‘I kind of do though, that’s the point. I’ve spent so long covering war, trauma and death and making a living from it, I need to give back. Something that doesn’t just raise awareness of what’s happening in the world but something to redress the balance.’
‘I stand by my statement.’ Without thinking twice Sylvie raised herself up and planted a light kiss on his cheek. It wasn’t until she had both feet on the floor and saw his face that she realized what she had just done. Talk about mixed messages. Shit, she’d have to talk to him again later, a bit less frenetically maybe. He smiled at her but it wasn’t too hard to read the confusion in his eyes, even in the dark November night. She was an idiot! Why had she done that? A bing from his phone sounded.
‘Right, that’ll be my call to action. Best go sort out these fireworks.’
‘OK, go do your bonfire duty, and come track us down when you’re done.’
‘Will do.’ Alex leant forward for a millisecond as if he were about to return the kiss. Then he pulled himself back, and theystood looking at each other, a pause as the world carried on bustling around them. Then he gave her a great big beam and headed off.
Sylvie watched him go and turned to see Ellie and Sam had pulled in a large gaggle of children to listen to her talk about the orphanage, showing them pictures of her old home and waving her arms about furiously. She really was quite something, Sylvie wouldn’t be surprised if she was ruling the world by thirty. Her audience were rapt before going to get their mothers and put money into the jar. It soon filled up and one of Marion’s minions, dressed in exactly the same magpie dress but in a slightly more subtle shade, emptied the jar twice over simply in the time that Ellie held court by it.
Eventually the children were ready to leave the marquee and go and stand as the bonfire appeared to kick into life. They crossed the field together, with Sylvie stopping to talk to other parents who wanted to congratulate her on her new ballet school venture or, in some cases, tell her how she was the talk of the dinner table after her PE lessons, with the children loving what they were doing. It was these moments that made her heart swell and her face glow, unable to believe how quickly she had slotted in to this marvellous school community.
A gaggle of children from Class One, who had all donated their money earlier, were now swaggering around the field, parents loosely behind, letting the children revel in their new-found independence now they went to big school. Ellie rushed to join them, dragging Sam behind her as they shouted over their shoulders for permission.
‘Mum, can we join the others, please?’ Sam called as he was helter-skeltered across the field by his best friend.
‘Yes, can we, Sylvie?’ Ellie called and then after a millisecond’s pause, ‘Pleeease.’ Sylvie shouted yes back, noting how Ellie might still be the confident young girl she had met onthe beach but now had slightly improved manners and a clear skill for fundraising.
Sylvie was desperate for the loo, and had been since arrival, so as the flames of the bonfire licked the sky and the children reached it, pausing to stare in awe as the orange and yellow leapt and danced and filled the inky black, she asked one of the other mothers to keep her eyes peeled whilst she jogged to the staff loos inside. As she headed in that direction she caught a glimpse of Alex, his frame outlined by one of the orange strings of light, casting his shadow long and tall. He really was something else. It felt like every time she saw him the breath was knocked from her body. She needed to get a grip on that.
Right now, he was standing with Rosy and her partner, the three were laughing and she could see even from here, with his face illuminated, that Alex was looking very pleased with himself. She stood and watched as he shook the curly-haired man’s hand and clasped him on the shoulder and then bent and gave their head teacher a peck on the cheek before, presumably, moving off to fulfil more of his bonfire duties. She jerked herself away from the scene and entered the building; with so many parents and children milling about the field the silence of the school in comparison to the buzz outside was notable.
The minute her mind felt the silence it decided to fill the gap by suddenly working itself into a frenzy with regards to Alex and his remark to Marion –Sylvie has made it quite clear. What did he mean by that? He hadn’t said,Neither of us feel that way, Marion. Nor had he said,I like her as a friend but she doesn’t do anything for me in any other way. He had laid it at her door, as if the only reason was her objection. Could that mean that he wouldn’t be averse should she have said something different, had she let Marion continue in her matchmaking plans? No, of course not, that was stupid. She had good reasons for keeping Alex at arm’s length when it came to sex and nothing hadhappened to change that. The children were still the children and the absolute priority here. Sam was the one she had to put above all else. And Sam needed security, not her marching ‘daddies’ through the door. Not even one. Lust-filled hope was not going to be of practical help to anybody.
Chapter Twenty-nine
Sylvie wove through the hall, the bright light of the school a sudden shock after the dark outside. She smiled as she walked past the primary colours of the gym bars folded against the wall – they did love those bars – her feet clacking loudly across the wood of the floor when she heard voices.
‘I couldn’t believe it when I saw you the other day. You’re still a damn fine woman, despite all the years passing. Rather like a fine wine.’
‘Why could you not believe it? Did you not think Richard and I would last? That he wouldn’t be willing to marry me?’ The language, although combative, had a distinct coquettish tone.
‘I had hoped you wouldn’t be willing to marry him. He always had very good taste – there’s nothing as attractive as a capable woman, Marion, and you are very capable. I suppose had he not, someone else would have snapped you up, so I should be grateful that he kept you in our circle.’
‘Well, exactly. Had I not married him, I wouldn’t be here having this conversation with you, would I?’ Marion’s giggle, her most simpering one, bounced off the walls of the small cloakroom, the echo making it even louder, and more irritating than usual. ‘Although hardly in your circle, I haven’t seen you for years and we’re not exactly a regular feature on your Christmas-card list.’
‘Well, I would love to makeyoua regular feature.’
Oh, gross. Sylvie hurried past. She had heard that Marion was a little predatory but from the second-hand snippets Alexhad gleefully shared with her she had thought she adored her husband and was faithful. However, seeing as she had spent all day bitching about Marion’s snap judgements maybe she shouldn’t make them either. Just because someone was having some kind of assignation amongst the children’s coat pegs, didn’t mean she was automatically unfaithful. Anything could be happening.
As she came back she could still hear them, and it appeared from the change in tone of Marion and her friend, that anything actually was.
‘So where is your husband, leaving you alone at the mercy of all the wolves?’
‘You’re hardly a wolf, Hector, and he’s working very hard at the moment. If you must know he’ll be back Friday night. We’re thinking of having a weekend break, Venice maybe.’
‘Venice, can he not do better? I would whisk you off for more than a couple of days, you only have to say the word.’
‘As flattering as that is, I think not. I really must get back – these sorts of events don’t run themselves.’
‘I’m not stopping you.’
Marion tinkled her laugh, but this time Sylvie wondered if she could detect a more nervous element than flirtatious this time. ‘Actually, you are. If you just moved your arm then I could get past. If I didn’t run off with you at the age of nineteen I’m hardly likely to now.’ Sylvie really wanted to carry on walking, and whilst there was no sound of real panic in Marion’s tone, girl code dictated that she step in and make sure.
Bracing herself and taking a deep breath she walked through into the cloakroom to see Marion hemmed in against the pegs and Hector grinning with his arm outstretched against the wall, slightly blocking her in. There wasn’t a feel of menace, and Marion didn’t look particularly relieved to see her, so Sylviewondered if she had misread the situation and there was all manner of subtext that she was not privy to or able to interpret.
‘Hi, Marion, thought I heard you. I was wondering if you needed any help with anything whilst I’ve got a minute?’
