Tandem
Page 26
He laid the cake down on the leg of his shorts. “You’re leaving?”
“Andy’s coming to collect me tomorrow. I need to see my parents and start sorting out Pete’s things. I’ve been away five weeks.”
“Are you going for good?”
She smiled. “No, I’ll be back.”
“To stay?”
“Maybe. Perhaps you could keep an eye on the tandem for me while I’m away.”
He thought about this. “Could I ride it?”
It was Paula’s turn to hesitate. “If you want,” she heard herself say. It felt all right.
“Who with?”
“Why don’t you ask your mum? I’ll move the front seat down for her and change the pedals.”
“Okay.”
They ate in silence for a few minutes. When Sanders had finished his cake, he licked the icing off his fingers and wiped them on his T-shirt. “I was thinking about that kimono dragon we saw at the zoo,” he said.
“Komodo.”
“I know. It was like the virgin birth, wasn’t it?”
“That’s what the keeper said.”
“No separate mum and dad, just that one dragon on her own having all those babies.”
“Uh-huh.”
He helped himself to another thick slice of cake. “Well, that could be me, couldn’t it?”
Paula choked as a fragment of Smartie caught in her windpipe. She cleared it with ginger beer. “What on earth are you on about now?
You’re not planning to spontaneously reproduce, are you? I don’t think even you could manage that. Besides, one of you’s more than enough.”
Sanders giggled. “Don’t be stupid. I was just thinking that, you know, she seemed perfectly happy being different to all the other creatures. Just being herself in a dragony sort of way, even though she’s unique. So maybe I could be happy.” He cocked his head. “You know, being unique, in a dragony sort of way.”
“In a penguiny, dragony sort of way.” Paula cut herself a second slice of cake. “Why not. Maybe we both could.”
Epilogue
Paula flipped open the laptop and checked her email. She had two new messages. Both were from Carole’s address. She clicked on the first one.
Hello Paula, Carole here. Or should I say Minnie? Just wanted to check what time you’re arriving. The weather’s been good up here the past few days so Terry reckons we’re on for the barbecue. He says to tell Andy to bring lots of wine so we can celebrate the newest additions to the Cra’frae community in style! Nora says he’s really looking forward to working with Andy on expanding the taxi business – he’s been talking about nothing else!
I bumped into Mrs McIntyre on Main Street earlier – she says she’s got the broadband sorted out for you.
See you both tomorrow evening. Sanders is bouncing off the walls he’s so excited, but I’ll leave him to tell you about all his plans! Carole/Minnie x
Paula opened the second message.
Hiya PT!!! How ya doin? me and Bovis are fine – she sends her luv. School is okay. Westwick High is much bigger than Cra’frae primary and I kept gettin lost at first, but I’m gettin used to it now. My teachers are nice – mostly – and the other kids are alrite. In some of my classes I sit next to a girl called Traci. She’s from Mozambique (see I know how to spell it cos she showed me). She’s comin for a ride on the tandem with me at the weekend, if that’s cool with yoo????? When me an Mum ride it Mum screems when we go downhill!! I went to see my psychologist last week. She says if Im happy, its okay to wait n see how things go for a bit. So thats what Im gonna do. Y’know I definitley don’t want to be a girl. I mean I like them an everythin, but I don’t want to be one, so we’ll see. Mibby I will take the hormones an stuff but not yet. Anyway its only three weeks to half-term so I’ve been plannin lots of places you an me can ride to. I thought mibby, if she likes it, I could go for a ride one day with Traci, but you an me will go out the other days if you huvn’t got too much work to do. Mibby we could go to that beach with the seals? And is Andy still okay to take us to the zoo to see Nils Olav an Bungee in the van??? Would it be okay if Traci comes too?????
See you l8r Alligator!!! Bovis says bye! Your friend Sanders xxxxxx
Alex Morgan was born in Edinburgh and grew up along the coast in North Berwick. She now lives in the Cumbrian town of Cockermouth, birthplace of William Wordsworth, where she works for the National Trust. She is married and has two daughters and one granddaughter. She has always loved the seaside. Tandem is her first novel.
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© Copyright 2014 Alex Morgan
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
ISBN: 9780957695757
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