Least Said (72 page)

Usually
we
had
Jon
and
the
car
to
ferry
us
around,
but
it
felt
far
more
touristy
to
get
to
wherever
we
wanted
to
go
using
public
transport
and,
an
added
bonus
was
that
looking
for
the
correct
bus,
and
following
directions
on
the
underground,
helped
Will
with
his
reading
and
numbers
no
end.

Hearing
about
the
marvellous
display
of
poppies
there
had
been
at
the
Tower
of
London
turned
into
something
of
a
history
lesson
as
I
tried
to
explain
simply
why
they
had
been
there,
and
following
that
up
with
a
visit
to
the
Imperial
War
Museum
gave
Will
a
view
of
life
when
the
country
was
at
war.
Far
more
interesting
than
history
books,
I
reasoned.
By
way
of
a
real
contrast
the
following
day
we
spent
the
whole
of
it
at
the
London
zoo.

By
mid-week
I
confessed,
but
only
to
myself,
that
my
energy
levels
were
flagging.
It
probably
wasn’t
helping
that
we
were
eating
fast
food
on
the
hoof,
so
to
speak,
each
and
every
day,
to
Will’s
obvious
delight.
However,
I
managed
to
keep
going
and
we
saw
the
changing
of
the
guards
outside
Buckingham
Place
and
went
on
a
tour
of
the
inside
–
which,
if
I
was
being
honest,
probably
interested
me
far
more
than
it
did
Will.

Whether
it
was
my
lack
of
a
head
for
heights
that
did
it
for
me
on
the
London
Eye,
I
don’t
know,
but
I
felt
quite
ill
by
the
time
we
got
off.
It
took
a
huge
effort
to
keep
smiling
and
chatting
for
Will’s
benefit,
because
he
obviously
loved
every
single
minute
of
his
time
in
the
glass
pod
and
kept
pointing
to
various
sights
off
into
the
distance
for
me
to
admire.

Back
at
the
house
I
all
but
fell
out
of
the
taxi
I
had
flagged
down
the
minute
we
climbed
out
of
the
Eye
in
a
desperate
attempt
to
get
back
to
the
house
as
soon
as
possible,
despite
Will’s
acute
desire
to
catch
yet
another
bus.

‘Ring
the
doorbell,’
I
instructed
William,
quite
sharply,
as
I
paid
the
fare
through
the
driver’s
window.

Tina
opened
the
door,
took
one
look
at
me
and
rushed
down
the
front
steps
to
help
me
inside.
‘What’s
wrong?’
she
said
urgently,
‘what’s
happened?
You
look
terrible.’

‘Is
Mummy
all
right?’
Will
asked
anxiously,
obviously
noticing
for
the
first
time
that
I
wasn’t
my
usual
bouncy
self.

‘I’m
fine,
darling,’
I
managed,
and
again
to
Tina,
‘I’m
fine.’

Calum
appeared
then,
took
in
the
situation
at
a
glance,
and
took
William
off
inside
with
him,
asking
him
all
about
the
day
he
had
spent
out
and
about
and
what
he
had
seen.

‘You’re
not
fine
at
all,
are
you?’
Tina
demanded,
the
minute
they
were
out
of
earshot.

I
wrinkled
up
my
nose
and
confessed,
‘Not
really,
but
it’s
nothing
that
a
cup
of
tea
and
a
sit
down
to
catch
my
breath
can’t
put
right.’

The
tea
turned
out
to
be
not
the
best
of
ideas,
because
the
smell
turned
my
stomach
and
I
just
made
it
to
the
downstairs
cloakroom
before
the
greasy
burger
from
lunchtime
made
its
reappearance.

‘Too
much
fast
food
after
all
that
healthy
eating,’
I
confessed
ruefully,
when
I
found
an
anxious
Tina
pacing
up
and
down
outside
of
the
door.
‘I
feel
much
better
now.’

I
managed
to
enjoy
the
roast
beef
with
all
the
trimmings
that
Calum
had
prepared
and
a
good
helping
of
crumble
afterwards,
but
I
confessed
that
an
early
night
was
on
the
cards.

‘Look,’
Calum
said,
‘why
not
have
a
quiet
day
tomorrow
and
let
me
take
Will
to
–
where
was
it
going
to
be
tomorrow?’

‘Madame
Tussauds,’
I
told
him,
but
immediately
protested,
‘I
can’t
expect
you
to
give
up
your
time
like
that.’

‘Why
not?’
he
was
grinning,
‘I’ll
enjoy
it.
No
point
being
my
own
boss
if
I
can’t
take
a
bit
of
time
off
to
spend
with
my
favourite
god-son.
Do
you
fancy
it,
Tina?’
he
coaxed.