Rooting for You!

by Bella Osborne

  Hudson tilted his head in thought. ‘About two years.’

  Anna knew it was unusual for her parents to still be together and even more unusual that they were happy. It saddened her that Hudson hadn’t experienced the same. She valued the security it gave her to face all life threw her way.

  ‘Still, it’ll be nice to catch up now.’

  Hudson’s raised eyebrow conveyed his misgivings. ‘We’ll see. It’s not far to my old elementary school, then I’ll show you my house and the church and then you’ll be a few strides from town. Okay?’

  ‘Sounds great.’ It was dark but the streets were well lit and lots of people bustled about carrying shopping.

  ‘Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow,’ said Hudson, following her gaze to a man weighed down with bags.

  ‘Of course. This is a bit like Christmas Eve then?’

  ‘Yeah, a bit. No presents and more pumpkin with this holiday. That’s how I used to think of it when I was a kid.’ His lips twitched at the memory but it was fleeting and was soon replaced by a tight knotting of his eyebrows.

  Hudson pointed out his school, an ordinary brick building that invoked a number of amusing stories and the mood briefly lightened. Anna turned up the collar of her coat against the cold. They walked in silence for a while until Hudson’s pace slowed.

  ‘This was my road.’

  Anna wasn’t sure whether to reach out to him. He seemed vulnerable somehow. ‘You okay?’ she asked.

  ‘Yeah, I’m fine. I’ve not been back here for a very long time. We usually meet in the city but he’ll be home for Thanksgiving and I wanted to see how things have changed.’

  ‘And have they changed?’ asked Anna.

  ‘Not much.’

  They both took in their surroundings while they walked along the long wide street. Large wooden-fronted houses stood back from wide sidewalks and big American elms loomed over wide driveways.

  Hudson stopped dead. ‘What the hell?’ He set off again at a much faster pace and Anna had to jog to catch up.

  ‘What’s wrong?’

  He didn’t answer but stopped outside a large cream-painted house with a For Sale sign on the front lawn.

  Sophie was looking forward to seeing Dave walk through the door. It had been one of those days. Reuben had been whiny all day, Petal was fully embracing toddler tantrums and ever since she’d picked Arlo up from school he’d not stopped talking about the many things he wanted for Christmas. Trying to do anything of any value was almost impossible as at least one other person was demanding her attention. She could tell Petal had cottoned on to the fact she was no longer the priority with baby Reuben in the fold so every time he cried, she cried louder. Sophie had tried to start dinner but she’d been interrupted so many times she could barely remember what she was trying to cook.

  She was changing Reuben’s nappy and he was expressing his displeasure by wailing. Petal was lying on the floor a few feet away screaming at the top of her voice and at her shoulder she had Arlo shouting to be heard.

  ‘AND I REALLY, REALLY WANT A CAR THAT GOES ON THE CEILING!’

  Sophie thought her eardrums were going to burst. They were definitely buzzing slightly. Was that tinnitus?

  ‘But that’s quite a few things you’ve said you’d like.’

  ‘But I’ve wanted one of those cars ever since I first saw it.’

  ‘That was yesterday, Arlo. You need to write a list to Santa but remember he only delivers to good boys.’

  Arlo’s head flopped to one side. ‘Willoughby Newell isn’t good and he says he always gets everything he wants. And Toby Peterson has loads of uncles and they all buy him stuff. Why don’t I have lots of uncles?’

  There were many things Sophie wanted to say about Toby Peterson and his mother’s loose morals but she held her tongue. ‘Because all families are different and I’m sure it all works out the same in the end. You got a lovely present from Reuben. Toby Peterson doesn’t have any brothers or sisters.’

  ‘He’s lucky,’ said Arlo, giving the still-screaming Petal a sideways glare.

  Sophie picked up the two cuddly rabbits they’d bought when the baby arrived. She gave Petal hers and thankfully it distracted her enough to stop her crying. She handed the other to Arlo.

  ‘Come on, Dildo,’ he said to his rabbit and he left the room with Petal toddling behind him.

  Sophie wondered where he’d got the name from but knew sometimes it was best to ignore it. She drew a deep breath and took a moment to give Reuben a cuddle. He smelled of baby. A sweet powdery scent that propelled her ovaries into overdrive. She snuggled her face into his neck and he burped loudly in her ear. He was most definitely a Butterworth and she loved him dearly.

