“Tender my resignation. Look for a new school, probably out of London. Maybe back here if a vacancy arises. I’d like to see you…”
“As a friend?”
Her laugh this time was full bodied and thick. “No. I don’t think I could just be friends with you. But I can’t make any promises.”
“I know. But are we saying that this is more than just what we’ve had this summer?” The words were on my tongue that I wanted to tell her, but now wasn’t the right time. They were for weeks to come, when she’d made choices without having to consider me. She had to do things for herself.
“We’re more than just a summer fling.”
“Good.” I moved her so we could kiss, not caring that Harry and my nephews would be shrieking with horror if they noticed.
It wasn’t a kiss that led us to the bedroom, or a secluded spot on the beach. It was soft and tender, full of promise and need. It was different to what we’d had before and more powerful than anything I’d known from a woman.
We were interrupted by a scream and then a sob that echoed like thunder through the early evening. We were apart and to our feet before the sound died, our focus on Harry who was lying on the sand clutching his arm.
Janie was looking over him, her face pale. My nephews were standing nearby, one of them crouching, trying to offer what I hoped were words to help him. She beckoned us over.
“Gabe!” Harry saw me first. “My arm hurts. My arm!” There was another yell, this one louder and more blood curdling than before.
“Harry, listen to me.” Anya sat down next to him. “I need to have a look at your arm. Can you move it?”
He tried to, but the movement resulted in another yell.
“Okay, baby. Can you sit up?”
He shook his head.
Janie was doing what she could from behind to examine his arm. I saw her shake her head. “I think we need a trip to the hospital.”
“Broken?” Anya mouthed the word so Harry didn’t understand what they thought had happened.
Janie nodded. “My two, get your things. We’re going to get some dinner and head back to the guesthouse. Anya, will you be okay to take him?”
Anya gave a brief nod of her head and looked at her nephew. “Did you see what happened?”
“He went in for a tackle and slipped. I think he fell funny on that little rock.” My eldest nephew pointed to the rocks next to him. He looked pale and shaken. “We didn’t mean him to get hurt. Will he be okay?”
Harry sobbed louder.
“He will. We’re going to take him to the hospital and get him checked out. But these things happen. Harry, it will be okay. You’re going to have to be brave, like footballers are.” She stroked his head softly. “I need a first aid kit with a sling. That paediatric first aid course might finally come in handy and we can tell Nan that I would’ve made a good nurse after all.”
By this time, a couple of islanders had come over, one with a first aid kit and Anya managed to persuade Harry to move a little so she could support his arm. There was an irregular bend which supported the theory he’d broken it, and it looked like he’d be experiencing a plaster cast at the very least.
“Are you coming to the hospital with us, Gabe?” Harry looked up at me with big eyes. “I don’t want to go with just Auntie Anya. I want someone to sit with me.”
My mouth was grit and sand, my throat tight. I looked from Anya to Janie and back to Harry. I hadn’t been in a car through choice since the crash. Nausea stung the back of my throat.
How do you tell a five-year-old that you can’t get into a moving vehicle because the last time you did your best friend died next to you? How do you tell the woman you think you’re in love with that you can’t do something as simple as support her while she takes her nephew to hospital?
“Please come with me?”
Janie stood up, looking between me and Anya. “Gabe, you look after the boys and I’ll go with Anya.”
“But I want Gabe to!”
“Sorry, buddy.” I crouched down next to him, feeling like a fucking piece of shit that should be flung out to sea. “I need to stay here. How about I take you out for tea tomorrow. Or we have a barbecue at mine with milk shakes and mac and cheese dirty burgers?”
His face lit up because when you were five it was that simple. “Really? Just me and you? No girls allowed?”
