‘Can you put the Echo down while you’re eating breakfast please?’ he asked.
‘But I want to play with it.’ Matthew threw it up in the air and caught it.
‘Put it down please, Matthew,’ Anthony repeated.
His son threw it up in the air once again, but this time, it slipped out of his hands and fell to the floor.
‘Matthew!’ he yelled. ‘For fuck’s sake!’
His cursing halted his son’s behaviour, just as Jada entered the room. As she dried her damp hair with a towel, she glowered at her husband then guided Matthew out of the room.
Anthony closed his eyes and cursed again, this time under his breath. The burden of knowledge was a heavy weight to carry and he was struggling. At his last London meeting, he’d not only been made privy to plans for children like his son, but he had also been tasked with implementing them. He knew that, in the not-so-distant future, Matthew’s ADHD was going to bring the whole family added complications.
‘Did you have to swear at him?’ asked Jada on her return.
‘He wasn’t listening to me,’ Anthony replied. Her folded arms warned him it was a poor excuse. ‘I’m sorry,’ he conceded. ‘Where is he? I’ll apologize.’
‘Leave him; he’s in his room. Couldn’t you have made a little time to show him how the Echo worked? You know he’s got a curious mind.’
‘I think we should try medication,’ Anthony offered without warning.
Jada frowned. ‘What?’
‘Take him back to the specialist and find a treatment that works for him.’
Jada eyed him suspiciously. ‘Why the one-eighty?’
‘Because you were right. If his school is telling us that he’s being disruptive then we need to do something about it while we still have time.’
‘He’s only seven. His behaviour now isn’t going to determine the rest of his life.’
Anthony shifted awkwardly and Jada caught it. ‘What?’
‘Nothing.’ Anthony shrugged.
‘What are you not telling me?’
‘I’m notnottelling you anything.’
Jada sucked in her cheeks. ‘After two years of opposing meds, you’re expecting me to believe you’ve suddenly had a change of heart with no prompting?’
Anthony hesitated before he nodded. He couldn’t tell her the truth about what he knew.
‘There it is again!’ she persisted. ‘You’re hiding something.’
Anthony looked towards the Audite. ‘You are lying,’ Jada mouthed silently instead.
‘Then that’s wonderful,’ she continued in a tone that didn’t match her expression. ‘I’ll make an appointment with the specialist later in the week.’
‘I’ll come with you.’
‘Don’t worry, you’ll probably have work to do. We’ll be okay on our own. We always are.’
Jada left him alone knowing he had no riposte.
37
Roxi