  The sound of Dave’s key in the door didn’t bring the wave of relief it would have done a few minutes earlier. The storm had passed as she’d learned it always did.

  ‘Hey, gorgeous,’ said Dave, giving Sophie a kiss. ‘Hiya, stinky,’ he said, giving Reuben’s tiny fist a bump. ‘How were the tribe today?’ He paused waiting for her reply.

  ‘Full on, but bearable. How was your day?’

  ‘Supplier has let us down again and the legal team are pulling apart the contract. But the coffee shop had an offer on cereal bars – so bearable.’ He smiled. She loved that smile. It was warm and full of love for the family they’d created. Petal came in swinging her rabbit round her head and Dave picked her up and blew raspberries on her neck.

  ‘Daddy. Help!’ yelled Arlo. ‘There’s a rainbow in my willy!’

  Dave put Petal down and disappeared into the downstairs loo. Sophie followed him to the hallway still cradling Reuben. There was a moment’s silence before he popped his round the door. ‘It’s okay, it’s just a vein.’

  Sophie smiled to herself, wondered briefly if the Beckhams or the Kardashians had similar crises, and went to have another attempt at making dinner.

  Hudson’s reaction had been very controlled. He had stared at the house for a few moments before declaring it was time to leave and now they were walking back to the train station in silence. Anna’s mobile rang. She answered it quickly, the chirpy ringtone somehow inappropriate for the current mood.

  ‘Hi, Connor.’

  ‘Is everything okay?’ he asked, forgoing any preamble. He sounded concerned, alarmed even.

  ‘Yes, everything’s fine. Why?’

  ‘Where are you?’

  ‘I’m still in New York.’ She pulled a puzzled face but Hudson was staring at the pavement.

  ‘You are?’ He went silent.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Right. It’s just …’

  ‘What’s wrong?’ She could tell from his tone he was anxious about something.

  ‘Nothing. I had this horrible sensation something was wrong. Are you alone?’

  ‘No, I’m with Hudson.’ Although she felt a little guilty, Connor should be expecting them to be spending time together. She couldn’t feel too bad about that. Hell, she’d done nothing wrong.

  ‘Where are you exactly? At the hotel?’ He sounded tentative.

  ‘No, we went out. Hudson was showing me where he used to live.’ The line was silent. ‘And I wanted to see something other than the inside of an office.’ It was stretching the truth a little. Hudson had been excellent at showing her some of the sights of New York.

  ‘Be careful, Anna,’ said Connor. But what he said and how he said it had Anna wondering exactly what he meant.

  ‘I’m quite safe.’

  Connor seemed to recover. ‘Great. That’s all I’m worried about. I love you, Anna.’

  The statement hung between them. Anna was aware of how close Hudson was to her. It was something she had often longed to hear but now was not the time and she wasn’t sure if she was hearing it from the right person either.

  ‘Connor? Are still you there? Hello?’ It most likely wasn’t the response he’d been hoping for.

  ‘Hello, Anna. Can you hear me?’

  ‘Hello?’ She ended the call. ‘Mus
t have lost signal,’ she said, turning to Hudson who barely grunted in response. ‘Are you sure you don’t want to talk to your father about him selling the house? These things are usually better face to face.’

  Hudson stopped suddenly. ‘I appreciate you trying to help but I know he’ll say it’s none of my business and he’d be right. It’s his house. I’d lose my temper and … he’d continue to maintain his low opinion of me for getting emotional.’

  ‘You clearly have an attachment to the property. I think we all do to our first home; it’s only natural. It was thoughtless of him not to tell you.’

  ‘He was probably waiting until after it was sold. It’s not like I’m going to want to buy it.’

  ‘No, but still.’ Anna struggled to understand how his own father could be so heartless, to sell up without even letting Hudson know, but once again she was reminded not all families were like hers and certainly all dads were not as thoughtful and devoted as hers. A pang of homesickness jolted her. She would call her parents the minute she got back to the hotel.

  Anna wandered down to breakfast the next morning and was greeted by the usual attentive staff who were wishing her a ‘Happy Thanksgiving’ like they were on repeat. There was no sign of Hudson so she chose a table near the restaurant entrance, ordered tea and took the opportunity to write a postcard to Bert.

