‘Fabulous, Sylvie, I’d really appreciate that. Although I’ll pick her up when I’m finished so you won’t have her all night. Thank you.’
‘But…’
‘Marion, I’m so grateful to you but I just can’t keep taking, it doesn’t sit right. You’ve done so much, please allow me to let Sylvie share some of the burden.’ Jesus, he didn’t dare look at his friend or his faux sincerity would disappear and he’d be in giggles instead. Manly giggles, but giggles nonetheless.
‘I’ll just go and let them know.’ Sylvie grinned at the both of them and hotfooted out to the garden to give the children the news and seal the deal. Alex thought Sam would be pleased and he was fairly certain Ellie would prefer it to playing with Marion’s sons. He hadn’t spent much time with them but the village grapevine said they were more than a bit of a handful. He was fairly sure he had heard a tale recently about the middle one, Rupert, having set fire to the vicar’s shed.
‘Are you sure Sylvie is the influence you want around Ellie, dear?’ Marion took advantage of Sylvie’s absence to dig the knife in, pulling at her own shirt as she did so and doing weird stuff with her eyebrows. Whatwasher problem?
‘Yes, pretty sure, thank you, Marion.’ Alex’s attention was distracted by a whole lot of whooping, and he even thought he heard Sam join in – he hadn’t had him down as a natural whooper – when Ellie came steamrollering into the house and launched at him with such force he nearly toppled over.
‘Is it true, am I really going on a sleepover to Sam’s? Really?’
Alex laughed at her enthusiasm. It was impossible not to, she was utterly contagious. However, he still needed to peel her off him; slate floors did not make a soft landing for either of them, and she was rocking back and forth making them both teeter.
‘Yes, yes, yes. Not all night, I’ll come and get you, but you’ll probably fall asleep there. If that’s OK with Marion?’ He felt abit guilty now, it felt like out-and-out manipulation and it was. But his daughter trumped all and she would not only be happier, but potentially a lot safer, at Sylvie’s farm. She could attempt to ride a combine harvester and even still it would be a safer something than spending time with Rufus, Rupert and Rafe.
‘Well, she clearly wants to, although my boys will be disappointed.’
Yeah, damn right they will. Her boys would have probably tied her to a train track and twirled their pre-pubescent imaginary moustaches. He had never been that comfortable with it as an idea but as with the date he had been steamrollered into it. This was a much better solution and one he wished he had thought of himself.
Sylvie and Sam reappeared from the garden just in time to hear him muttering apologies to Marion and hoping that the boys would be so busy with their clubs they would forgive him this once.
‘So, go and pack a bag and get yourself ready then.’ He addressed his daughter, having safely got her to the floor. She nodded quickly, as she did everything, and turned to her friend.
‘OK, Sam, you’d better come and help me. I need to know what toys you have. Should we bring some of mine? Do you have a TV in your room? I’ve got my own Netflix account you know… although Dad has a silly rule about watching it in bed. Does your mum?’ Her voice, seemingly never stopping, continued as she led her friend up the stairs and off to get her pyjamas.
‘Well, I suppose I had better go then.’ Marion addressed the both of them, still looking a little shell-shocked. Alex wondered if she had ever been team-tagged quite so effectively before. Hats off to Sylvie; he doubted anyone else would have been so brave.
‘Once again, Marion, I’m so sorry, but thank you anyway.’
She pasted the big Marion beam back onto her face, and grinned at him, managing to exclude Sylvie utterly as she spoke.
‘Absolutely no worries, Alex, so lovely to have you in the village. Now, all you have to do is enjoy yourself tonight, and in Claudia’s company, you certainly will. Charming girl and absolutely perfect for you.’ At this point she did manage to shoot a triumphant look at the redhead still standing beside him, before turning on her heel and letting herself back out again.
As soon as she had gone he turned to Sylvie and the two dissolved into giggles; it was like being back at school. He couldn’t remember the last time he had laughed like that, although it was partly out of relief as much as anything else.
‘Thank you. I was more worried about Ellie than I was the actual date.’
‘Well, now you don’t need to worry about Ellie and you can concentrate on panicking yourself stupid about Claudia.’ She pronounced his date’s name with that sing-song voice you used in primary school but before he could comment about her being a cat she carried on speaking.
‘Although I don’t understand why I can’t have Ellie all night. If this date goes well you don’t want to be rushing back to pick her up in the middle of the night. Once she’s asleep she may as well stay asleep and you can come and get her in the morning. That way you can have a drink, relax, enjoy yourself. Driving to the farm at silly o’clock makes no sense.’
‘I know, and that would be really nice, but I just can’t.’
‘There’s no such thing as just can’t.’
‘Ooh, you sound like a teacher already.’
‘Haha. Doesn’t stop me being right though.’
‘As much as I suspect you’re always right, in this situation you don’t have all the facts.’
‘Never stopped me before,’ Sylvie retorted in full imp mode. She really was adorable.
‘I don’t doubt it. But Ells, well, not so often now, but she has night terrors, not nightmares, night terrors. She used to wake up screaming and screaming. Admittedly she is loads better, but it’s still a huge risk. It used to be all through the night, every forty-five minutes or so when I first brought her home, but now it’s a couple of times a week max and we have a system in place. Her counsellor says it’s normal in kids who have had a traumatic start, and trust me, Ellie had a traumatic start and…’ He paused. Everyone always wanted to know all the details but Sylvie didn’t interrupt him in a quest to find out more, she just waited for him to continue. ‘…and I will tell you more but not today, but she could well wake the whole farm and that’s too big an ask. It’s possible that without the security of our routine it could easily trigger her. She may want to be in her own bed.’
‘OK, well, you know your daughter best, but at some point she is going to want to sleep away from you and Iama safe place. Sam will be fine. If he can sleep through the cows mooing as they go to be milked – and they’re noisy buggers, let me tell you – and the cock crowing, he can sleep through almost anything. And I’ll be there to reassure her and get her back to sleep. Again, it’s up to you, maybe let this be a test run. I’m saying I don’t mind being woken. You know Ellie feels safe with Sam and me, and if it gets too bad I’ll call you from your slumber with Claudia.’
