‘You have a high opinion of me.’
‘I do.’ She looked away after the admission, went over to the bench near the sink and brought back the plastic container of muffins. ‘These are not a cure-all, but they might help a little.’
‘I suppose I could give it a go.’ He reached for one and after a few bites, he did feel better, not because of the muffin – although he couldn’t deny it was tasty – but rather that Nadia understood where he was coming from. And being in her company always made a situation feel that much lighter.
‘Do you think that if your mum had had time for you then you and Monica may have got on better?’
‘Not if my sister had behaved the same way; I couldn’t stand it. But maybe if Mum had been tougher, who knows, Monica may have made different choices.’
‘Hindsight is a wonderful thing.’
‘Sure is.’ She shook her head when he tried to persuade her she needed a muffin too. ‘I’ve already had two.’
Beau and Brad’s chatter and laughter drifted in through the open kitchen window as they emerged from the hangar and strode over to the helipad.
Nadia turned back to face him. ‘Beau is a great kid. From what you’ve told me and from what I’ve seen, he has nowhere near the issues Monica had, and you’re recognising the need to help him now. You made him accountable by having him write the letter of apology and work around the airbase. Mum could’ve taken my sister back to the shop she stole from, made her do the same. She could’ve made her accountable for any number of things, but she didn’t; she couldn’t bear to make things any harder.’
‘I didn’t enjoy having to punish him,’ said Hudson, ‘but I know it’s way better than the alternative.’
‘Who would’ve thought Conrad might have helped someone, gone easy on them?’
‘Not me, that’s for sure.’
‘Beau seems to be loving his time here, despite the work you’re making him do.’
‘He is, and I don’t mind telling you that that was unexpected – at first, I thought he’d moan every minute he was here, but slowly I think he started taking it in, and somewhere along the line, he got really interested. For years, I’ve been telling him about The Skylarks and the airbase and everything that goes on here, but he never really wanted to listen. Until now.’
‘Maybe it’s a bit like schoolwork – not all kids learn well in the classroom; sometimes taking them outside and having them see things for real can make the difference.’
‘He said that he’d like to carry on volunteering. Although he added the caveat that he wouldn’t want to be here quite so often and do quite so much scrubbing.’
‘There’s plenty we can involve him in. Actually, I need someone to hold a collection pot outside the supermarket on Thursday, late afternoon, for an hour to give the volunteer I have down a break. Do you think he’d do it?’
‘Would you ask him? It’ll sound better coming from you.’
‘Of course.’ She looked across at him. ‘Do you think he’ll ever say who the other kids who were part of the hoax were?’
Hudson shook his head. ‘He says they’ll make his life a misery at school if he does.’
‘Poor kid. Taking all the responsibility rather than sharing it by telling us who else was involved. You’ve raised a good boy there.’
He sat back, let out a long breath. ‘Parenting is the toughest job I’ve ever had. I’m not sure I’m going survive it, if I’m honest.’
‘You’re doing better than you think.’
He waited a beat. ‘Any word from Monica?’
She shook her head. ‘I’m trying to return to normal.’
‘But you can’t. You know that, don’t you?’
‘I do.’
‘Do you think she’ll show up here?’
‘I’m not sure.’ Nadia frowned. ‘I don’t understand why she didn’t come out of hiding when she knew Archie was here looking for her.’
‘You think this is all a game?’