  Anna was engrossed in her writing when she tuned in to Hudson’s voice approaching. She was surprised by the sharpness of his tone. She felt awkward for listening in to the one-sided conversation but it was hard not to given the volume and timbre of his voice.

  ‘No, you listen. When were you planning on telling me? Don’t you think I have a right to know about something like that? … I know it’s Thanksgiving … That’s baloney! Since when have we ever been a family? … What’s it matter to you? I’m spending it with a friend.’ After a brief pause Hudson strode purposefully into the restaurant. His tense expression lightened when he saw Anna, who tried hard not to look like she’d been listening.

  ‘I take it you heard that?’ He gave a little wince.

  ‘Yes, I’m sorry. It was hard not to. Things not great with your dad?’

  ‘Err,’ he hesitated. ‘No. No, change there. I kinda hit the minibar last night and sent out a few messages so it was to be expected.’

  ‘Ah, drunk in charge of a mobile is never a good thing.’

  ‘Coffee, please,’ said Hudson, when the waitress neared their table. ‘I’m going to need kick-starting.’

  Anna marvelled at the fact he looked as he always did; if this was Hudson with a hangover he hid it well. He was freshly showered and smelled divine, all soapy and lemony with a hint of something she couldn’t quite identify.

  ‘You okay?’ Hudson was giving her an odd look, which wasn’t surprising given she was staring at him.

  ‘Yes. Sorry. Trying to decide on what to have.’ She tapped the closed menu in front of her and then opened it swiftly.

  ‘It’s a buffet, like it has been all week.’

  ‘Right. I’ll go and choose something.’ Anna was flustered and she bumped the table as she stood up. ‘Whoops. Sorry.’ What was wrong with her?

  ‘Word of warning. You’ll want to leave plenty of room for Thanksgiving dinner.’

  ‘Yes. Good advice. Thank you. I’ll do that.’ She sounded like a 1930s’ broadcaster. She shook her head at her own ineptitude.

  Anna returned with a bowl of fresh fruit salad and busied herself with eating.

  ‘I’ve got a few things planned for today if you wanted to get a feel for what Thanksgiving is like?’ Hudson seemed unsure of himself when he spoke. ‘I know you wanted to get some work done but I figured we’ve still got Friday and we can work on the plane if we have to.’

  ‘I like your plan much better.’ She speared a large strawberry and got ready to embrace Thanksgiving New York style.

  She soon found herself wrapped up in her winter woollies and standing on a very busy street waiting for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. Strangers around her were wishing her a happy Thanksgiving and she was now quite naturally returning the wishes to expressions of awe at her “cute British accent”.’ As the noise increased and a giant balloon loomed into view Anna began to get excited. It took an age for all the floats, marching bands and dressed-up walkers to go by and she felt like her arm was going to fall off from all the waving.

  ‘Did you like it?’ asked Hudson, as they weaved their way through the crowds catching a last glimpse of Santa Claus on his sleigh at the back of the parade.

  ‘I loved it. It reminded me of a mix of a seaside carnival and pantomime.’

  ‘Yeah, it is. I guess. Although I’ve never seen a carnival in the UK.’

  ‘No? We should …’ She quickly corrected herself. ‘You should go.’

  She scurried alongside Hudson, wondering at the masses of people and the flurry of steam coming from the air vents at her feet. It was exactly like the films and it made her grin to think of it. She was actually here in New York City, and even better than that she was doing traditional Thanksgiving activities with the most gorgeous man. She stopped herself. She needed to halt the inappropriate thoughts; she was getting as bad as Sophie. Perhaps now she could empathise a little more with what her friend had been through.

  They waited to cross a street with a hoard of other wrapped-up folk still wishing random strangers a happy holiday when Hudson took her hand and led her across the road. The jolt of contact startled her. ‘Sorry, I didn’t want to lose you in the crowd.’

  ‘It’s okay,’ she said. And it really was.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  They walked a bit further before they came to some railings where a line of horses and small carriages were standing. ‘Hop in,’ said Hudson. ‘This is the best way to see Central Park.’ He was right. The horse trotted off through the entrance at a gentle pace while Hudson tucked a blanket around their legs.

