“Well. It’s a great town for him to grow up in. He can play out without me being worried about traffic or strangers and he’s just seemed so settled since we came here. Settled for Milo, you know. He had a hard time in his previous school.” She gave him a little smile and stepped away. “I’m keeping you talking and I’m sure you have stuff you should be doing.”
Jonny felt his shoulders relax. Milo’s mum clearly wasn’t interested in monopolising his time. There was an air about her that was as timid as her son seemed, still standing on the periphery, smiling and offering a few carefully considered words to his new friends. Jonny would speak to Charlie about him later, find out if he was being picked on by anyone or if Charlie wanted to have him over for dinner one night or a sleepover.
“How come you moved to Severton?” He ignored her last comments.
She gave the slight smile again. “I needed to move away from Manchester. I’d split up with Milo’s father and it wasn’t amicable. Milo was finding school hard because of the split so I started looking and found the perfect job here.”
“Which is what?”
She laughed quietly. “I’m the master distiller at Gran’s Gin.”
It was Jonny’s turn to laugh. “Really? You make gin for a living?”
She nodded. “What else do you do with a PhD in microbiology? I was chief brewer at one of the big breweries in Manchester before. It’s an interesting job. Milo told me you were a firefighter?”
“I’m station manager for Severton and District.”
“Tough job. Thank you for what you do.”
Jonny smiled. He was used to the thanks, most of the time. “I enjoy it. All I ever wanted to do. If you ask any of the large boys over there they’ll tell you I had a habit of starting fires when I was a kid.”
“He was a pyromaniac.” Rayah’s voice filtered in from behind them. “He set a barn on fire once, but then managed to put it out before the fire brigade arrived. The only casualties were his eyebrows.”
Jonny laughed, turning to see Rayah. She was in her usual jeans and sweater, her hair curling down her back. She’d been at the sports club since school had finished that afternoon, getting the decorations up and organising snacks for parents. As usual, she’d been a godsend.
“And they grew back.” He lifted one brow, a talent he was proud of. “Is Harry okay?” He hadn’t seen his middle child for at least half an hour, not that he was worried. Harry was most likely leading some form of trouble somewhere on one of the pitches.
“He’s with my uncle, doing something that involves an alpaca.” Rayah rolled her eyes.
“Is the alpaca okay?”
Rayah shrugged. “It’s probably going to be mentally scarred. Isn’t there some covenant on the area that forbids alpacas from being kept here?”
Milo’s mum was trying not to laugh too hard, not realising that this was Rayah’s sense of humour.
“I doubt it. When the rules of this town were set, they were probably carved in stone.” Jonny grinned at her.
“The alpacas are great. Although I did find two in my garden yesterday.” Milo’s mum didn’t sound too unhappy. “You teach at the primary school, don’t you?”
Rayah offered her hand. “I do. But the younger end. Your son’s in year six, I think?”
Milo’s mum nodded. “He is. I can’t believe how quick it’s gone. I’m Robyn, by the way. Robyn Matthews.”
Jonny stepped back, wondering if he should leave the two women to bond.
His mind was made up for him when Rayah dragged him back into the conversation.
“It’s good to meet you. How are you finding Severton? Have you had a tour yet?”
Robyn shook her head. “Not really. I’m not sure there’s a lot to see.”
“There isn’t, but there’s a lot of history to know. Jonny here would be one of the best people to give you a tour.” Rayah’s smile was that of a demon. “And you’d be doing him a favour: he doesn’t get out much.”
Jonny stared at Rayah, hoping he was communicating the pain she’d be in later when he’d organised a suitable revenge. He was just about to say something when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. The number he saw on it made him groan.
“I thought you weren’t on call?” Rayah’s words were low and quiet, barely audible over the hubbub of the sports’ club.
“I’m not. But if something’s going tits up and Leo can’t be reached then I’m next.” He answered. “Yeah, hello?”
