo and they’d come by public transport.

  He stayed outside to phone when they arrived at the B&B, apprehension twisting in his gut.

  ‘Hi – Ella.’ He wiped a stray bead of sweat from his temple. ‘Sorry, I was in the car when you called. Is everything all right? The news is full of your awful weather.’ He couldn’t ask about the garden shed. That would be just too odd.

  ‘Fine. And Mum and Dad are well too, thank you for asking.’ There was no friendliness in her voice.

  ‘Are they still with you?’ That sounded kinder than ‘have they gone yet’ – didn’t it? Her answer sent his heart thudding towards his boots.

  ‘They’ve been visiting Mum’s cousin for the weekend but they’re coming back tonight for another couple of days. I thought you should know.’

  ‘Thanks. Um – has the garden survived all that rain?’

  ‘Oh yes. And you’ll be glad to know Dad’s been attacking the concrete in the shed. He bought a heavy-duty bit to drill holes in it and he’s shifted a lot round the edge. He’ll do some more next week.’

  Rick flushed hot, and then cold sweat trickled down his brow. ‘No! Tell him to leave it – it’s much too strenuous for a man of his age. I’ll get it fixed when I get back.’

  ‘Which will be…?’

  ‘Tomorrow. I’ll call you when I’m back in St Ives.’

  ‘Where are you - ?’

  Rick ended the call and sprinted inside. That interfering old man. Nothing, but nothing in this life was ever easy – would he get back in time to prevent Gareth being discovered?

  It was afternoon the following day when he arrived in St Ives, having driven several hours the previous evening before crashing out at a hotel south of Manchester. He’d persuaded Amanda to take Jaden to Gareth’s mother in Glasgow for a couple of days. If there was going to be a problem with Gareth and the concrete, it was best she wasn’t around. Something was telling him Amanda might not be happy about Gareth’s resting place, and dealing with Ella and her parents would be enough hassle.

  Rick drove through town, cursing the fact that Amanda’s flat was so close to home. If Ella saw the car parked outside… On second thoughts he couldn’t risk that. He turned back, and left the car at a supermarket near the sea front, hailing a taxi to take him to Amanda’s. Rick glanced up at the sky. Cotton wool clouds were floating across immaculate powder blue – a picture postcard day. The town was full of happy tourists, and how he hoped Ella was safely on the beach with her parents and Soraya. Back in Amanda’s flat, he poured a stiff drink and lifted his phone.

  ‘Ella, hi. I’m in St Ives. I’m wondering when to come home?’

  ‘Mum and Dad are back again. I don’t think you should come while they’re here, Rick.’

  She couldn’t have sounded cooler, and Rick wince
d. ‘Ah. How are you all getting on? Having fun?’ Shit, what a stupid thing to say. How could he get the conversation round to the shed?

  ‘We’re having brilliant fun, Rick. I’m choosing my outfit for the job interview I have on Thursday, Mum and Soraya are washing shells, and my father’s knocking lumps of concrete from the shed floor as we speak. I’ll let you know when my parents leave.’

  The connection broke, and Rick stood there, rigid with shock. Steve was lifting the concrete right this minute – any second now he might come across whatever was left of Gareth. No, no, no, that could not be allowed to happen. Rick fled from Amanda’s flat and pounded up the hill.

  The garden was empty and he ran straight over the grass and burst into the shed. Broken-off pieces of concrete were all over the place and Steve was on his knees, pulling at an enormous chunk, his face red. Rick’s worst fear was realised – the floor he’d laid was more than half gone and the ground beneath it was ragged and soft. It would take very little to uncover Gareth.

  ‘Rick! What a -’

  ‘Leave it, man! Come away – it’s too much for you!’ Rick grasped Steve’s arm and pulled, but the run up the hill or the nerves or something was zapping his strength. Steve shook him off, surprise on his kindly round face.

  ‘Hey, it’s not as hard as all that! Look!’ Steve tugged the lump again and it broke away in his hands, bringing a wodge of sticky wet earth along with it. He tossed it to the side and to Rick’s horror, there in the hole was a piece of shiny plastic. Gareth’s bin bag.

  Before Rick could stop him, Steve tugged it. ‘Ah, you did try to line the base before you put the concrete down.’

  Rick yanked the other man’s arm. ‘For God’s sake, leave it alone!’