  ‘We’re like a couple of old people,’ said Anna, noticing she was close enough to feel the heat from his body.

  ‘Wouldn’t that be nice?’

  ‘Would it?’ She was shocked by how breathy her voice was.

  ‘Yeah. Wouldn’t you like to find someone you could grow old with and one day come back here and take a carriage ride tucked up under a blanket?’

  ‘Yes, I’d like that very much.’ Do shut up, Anna, she implored herself.

  The trip around the park was chilly but beautiful. It was immense and Hudson was a very good guide, pointing out the things they passed as well as the things they wouldn’t be able to see. They saw the Bethesda Fountain, trotted through the tree tunnel of the Mall and Literary Walk, passed the Dairy and Carousel. It was like watching scenes escaping from an open book. Anna couldn’t get over how vast the park was. It made Wildflower Park look like someone’s back garden. Hudson had a word with the driver, the carriage stopped and Anna reluctantly left the warmth of the blanket behind.

  They continued on foot. She’d seen signs for the zoo and was wondering if that’s where they were heading but when she saw the huge ice rink her face lit up like a child’s. ‘Are we going ice skating?’

  ‘We sure are,’ said Hudson, breaking into a run. They ran towards the rink with abandon. The chill of the air burned her cheeks. They arrived out of breath and were soon kitted out with skates and making their way tentatively onto the ice.

  Hudson gripped her gloved hand tightly. ‘Is that for your safety or mine?’ she said, with a giggle.

  ‘A bit of both. I’m okay once I get going but to start with I’m like Bambi.’

  ‘Me too.’

  They quickly got into a rhythm but continued to hold hands whilst they skated. Anna was soon overheating and skated off to remove layers. She found she was grinning to herself. She was having the best time. Anna turned around and scanned the ice for Hudson. She spotted him on the far side of the rink talking to a woman in a bright red coat. Anna set off towards them. As she approached she could see they were having an
animated conversation. A moment before she reached them the woman reached up, cupped Hudson’s face in her hands and kissed him. Not a peck on the cheek or an air kiss; this was a full-on, intimate kiss. Anna toppled on her skates and quickly righted herself but a fraction too late and she careered into Hudson, ending the kiss abruptly.

  ‘Oh my God, I’m so sorry,’ she said, disentangling herself from Hudson. She righted herself and faced the other woman. ‘Hello. I’m Anna.’ The woman glared at her.

  ‘Anna, this is Emily Jones. Emily this is my friend Anna.’

  Emily looked Anna up and down and Anna took an instant dislike to her. She was very well groomed and her red coat looked expensive.

  ‘It’s been wonderful to see you again, Hudson. Don’t leave it too long,’ said Emily, skating backwards from Hudson. She blew him a sultry kiss, performed a pirouette and continued on her way.

  ‘Wow,’ said Anna, skidding slightly. ‘She’s …’ words momentarily escaped her ‘… impressive. Is she a close friend?’ She had to know.

  ‘Emily is divorcing my father.’

  ‘Hang on. When you spoke to your stepmother on the phone. That was her?’ Anna couldn’t hide the surprise in her voice. She wobbled when she turned to have another ogle. The pretty woman didn’t look like she’d hit forty yet; she was certainly very well preserved if she had. Perhaps she’d had work done.

  Hudson pulled his eyes away from Emily’s retreating back. ‘Yeah. She’s the reason they’re selling the house.’

  ‘Ah,’ said Anna, because she couldn’t think of anything else to say. Then she blurted out. ‘That kiss was a bit … well, not really a stepmum sort of kiss.’ It was the sort of thing she really should have kept in her head but it was out before she could censor it.

  Hudson’s expression was grave. ‘It’s because before she married my father …’ he glanced up as if questioning whether to finish the sentence or not ‘… she was engaged to me.’

  Anna felt her skates slip from underneath her and she landed with a hard thud on the ice.

  Anna made the best of the afternoon. The meal at the hotel had been lovely and she’d filled the silences with idle chatter. She could tell Hudson was putting on a brave face but there was an Emily-shaped cloud hanging over them. He hadn’t volunteered any further information, which she could understand. Having your fiancée dump you for your father wasn’t something you’d want to discuss. It explained why he and his father had such a strained relationship. What he had experienced was deceit and betrayal on a huge scale.