I waved back. I’d not spent as much time with Mr Gold as I had with his wife but he seemed nice enough.
‘Are you off to work?’ he called, patting the roof of the car. ‘Would you like a lift?’
‘Really?’
‘Of course. I borrowed this from work. They said I could use it for as long as I needed.’
‘That’s kind of them. They must think a lot of you.’
‘Oh I’m just a small cog in a large wheel,’ he said. He opened the passenger door. ‘I’ll take you to the hospital.’
‘If you’re sure?’
‘Clara would be furious with me if she knew I’d seen you and not offered.’ He gave me a little smile and tipped his head towards the window. ‘She’s probably watching us now.’
‘That’s very nice of you,’ I said. ‘Thank you.’
I got in while Mr Gold held my bag – which was extra heavy because it was full of the new notebook and the pencils Mrs Gold had given me – and I arranged my coat so it didn’t get stuck in the door, and then he handed the bag back for me to hold it on my lap.
He got into the driver’s seat and started the engine. ‘I wanted to say thank you for keeping Clara company when I have to work,’ he said, pulling away from the kerb slightly jerkily. ‘She doesn’t like being in the shelter on her own.’
‘Nor do I,’ I said. ‘We help each other.’
‘Well it means a lot to me,’ he said. ‘To both of us.’
‘Likewise.’
He nodded. ‘What do you think of the old girl?’
‘What do I think of Mrs Gold?’ I asked in alarm and he laughed heartily.
‘No, what do you think of the car.’
‘Gosh, thank goodness.’ I laughed too. ‘It’s very nice,’ I lied because one car was very much like another in my mind.
‘I can’t believe you thought I called my wife “the old girl”,’ said Mr Gold, still chuckling.
I smiled at him, though his eyes were fixed on the road as we turned the corner. Still smiling, I looked out of my window and there, standing at the end of the road, was Jackson. He was watching the car as we passed, and his face was twisted in fury.I felt a sudden lurch of fear. Was it me he was angry with? Had he seen me get into the car with Mr Gold? Was that what had made him look so full of rage?
I watched him grow smaller in the car’s wing mirror as Mr Gold drove away from home. I wished that Jackson was really that small and I could squash him with a rolled-up newspaper like a fly.
‘All right?’ Mr Gold said. ‘You looked worried there for a second.’
I forced a smile on to my face. ‘Just thinking about work,’ I lied.
‘Must be hard in the hospital. Busy.’
‘Busier than I could ever have imagined. I can’t believe how many extra beds they’ve squeezed in.’
‘And extra staff to help?’
‘Not enough,’ I said. ‘We always need more nurses, and porters, and cleaners. It’s tough.’
Mr Gold nodded as he slowed down at a junction. ‘These are strange times indeed,’ he said. ‘Strange times.’
Chapter 12
Stephanie
