‘The one thing we can’t have happen is Michel turning up and you looking like a walking, talking fashion alert,’ Hayley stated, trying to lighten the mood.
She lifted her eyes from the plaits and looked at Angel’s reflection.Her daughter was tight-lipped and lacking the enthusiasm that had oozed so readily when this trip was planned after ice skating.
This was going to be the only real time she had let Angel go. She was about to entrust a man she barely knew to take her daughter into the heart of a heaving, over-populated metropolis. The school day trip to the science museum in London had set her teeth on edge when Angel was seven, but this was something else completely.
‘So where did he say he’s taking you?’ Hayley asked, slipping the three strands of hair together.
She knew exactly where Michel planned to take Angel. There was no way she’d let him have her without knowing every stop on the agenda and a definite time to be back home. But she wanted to hear it from Angel. Hope the planned activities would reignite her spirit.
‘On a horse and carriage ride and then lunch at the House of Sandwich,’ Angel said, her voice monotone.
‘Let’s have a little more feeling for those horses. They work hard every day of the year. Do you want to take a carrot?’ Hayley suggested.
Angel shook her head.
‘Keep still or these plaits are going to fall out and you might end up with the soft perm look like her.’ Hayley moved her eyes towards the photo of Shirley Bassey.
‘What are we going to talk about?’ Angel blurted out.
Hayley let out a rush of air as she tied one plait into place. ‘Angel Walker, if there’s one thing you’ve always been excellent at, it’s talking.’ Hayley smiled. ‘I’ve been coaching you in this area for years.’
Angel met her eyes in the mirror then. ‘We’ve only talked about drawing and stuff… and you were there last time.’
Hayley let go of Angel’s second pigtail and put both of her hands on her daughter’s shoulders.
‘Is that what you’re worried about? Being with Michel on your own?’ Hayley asked softly.
‘No,’ Angel answered immediately. It was obvious the real answer was yes.
Hayley swallowed. What should she do here? Her maternal instincts were telling her to bundle Angel up in a hug and tell her she’d come along too; the other part of her was advising she didn’t do that just yet.
‘Well, you always tell me about school. I bet Michel would love to hear about the time that boy brought in a photo of the Chelsea football club owner when you were doing about the Romans.’
The beginnings of a smiled formed on Angel’s lips.
‘Or you could tell him about the brilliant firework display we went to this year. Eating toffee apples until our teeth stuck together.’
Angel shook her head.
‘Keep still. I’m nearly done.’ Hayley tied up the plait.
‘Will you come with us, Mum?’
Angel’s plea tugged at her but she maintained what she hoped was an unreadable expression as Angel surveyed her in the mirror.
Oliver was seeing his mother tonight so Hayley planned to stay in with her ideas book and notes for the fundraiser then Dean’s cable channels until Angel got home. The ice-skating had been so much more than circles around the rink. It had seemed to start a new phase for everyone. Michel had delighted in Angel. Father and daughter with pink cheeks and excited eyes as they raced each other around the ice and Oliver had joined in too. He and Angel had paired up to beat Michel when the cones came out and a slalom ensued. He was good with her. He made her laugh. He was making it look like he wasn’t trying too hard. And it seemednatural, no matter how crazy the whole situation really was. And itreallywas. She swallowed. There were moments when she thought about what it would be like to lose Oliver, if this faulty gene claimed him. She tightened the band on Angel’s hair. She tried not to let those thoughts seep too deep. She’d only just found him. She wasn’t about to give up easily.
The buzz of the intercom broke the silence.
‘He’s here,’ Angel whispered.
Hayley turned her daughter around to face her.
‘Listen,’ she paused. ‘This is exciting! This is your dad, taking you out!’ She took another breath. ‘I searched for months for him and… Oliver looked too,’ Hayley added.
‘He did?’ There was surprise on Angel’s face.
‘Yes, he did. So, you see, a lot of people have been wanting to get you your Christmas wish, Angel.’
