Escape to Willow Cottage

by Bella Osborne

  ‘I’m sure I can get a ticket if you want to ask Jack to come this afternoon?’

  Beth shook her head. ‘I don’t even think the panto could recover his sense of humour,’ she said with a brief pout.

  ‘Oh yes it can,’ chanted Fergus. He was standing in the doorway watching them. ‘You seem concerned about what this guy thinks.’

  Beth gave a non-committal shrug. ‘He was kind to me and I wish I hadn’t upset him.’

  Fergus came over and sat down. ‘It’s always fixable you know.’

  Beth sat back in her seat. ‘There isn’t a lot of point in fixing it because I’m not looking for a relationship and I’m not staying in Dumbleford long-term.’

  Fergus nodded his understanding. Carly excused herself and went upstairs to the toilet. Fergus sat down and started signing at Beth.

  ‘You know I’m not good with signs, but I heard the toilet door lock so she can’t hear you if that’s what you’re worried about,’ said Beth as she signed ‘heard toilet door, Carly gone’.

  Fergus tilted his head to one side. ‘See, you know more signs than you let on.’

  Beth grinned and signed ‘Woman. Loch Ness Monster. Roller-skates. Sunset. Biscuit. I love you.’

  Fergus stared blankly at her. ‘What?’

  ‘They’re my favourite signs.’ She grinned. ‘Actually, that’s pretty much my whole repertoire!’

  Fergus shook his head. ‘We don’t have long before she comes back. I need your help and it’s top secret. Not a word to Carly, okay?’

  Beth leaned forward. ‘Not a word.’ She mimed zipping her lips as her eyes beamed at him expectantly.

  ‘Good, you see for a while now I’ve been planning to—’ started Fergus but the toilet door opened upstairs and Beth waved at Fergus to stop talking. That had to be the quickest wee in history but she couldn’t really blame Carly for wanting to leave the oppressive bathroom of doom.

  The first half of the pantomime was highly entertaining with lots of audience participation and innuendo. It was quite sweet to see how Fergus gazed at Carly most of the time with only the occasional glance at the cast on stage. He definitely knew the story of Snow White so that wasn’t why he was glued to her. Leo was loving his first pantomime experience and especially the fact that it was quite acceptable to shout at the top of your voice when the baddie came on stage.

  As soon as the curtain came down for the half-time interval Fergus was up and heading for the ice-cream queue with Leo in hot pursuit. Beth was checking her phone messages when Carly joined her and flopped down into Fergus’s seat.

  ‘Well done you, that was brilliant!’ said Beth, waiting for her messages to pop up.

  ‘You don’t know what I was signing, it could have been rubbish!’

  ‘I know a few bits.’ She’d had a crash course from Carly some years ago and added to what she’d learned since Carly and Fergus had been together. She knew enough to get by.

  ‘You know more than you think you do,’ said Carly.

  ‘Perhaps. But seeing as Fergus was laughing in the right places I’m guessing you were okay.’ Carly gave her a friendly nudge. Beth felt her breath catch in her throat as she read a message from Jack.

  ‘What’s up?’ asked Carly, looking over at the phone.

  ‘Nick,’ was all she could say. Her mouth had gone dry. She frantically searched the crowd for Fergus, who was lolloping back with a stack of mini tubs of ice cream.

  ‘What’s happened to Nick?’ asked Carly and her concerned tone had Beth distracted for a second.

  ‘Not nearly enough,’ snapped Beth, wishing that he would slip under a bus or train or any large moving vehicle.

  ‘Fergus!’ Beth shouted in vain; he was looking around and waiting for some people to move out of his way. Leo looked up and she instantly felt self-conscious. The last thing she wanted to do was alarm Leo.

  She stood up and beckoned to them but Fergus was now looking at Carly, who was signing to him. Fergus made his apologies and squeezed past the slow-moving people to get back to his seat.

  His face was now looking suitably concerned. ‘What’s up?’ he asked, as Leo was settling himself into the seat next to his mother. Beth said nothing but swapped the tubs for her phone and let him read the text from Jack. When he looked up she spoke. ‘Can you look on Twitter for me?’ He nodded and pulled out his phone.

