‘Michael…. Michael Knowles?’

‘Yes?’ Michael stares expectantly at the tall broad shouldered man standing on the path outside his front door. His brow furrows slightly, finding the face familiar but unable to place where he might have seen it before.

‘Fantastic!’ Anthony says with bright-eyed enthusiasm then drops his chin to his chest and groans. When he lifts his head again, his smile is broad. ‘Sorry. I came here thinking I might have a real go at you but I can’t’

‘Good. I don’t do lunatics’ Michael closes the door.

Anthony laughs and raps against the glass panel ‘Michael…sorry….look. It’s ok...I’m no loony…I’m your brother!’

He watches the shadow hesitate in the hallway beyond and turn to the door again; the face a hazy blur of a lighter shade behind the patterned glass, becoming clearer as Michael slowly retraces his steps.

‘I know this is one hell of a shock and it’s not how I planned to introduce myself but I couldn’t help it. I’m Anthony. I know you know about me. Can I talk to you?’ He holds his breath and takes a step back, his smile ready as Michael reaches for the deadlock. ‘Michael?’ He looks on helplessly as the arm stills and the shape of Michael’s head and shoulder shows him leaning against the edge of the door. ‘Michael…..I really would like to meet you…’

‘Please go’ the voice sounds muffled ‘It’s nice of you to come…but there’s nothing to be said, not now’

‘That’s where you’re wrong, Mike. Can I call you Mike?’

‘It’s Michael’

‘Fair enough, Michael. Will you open the door?’ Anthony waits for a response but getting none, carries on. ‘You’ve got a sister as well. She lives in Canada now but she wanted you to know that she’s just as thrilled about you as I am …So there you go, I’ve told you’ He waits for a few seconds more. ‘I don’t suppose shock was a strong enough word was it, finding out about Dad and my mother?’ he says with quiet compassion. ‘But he’s heartbroken you took it the way you did. He…’

‘How else was I suppose to take it?’ Michael interrupts tersely.

‘As the truth from someone who loved your Mum more than anything in the world. He’s getting on, Michael, he wanted to put things right before it was too late’

‘It was too late for my mother wasn’t it?’ Michael says bitterly.

Anthony takes a few moments to collect his thoughts. ‘I would have said yes to that if she hadn’t known about Evelyn…. but the reality is that she did. Despite everything, Dad would have left her and us at the drop of a hat if that had been what Eleanor wanted. You won’t know all of what went on between them but I’ve had a while to talk to him….and years of knowing there was someone else in his life..’

‘You knew about my mother?’

‘Yes, I knew there was someone else but I didn’t know who she was …and you came as a complete surprise’

‘Yeah, I bet I did’ Michael agrees sarcastically ‘I don’t suppose I was high on his list of must haves. What a bummer that must’ve been, bit on the side, nice cosy set up and one lousy mistake later…’

‘To me! You were a surprise to me. If you think my father ever thought of you as a mistake then you are very, very wrong! Nothing could be further from the truth’ Anthony begins to lose patience. ‘….and I can damn well prove it if you’d open this bloody door! He loved your mother and he loved you and the least you can do is to make the last few years of his life a damned sight more bearable than they are right now. He’s that upset I doubt he’ll make it through another year if you don’t. He’s given up. He did what he thought was for the best and it’s backfired on him. He was trying to honour your mother’s memory by telling us the truth. That might seem a bit arse up’ards to you and I’m not sure of his reasoning myself but I have accepted that he never meant to upset any of us’

Anthony sighs, realising that any further argument would be futile. ‘Look, I’m not standing here talking through a door.’ He takes a well-filled brown envelope from the inside pocket of his coat and hesitates only briefly before pushing it through the letterbox. ‘You know where Dad is but he’s packing up, ready to leave. The house goes on the market in a few days and he’s coming to live with us. All I’m asking is that you read through what’s in there. Post it back to him when you’ve done, we’ll be arranging for the mail to be redirected. Don’t forget, because that’s all he has left of your mother and it would kill him to lose it…. Remember, when he’s gone, that’s it. It’ll be too late then. It would have been nice to meet you properly…I’ll regret not having done that. Bye Michael’

3 Alfred Street, Leytonmore

Chapter Six

Woodbury General Hospital

Nathan smiles as he looks down the ward. ‘Mate!’ He greets Kester with as big a grin as his stitches and bruising will allow and grasps his hand as soon as he reaches his bed. ‘God, it’s good to see you!’

