Sonny falls back and takes hold of my hand. He may be eight, but he’s not yet too embarrassed to be hugged and kissed by his mum, unlike some children his age who don’t want to be seen anywhere near their parents, let alone have physical contact in front of their friends. Ryan slows to let me catch up, but I don’t even try to take his hand, knowing exactly what reaction I’d get.
‘So,’ I begin, ‘I wanted to let you know, we’ve got a visitor staying with us for a day or two.’
‘A visitor?’ Sonny’s eyes widen.
‘Her name is Sophie, and she’s a friend from when I was younger.’ I hate lying to my kids, but if Sophie really is hiding from an abusive relationship, then I can’t let it get out that I’m giving shelter to a stranger, in case whoever she’s running from susses out where she is.
‘Why’s she staying with us?’ Ryan asks.
‘Because she’s my friend and she’s having a little holiday in Ashridge Falls.’
‘How do you know her?’
‘Well, she’s actually not feeling too well at the moment, so it’s best not to bother her with lots of questions, okay?’
‘You could make her some celery soup,’ Sonny suggests. ‘Like you do when we’re not very well.’
‘That’s a very kind thought, Sonny. It might be a bit hot for soup though.’
Ryan huffs. ‘Why have we got to have people staying? I like it when it’s just us.’
I almost smile at his words – he sounds so like his father. But then I remember that Michael isn’t here any more, and my almost-smile dies on my lips.
‘You’ll hardly know she’s here. She’s very quiet and she won’t bother you if you don’t bother her, okay? Sonny, can you zip your bag up? Your books are going to fall out if you’re not careful.’
We wait for a moment while he sorts out his bag. Ryan doesn’t say anything more. Just scuffs at the dusty kerb with the toe of his shoe. I have to restrain myself from telling him to stop it, that he’ll ruin a perfectly good pair of shoes. I look away and resolve to give him a little bit of space when we get in.
‘So while you two were at school, guess what I’ve been doing?’
‘Working at the shop?’ Sonny guesses.
‘Better than that…’
Ryan feigns disinterest.
‘I made my famous Victoria sponge cake for the regatta.’
‘For the regatta?’ Sonny frowns. ‘But that’s not till Saturday.’
‘It’s lucky I made two then, isn’t it?’
‘Yes!’ He punches the air. ‘So can we have some when we get in?’
‘Maybe.’ I wink.
We turn into our road and walk the remaining two hundred yards to our house.
‘Oh, and, boys, there’s one other thing I need to ask you.’
‘What?’
‘I’d like it if you didn’t tell anyone else about Sophie staying. Because if you do, everyone will want to come and visit us.’ I realise it’s a very unconvincing reason, but I’m hoping that it will sway them both to keep schtum. Sonny always wants to please, so I’m sure he’ll keep the secret. And Ryan might agree to do it if only to prevent the threat of more visitors descending.
‘So it’s a secret?’ Sonny asks.
‘Yes.’
‘What, we can’t tell anyone?’ Ryan looks momentarily interested.
‘No one at all,’ I say. ‘Do you think you can both manage that?’
‘Okay.’ Sonny nods vigorously while Ryan shrugs.
My phone buzzes as we reach the house. I check the screen and see that Tia’s sent a text:
Got time for a chat?
She seemed quite down earlier. Maybe she wants to tell me what’s wrong. I’d usually call her right back, but there’s too much I need to sort out here. I’ll call her later. I stuff my phone back in my bag and we go inside. Once the boys are settled in the kitchen with huge slabs of cake and tall glasses of iced lemonade, I race upstairs to see how Sophie’s doing.
‘Knock, knock,’ I say outside the bedroom door.
‘Come in.’ Sophie’s lying on the bed reading a magazine.
‘Hi, just wondering if you want to come down and meet my kids?’
She looks a little taken aback.
‘It’s just… if you’re staying here, it’s probably best if you say hello. In case they bump into you on the landing or something.’
‘Oh, okay, but what if they say something to their friends?’
‘Don’t worry, they’ve promised not to say anything to anyone. I’ve told them you’re an old friend come to stay.’
‘Are you sure they won’t talk?’ Her forehead creases in concern.