  Within seconds the full horror of what Nick had done was scrolling before Beth’s eyes. She could barely take in the number of messages as Leo’s photo shot past again and again.

  ‘Missing person?’ said Carly, and Beth widened her eyes and shook her head in a silent attempt to stop her revealing anything to Leo. Carly nodded her understanding. ‘Why would he do that?’

  Beth’s fury escaped in Carly’s direction. ‘Because he’s a lying, manipulating bast—’ She modified her language for Leo’s ears. ‘… person, who is trying to track us down by any means possible.’

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Carly rested her hand on Beth’s arm and looked at Fergus. Beth was shaking as total confusion reigned. Her head was pounding. She felt like she was being watched by everyone in the theatre. She couldn’t think straight. Leo was tucking into his ice cream, thankfully oblivious to the drama unfolding next to him. Beth’s mind was a fuzz of fear and questions. How long before someone locally responded and their location was revealed? How long before Nick was back in their lives?

  Beth looked from Carly to Fergus. ‘What do I do?’ She was pale and felt dizzy with the panic.

  ‘Call the police,’ said Fergus. ‘Report Nick for what he did and explain what he’s doing now. I’ll go online and see what the social media sites can do to help us.’

  Leo looked up at the mention of Nick’s name. ‘You okay, Mum?’ he asked, with his plastic spoon poised.

  ‘Yes, it’s fine. There’s nothing for you to worry about,’ said Beth, trying to summon up a reassuring expression. Leo seemed to take his mother’s word happily and he carried on with his ice cream.

  As Fergus was frantically messaging on his phone Beth turned to Carly. ‘How can I report him after all these months, they won’t believe me.’

  Carly gripped her hand. ‘It doesn’t matter how long you’ve left it. A crime is still a crime. Call them.’

  Beth was pacing in the theatre foyer after being put through to a number of people and told someone would call her back. She was fast losing hope of gaining any support from the police. However, within twenty minutes a female response officer was on the phone. She was very reassuring and confirmed that they would speak to Nick directly about the incident back in London and tell him to take down the missing persons request on social media. The officer gave Beth her details, which she scribbled down on the back of an old receipt, and explained that someone would be in touch to follow up the case. Then the call was over. There was nothing more Beth could do and it was a desolate, helpless feeling that engulfed her.

  Despite the heater in the theatre foyer she felt frozen from the inside out. She could hear the laughter coming from inside the auditorium and knew that Leo would be part of that. He was safe with Carly and Fergus and she was grateful that for now he was unaware of what was going on. She looked out at the darkness of the evening sky, which was somehow seeping into her, and took a deep breath. If Nick wanted a fight then that’s what he’d get because she would do whatever it took to keep Leo safe.

  Back at Willow Cottage the mood was drained. The three adults had been overly jovial to try to hide things from Leo and now he had gone to bed they had been able to shut the living-room door and discuss the situation at length. The good news, if there was any, was that Nick had only put his missing persons plea on social media sites and had not officially reported Leo missing via the correct route, which was the police. This meant that none of the official missing persons websites were supporting the search.

  Fergus’s quick thinking in reporting the violation to Twitter had enabled them to close down the account that Nick had
set up so the original message was deleted. However, the retweets and copied details that had been shared were already over a thousand and growing as unsuspecting members of the public thought they were helping to find a missing child by sharing Leo’s photograph and Nick’s heartbreaking plea.

  A knock at the door made Beth and Carly jump. Fergus looked alarmed at the reaction of the women in the room.

  ‘Door,’ signed Carly and Fergus went to answer it.

  He pulled the door open briskly to a startled-looking Jack, who took one look at the stranger in the doorway and started shouting, ‘Beth! Beth! Are you all right?’

  ‘Hey. Calm down,’ said Fergus, his usually melodic accent a little harsher than usual. Beth appeared behind Fergus.

  ‘Jack, it’s all right. This is Fergus,’ said Beth, stepping forward and touching Fergus’s arm so that he would know that she had joined him.

  Jack threw his eyes skywards. ‘Bloody hell, you had me worried there!’ he said, as he wiped his hand across his mouth.