‘And you’re looking a damned sight better than when I last saw you. How’s it going?’

‘Not as well as it’s going for you by the look of it’ He nods at Kester’s other hand. ‘Hello, Helen’

‘Hello, Nathan’ Helen replies shyly as Kester bends his arm at the elbow, displaying their linked hands with a grin.

‘And about bloody time too!’ Nathan rolls his good eye. ‘Sit down, then. Fetch another chair, Kes. Helen, you sit by me and tell me what he’s got that I haven’t’

‘Wit, charm, intelligence..’ Kester reels off as he brings another chair from the table running along the centre of the ward ‘….and Helen’

A warm glow rises to Helen’s cheeks.

Manor Road, Milliwick

‘Hang on, slow down a sec’ Kester turns in his seat as Helen drives along Manor Road, straining against the seat belt to look behind him. ‘Can you back up?’

Helen looks in the rear-view mirror ‘What’s the matter?’ She brakes and brings the car to a stop, looking over her shoulder as she puts the car into reverse.

Kester laughs ‘It’s Charlene! Back up quick before she gets totally drowned’ He lowers the window as they draw level with the girl trudging along the grass verge, head down and hair hanging in rat’s tails in the pouring rain. ‘Charlene!’ he grins ‘Get in quick for God’s sake’ He reaches behind him to unlock the door.

Charlene squints at him ‘Oh, hello, it’s you, I was just coming to your place weren’t I?’

‘Get in’

‘But I’m wet’

‘That’s the idea…We don’t want you getting any wetter’

Charlene eyes the pristine upholstery of Helen’s car ‘It’s alright…it in’t far’

Helen looks over her shoulder and smiles. ‘It’s fine…honestly. Get in…please’

‘You sure? Me feet are ever so muddy, these heels went right in!’

‘Stick your bum on the seat and take them off’ Kester laughs ‘Hurry up or I’ll be as wet as you are’

‘Stick me bum…on the seat…How am I s’posed to do that without getting me feet in?’

‘Bet you’ve seen those supermodels on the telly do it’

‘Oh yeah!’ Charlene lifts her face and grins. ‘I have’ She opens the door and sits elegantly sideways on the seat. Keeping her knees together, she gracefully pulls her feet into the car and closes the door again. She smiles ‘How was that?’

‘Perfect’ Kester chuckles ‘…. except..’

‘Ooooh noooo!’ Charlene looks down at her feet ‘I’m ever so sorry…’ She bites her lip ‘Really I am…If you’ve got a cloth when we gets to your place’

Helen checks the mirror and pulls out into the road again ‘It really doesn’t matter’ She smiles at Charlene’s reflection ‘It will soon clean…carpets are made to get dirty’

‘I was coming to see you later’ Kester says, turning to talk to her.

‘You was?’

‘I would’ve been before but this is my first real day out of bed. God, look at you’ he laughs ‘you’re soaked!’

‘I said I was. I didn’t have no money for a taxi so I thought what I’d get a bus, see how you were and that but some little bugger must’ve stole me purse, cos when I went to pay for me fare, it weren’t there. I’d only got a few odd bits in me pocket and it didn’t pay enough to get me all the way here. Flipping driver made me get off when me ticket run out…..and he were a friend a me mum’s an’ all. It was absolutely peeing down. My mum won’t half tell him off when she sees him.’

‘However far have you walked?’ Helen asks

‘Don’t s’pose it was that far really but in these shoes I couldn’t really go very fast…Sorry…I don’t know what your name is’

‘It’s Helen, and I’ve heard a lot about you. It’s really nice to meet you again’

‘Oh, yeah….again…you was that lady at Jester’s granny’s, weren’t you?’

‘That’s right’ Helen signals to turn into the driveway of Tawny House.

‘What’ve you heard about me?’ Charlene asks cautiously.

‘About the way you saved Nathan and Kester. I don’t think I would have been so quick thinking’

‘You were brilliant’ Kester agrees, throwing a broad smile over his shoulder. ‘Right, here we go’ he says, unbuckling his seat belt as they pull to a stop in the courtyard. ‘Stay here while I get the door open’. With his key at the ready, he gets from the car, slamming the door behind him and hurrying with his shoulders hunched and head down against the rain to the shallow porch of the annexe.

‘Int he nice?’ Charlene sighs from the back seat.

Helen nods agreement and smiles ‘Ready to run?’

‘I can’t get no wetter’ Charlene grimaces.