off to look at some colouring pencils in the nearby display.
‘I’ll be right with you, I just have to replace the receipt roll,’ the sales assistant said as Lee stood at the desk and got out her purse.
‘Huh? Oh yes, that’s fine,’ Lee murmured, her gaze falling to Sam’s book on the top of the pile. She opened the front cover to see the special illustration he’d drawn. It was of a koala sleeping, all curled up, and one paw was being held by a much smaller koala. A baby. Beneath it was a message.
To Jasper,
Keep holding your mama’s hand.
Sam
The cold had sent the birds down from the trees, scavenging for crumbs on the tabletops and daring to peck beneath the chairs where people sat enjoying the bright sunlight. On days such as this, it felt like the whole city relocated here, everyone swapping the narrow, cobbled water-edged streets for undulating space, tree-dotted lawns and wide, sweeping carriageways where they could run, walk, cycle, skate . . .
Jasper was kneeling on a chair, reaching over the tray for his hot, oozing bitterballen and juice. It was their weekend treat to come here. Depending on the weather, they would feed the ducks and go to the playground, before ending up at one of the large cafes for lunch. He loved running about with the other kids, and they would often bump into kindergarten friends here, Lee always at a loss to remember the mothers’ names.
‘Are you warm enough?’ she asked, reaching for his bare hand and squeezing it. He could never wait to toss away his layers – hats and scarves were torture for five-year-old boys, it seemed.
‘I’m boiling.’ Chasing pigeons could be an Olympic sport, the way he went at it.
‘No, leave your coat on please. You’re hot because you’ve been running around but you’ll cool down quickly now we’re sitting still. It’s December, for heaven’s sake, and there’s ice on the ground. It’s far too cold to sit outside without a coat on.’
‘Is it going to snow?’
Lee turned her face up to the sky. ‘I don’t know. Not today it won’t – it’s too clear. But soon maybe.’
‘I hope it snows. I want to build a snowman.’
‘Yes, that would be fun. I should check the forecast . . .’
‘We’ll need a carrot. For his nose.’
‘You’re right,’ she agreed. ‘I’ll put carrots on the shopping list.’ She heard a familiar sound overhead. ‘Oh look!’ she said, pointing up to the sky at the small flock of green parakeets flying from one tree to another. They were Jasper’s favourite birds and she still got a thrill every time she saw them too, as though Rio had come to town. London had its own wild colony as well.
‘Please can we catch one, mama?’ Jasper pleaded. ‘Please. It can sleep in my room.’
She gave a bemused grin. ‘Even if you could catch one, which I’m afraid you definitely couldn’t, you’d never sleep. It’d keep you awake all night with its squawking, and you need your sleep so you can grow to be really big and—’
She stopped mid-flow. Sam was standing a table away holding a coffee, his dark hair covered by a black beanie, a thick cashmere scarf at his neck. She imagined she must look as shocked as he had sitting at his table earlier. ‘I heard Jasper asking to come here,’ he said by way of explanation, looking over at her son and giving him a friendly wave.
‘But . . . the queue was onto the street,’ she stammered, as if that was the pertinent point.
He shrugged. ‘The store was closing at one. And I’m heading out to Friesland shortly.’
‘Oh . . . You’re from there?’ she asked blankly, stunned into autopilot politeness.
He nodded. Everyone was travelling, it seemed, to be with their families. Noah and Liam had left the city last night, Mila was celebrating with her brother across town. Only Lee and Jasper were staying put, it felt.
They stared at one another in silence, apparently bewildered that they were both here. She’d gone to him with a begging bowl and he’d all but sent her packing; she couldn’t believe he had followed and found them. And neither, seemingly, could he. His gaze was still weighty, laden with an anger and resentment that he wouldn’t express – she wouldn’t play by his rules and he wouldn’t play by hers. For a man she had known a little over a week, they already had a complicated history.