A Long Way Back (Unfinished Business #2) - Barbara Elsborg Page 0,39
him. “Are you mad?”
“No. What about an actual job? You don’t want to be a film star, vet, lawyer, teacher, doctor, massage therapist?”
Once upon a time, he’d dreamed of being a doctor but that dream had died. “I seem to have a talent for helping grouchy guys regain their get up and go. Well, I say talent. You’re the first but you haven’t threatened to call the police yet, so I’d count that as a win.”
“Can you surf?”
“I told you I’ve never been in the sea.”
“Oh yeah. Sometimes I forget things.”
Had that been a test or the truth? Ink had gone swimming once in twelve years and wondered if he’d still be able to stay afloat, but he had. He wasn’t brilliant, but was good enough not to panic.
“Ready to go?” Ink asked.
“How are we going to get there?”
“Bus.”
“I’d rather book a cab.”
“I’ve checked. The bus takes us almost to the door. You get to travel free.”
“In that case…”
It took Ink a moment to realise Tay was being sarcastic.
“Let’s go and get your stuff ready,” Ink said. “Which drawer are your trunks in?” He spoke as he left the kitchen and waited for Tay to react.
“I’ll do it,” Tay shouted.
So there was something Tay didn’t want him to see. Those tablets. Ink waited for him to catch up.
“Do you have a small sports bag we can use?” Ink asked. “If not, I can empty my backpack and we can use that.”
“You haven’t unpacked?”
Ink shook his head. “I need to be able to make a quick getaway if sea levels rise.”
Tay bit his lip. “There’s a bag at the bottom of my closet. Get my towel out of the bathroom…please.”
“You need shampoo and a brush too?”
“Good thinking.”
“I’ll come back with my stuff.”
TAY LET OUT A SILENT sigh of relief that his tablets remained undiscovered. He’d taken four after Ink had gone out this morning and he took another three now before Ink came back into the room.
After Ink had let him out for a final pee, Dog returned to the patch of sun in the living room, turned four and a half times and settled down.
“Be good,” Ink said.
Dog rolled onto his back and wagged his tail.
“You do know wagging your tail isn’t going to count for shit if you chew up something of Tay’s, right?”
Dog settled on his side again.
Ink pushed Tay’s chair down to the main road and along to the bus stop.
“Have you spoken again to your parents?” Ink asked.
“Yep.”
Tay had told his mum they were going swimming. He’d heard the pleasure in her exclamation and it struck him that he could lie throughout the time his parents were away and they’d never know. Though he’d have to ask Ink to lie too, in case they called him, and he wasn’t likely to do that if Tay sacked him.
Now that he was actually out of the flat, he was looking forward to swimming more than he’d expected to. Even if his legs weren’t as coordinated as he’d have liked, his arms would make up for it. Wheeling himself around in the chair and using the crutches had at least increased his upper body strength.
Ink stuck out his hand to stop the bus and the double decker pulled up so that the rear door was close to the wheelchair. As people got on at the front, an electric ramp slid from under the vehicle and came down onto the pavement. Ink pushed the chair onboard, parked it in an open space, then went down to the driver. Ink put his card against the reader, and came back to stand next to Tay.
“I should pay for you,” Tay said.
“I’ll keep a tab.”
“How much was it?”
“One fifty no matter how far you go. I wish we could go upstairs. I used to love sitting at the front and pretending I was driving.”
“Did you have a happy childhood? I mean, before you went into care.”
When Ink didn’t immediately answer, Tay didn’t think he was going to.
“Yeah, it was great.”
Why did Tay think that was a lie?
“What was it like being in care? If you say that was great too, I’ll know you’re lying.”
“Not great.” Ink shrugged.
Tay thought about asking more about it but changed his mind. “We could probably do one of those London bus tours and sit at the front on the top deck so you could drive. On a long trip, it would be worth the effort of getting up the steps.”