Instant Mother

‘Yes. She’s fine. Would you like to speak to her? Jessica? It’s your uncle.’ Holding out the phone, she waited, watched, as the little girl took it, put it to her ear.

A slow smile spread across her face. ‘Yes,’ she agreed, to whatever was being asked. ‘No. Yes. Bye.’ She gave the phone back to Alexa.

‘Thank you,’ he said quietly. ‘I should be with you about midnight.’

‘You’re coming back?’

‘Of course I’m coming back! Did you see the headmistress? What did she say?’

‘Nothing. I mean, she wasn’t there.’

‘She just left her?’ he demanded angrily.

‘Yes, the janitor said—’

‘Alexa, I don’t want to know what the janitor said. Look, I have to go, my flight’s being called. I’ll see you tonight.’

Replacing the receiver, she told Jessica, ‘He’s just running for his plane, and then he will be on his way.’

‘Yes.’ But her eyes were on Mr Jones, who thumped his tail in welcome as Jessica walked cautiously across to him.

And Alexa’s mind was on Stefan. Who was coming home.

‘He looks a bit fierce, I know...’ she murmured rather absently. In fact, Mr Jones looked like a small and rather scruffy wolfhound. ‘But he won’t hurt you,’ she reassured her. ‘He likes to be scratched behind his ears.’ After waiting a moment to be sure they would be all right together, she walked through to the kitchen.

Removing her coat, she tossed it towards the bedroom—and then went to hang it up properly. You have a quest. No sluttish behaviour, please, Alexa.

Eyes still showing her worry and abstraction, she returned to the lounge to see Jessica sitting on the floor, her arm round the dog. Finding a smile, she went to remove the little girl’s outdoor clothes. Hanging them with her own, she returned to sit in the chair. ‘Now, what shall I tell you? This is Mr Jones, and he likes to go for a walk twice a day. We can take him out after we’ve had our tea. Would you like that?’ No answer, just a solemn little face with eyes too old for her years. ‘Right,’ she persevered, ‘there’s the television...’ Picking up the remote control, she showed Jessica how to turn it on and off. ‘Then you can have it on any time you want, can’t you?’

Holding out her hand, which Jessica obediently took, she added brightly, ‘Now I’ll show you round, so that you know where everything is, and then we’ll have something to eat.’

She fed the dog, made the shepherd’s pie, and when they’d eaten she racked her brains for something to occupy the little girl for the rest of the evening. ‘What do you usually do? Watch television? Draw? I don’t have any toys or anything...’

‘Draw.’

‘Right.’ Chewing her lip as she tried to remember if she had any paper, she finally went and got her writing pad, found a pen and handed them to the little girl.

A little smile flickered and was gone as she lay down beside Mr Jones and began to draw.

Watching her, Alexa wondered if she was normally this quiet and good, or whether she was just shy. No surprise there. Dumped on a stranger... ‘How old are you, Jessica?’

‘I’m Charlie,’ she announced, without looking up from her drawing.

‘Oh, right,’ Alexa agreed with a little grin. ‘Charlie. And how old is Charlie?’

‘Six.’

‘And do you like school?’

‘Yes.’

Smothering another smile, she continued to watch her. ‘We have to take Mr Jones out in a minute. Shall you mind going out in the dark?’

Her drawing was abandoned with a haste that was almost alarming, and Alexa was even more worried when Jessica carefully put the pen and notepad tidily on the chair. She then stared at Alexa with tense expectancy.

‘There’s a good girl,’ she praised inadequately. ‘You’re very tidy, aren’t you?’

She didn’t answer, merely waited.

They took Mr Jones out, and when they came back Jessica continued with her drawing whilst Alexa rang the charity shop to explain that she wouldn’t be able to help out for a while. By eight o’clock, Jessica was yawning.

‘Would you like to go to bed, darling?’

She nodded.

Walking with her into the bedroom, Alexa asked gently, ‘Do you need help undressing and washing? ’

She shook her head.

‘All right, don’t forget to clean your teeth—use my toothbrush for now; I don’t suppose it will matter. I’ll go and find you a tee shirt to wear for bed. I expect your uncle will bring your things when he comes.’ She would obviously stay here tonight, but tomorrow... Tomorrow they would have to find somewhere else.

When Jessica came back in just her vest, carrying her clothes, Alexa smiled at her, handed her the tee shirt. ‘Would you like me to tell you a story?’

She looked surprised, then shyly shook her head. Glancing at Mr Jones, who had accompanied them, then back to Alexa, she waited.

‘Would you like Mr Jones to stay with you?’

She nodded.

‘OK, but he mustn’t sleep on the bed, only on the floor beside the bed. All right?’

She nodded again.

‘Shall I leave the door open?’

She nodded.

Holding back the covers, she helped her in, covered her up, and kissed her goodnight. There was tension in the small body. Tension and worry. Well, that made two of them, didn’t it?

Forcing her own worries to the back of her mind, she perched on the edge of the bed and gently stroked Jessica’s soft blonde hair. ‘When you wake up,’ she continued gently, ‘your uncle will be here. And if you need anything, or if you feel frightened in a strange place, just call me. I’ll be just out there. All right?’

She nodded.

‘Goodnight, then, dar...er, Charlie.’ She smiled.

She watched television whilst she waited for Stefan to arrive, and didn’t take in any of it. She began to feel more and more nervous, which was stupid. He wasn’t a stranger, for goodness’ sake, just someone she didn’t know very well. She didn’t know his likes, his dislikes... All she did know with any certainty was that they had nothing in common. He was a scientist. She was a cook. Or had been. She couldn’t be one now. Not professionally at any rate. The accident had robbed her of the two vital senses necessary for being one. The senses of taste and smell. Not that Stefan knew that. Not that it mattered, she supposed. But then, he didn’t know very much about her at all. He knew about David, of course... Well, no, he didn’t even really know about that. He thought David had been her lover, and he hadn’t. They’d had a relationship, but they hadn’t been lovers. Always cautious in her dealing with men, she had wanted to wait until she was sure. With a grim smile, she wondered why being right should hurt so damned much.

Feeling restless, nervous, she heard a car and stopped to listen. Heard it stop. A few minutes later there was the gentle closing of a car door, and footsteps across the icy pavement.