  Fergus was frowning at him, unable to lip-read his words, but he said nothing. Over Jack’s shoulder Beth watched the few people leaving the pub, scanning the dimly lit area for any signs of Nick.

  ‘Right, well this is awkward. So, I think I’ll go,’ said Jack, pointing a thumb over his shoulder.

  ‘Sorry,’ said Beth, refocusing on Jack.

  ‘I just came to check that you and Leo were all right.’ In all the drama Beth had forgotten to reply to Jack’s original text alerting her to what was spread across the internet. She suddenly felt bad.

  ‘Yes, thanks, we’re fine …’ said Beth at the same time as Fergus spoke.

  ‘They’re fine, we’re staying overnight.’ The two voices jumbled together.

  Jack was narrowing his eyes as if sensing there was something wrong. Fergus was showing none of the usual signs of apology that you emit when you talk over someone.

  ‘Come in, it’s cold,’ said Beth to Jack.

  Jack stepped inside and looked at Beth for an answer to his puzzlement. She shut the door and registered his questioning look; the penny finally dropped. ‘Oh, Fergus is deaf.’ She tapped Fergus’s arm so he would look at her and she signed, ‘He didn’t know you’re crazy.’

  ‘Crazy?’ said Fergus with a chuckle.

  ‘I said deaf!’

  ‘Not quite,’ said Fergus and he proceeded to show her the difference between the two signs.

  ‘Hello,’ signed Jack. ‘That’s all I know I’m afraid,’ he said.

  ‘You’re better than Beth already,’ said Fergus and the men shook hands. Beth and Fergus headed into the kitchen and Jack into the living room. Carly jumped up to give him a hug.

  ‘Hi, how are—’ started Carly before Jack raced to speak over her.

  ‘So that’s The Ghast Blaster?’ whispered Jack, his face filled with childlike glee.

  ‘Apparently so,’ said Carly, this revelation very much old news to her. ‘No need to whisper.’

  ‘Oh, yeah, right. I think I’m having a fan-boy moment!’

  Carly looked instantly bored and flopped back onto the sofa as Jack hovered in the doorway waiting for the internet celebrity to return.

  When Beth and Fergus came back with teas and coffees they all settled in front of the fire that was spitting ferociously as it devoured a fresh log. After a round of silent sipping Jack spoke first.

  ‘Who posted Leo as missing?’

  The other three exchanged uncomfortable looks. Beth sighed; it was down to her to explain. ‘It was Nick, my ex-boyfriend. I left him and moved here.’

  Jack was nodding encouragingly but Beth had stopped talking. ‘You didn’t tell this Nick where you’d moved to then?’ asked Jack.

  ‘No, because we moved to get away from him,’ said Beth, her voice slow and deliberate, her discomfort palpable.

  ‘I never liked him,’ said Fergus and all eyes shot in his direction. ‘What?’ He shrugged. ‘Call it my deaf superpower if you like but I didn’t warm to him.’ He gestured to Beth with a rather full mug and the liquid sloshed about. ‘You were always tense around him. I could see it and I could sense it. And, however he spun it, he always got his own way over everything.’

  Beth pondered what Fergus had said. ‘Turns out you were more observant than I was then,’ she said. ‘Anyway, the police are dealing with the false missing person stuff now so all we can do is hope nobody responds and gives away our location.’

  ‘At least it’s not summer,’ said Jack. ‘This time of year we don’t have as many tourists swilling around,’ he explained for Fergus and Carly’s benefit. Fergus glanced at Carly and she signed an appropriate expression for ‘swilling’. They both nodded their understanding.

  ‘So what’s the big deal about him finding you?’ asked Jack, taking a drink from his mug.

  ‘Sorry, I’m really not comfortable discussing this,’ said Beth, her voice brittle.

  ‘No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry,’ said Jack with a brief smile and they all concentrated hard on the contents of their mugs.

  Beth’s phone rang and when she saw who was calling she stood up quickly, ‘Shit, my parents!’ She answered the phone and went to the kitchen, leaving the others with just the crackle of the open fire.

  ‘You’ve done a nice job with the kitchen,’ said Fergus to Jack.

  ‘Cheers, I enjoy that sort of thing to be honest. This ex-boyfriend of Beth’s, is he dangerous?’

  Carly shot Fergus a warning look which he ignored.

  ‘Yes, he is. The worst kind. Utterly charming on the outside, rotten on the inside.’

  ‘Right,’ said Jack, raising his eyebrows as he studied the flames that were now overwhelming the log in the fireplace. ‘That’s good to know.’

  After a few minutes Beth appeared and hovered in the doorway. She gave a badly acted yawn as Carly and Jack watched her. Fergus was watching the fire. ‘I think I’m going to turn in,’ she said, giving Jack a look that she hoped conveyed she’d like him to leave. After a short delay he stood up.

  ‘Right, I had best be off then. If you need anything you know where I am,’ said Jack softly. He gave Carly a brief air kiss, shook Fergus’s hand and joined Beth in the hallway.

  Jack turned as he reached the door and Beth realized she was very close behind him. She put up her hands as if to stop herself bumping into him and he gently took them in his. Her pulse started to quicken and she had to concentrate not to pull away.

  ‘Look, Beth, can we …’ But Beth was already shaking her head.

  ‘No, Jack. I’m sorry about the mix-up, really I am, but the truth is I have to move on soon, so …’

  Jack was nodding. ‘Okay. But we can still be friends. Friends that watch out for each other, yeah?’

  Beth forced down the lump in her throat. ‘Yeah,’ she said, but it came out more as a squeak. He let go of her hands and left and as the front door clicked closed behind him Beth let out a sigh.

  ‘I need a drink!’ she said, flopping onto the sofa.

  Carly was giving her a look. ‘I thought you were going to bed?’

  ‘No, I just said that so that Jack would leave.’ She felt awful admitting it out loud but it was the truth. ‘It’s all very awkward after the whole domestic violence mix-up.’

  ‘That wasn’t his fault,’ said Carly. ‘You jumped to the wrong conclusion.’

  ‘I know.’ Beth closed her eyes, feeling the embarrassment and regret resurface. ‘I think I need to retrain my brain or something because I’m still getting uneasy feelings whenever he’s around. I think I pigeonholed him under dangerous and now I can’t …’ She was trying to think of a word.

  ‘Unpigeonhole him,’ offered Carly.

  ‘Precisely.’

  Fergus was looking at Carly as he clearly hadn’t been able to lip-read her last words. ‘There is no sign for that one,’ she said and he smiled.

  Carly eventually gave in and went to bed and when Beth went to follow her Fergus tugged her arm and stopped
her getting up from the sofa.

  ‘Has she gone?’ asked Fergus, shutting the living-room door anyway.

  ‘Yes, she’s gone.’

  ‘I need some help with something,’ he said, his face lit by the dying embers of the fire.

  ‘Anything.’

  ‘Can you come and stay with us over Easter?’ His face was expectant.

  Beth took a deep breath. ‘I don’t know. After what’s happened today I don’t think that would be a good idea.’

  Fergus hung his head. ‘I know it’s a lot to ask but I tried to sort something out myself at Christmas and it turned to poo so now I’m thinking that having an accomplice might work better.’

  ‘Accomplice?’ Beth was sitting up straight now. What was he suggesting?

  ‘I’m going to propose to Carly,’ he said, his face breaking into a huge grin.

  ‘Oh. My. God!’ said Beth, her mouth muffled by her hands.

  Fergus pulled her hands away. ‘Good idea or bad idea?’

  ‘The best idea ever! I’m so pleased for you,’ said Beth, launching herself into his hug. ‘Oh,’ she said, covering her mouth to stop the squeals again and then realizing how annoying that was for someone trying to lip-read. ‘Sorry. Was that you with the boat and Tower Bridge at Christmas?’

  It was Fergus’s turn to look startled. ‘Yes, it was! Does Carly know?’

  Beth waved her hand and signed for him to speak quieter. ‘No, I don’t think so. I’ve not said anything. It was Jack that put two and two together.’

  ‘Smart guy. I watched Carly talking to you on the phone a while ago and she said she wanted the world to stop for her just once. I figured I couldn’t stop the world but I could stop a small section of London when the bridge was up.’