Leave it to Eva (12 page)

Chapter Nineteen

N
ext morning I helped Kate to get ready for her meeting with the foster family.

‘You should wear your new jeans,’ I said. ‘And I can lend you that green top you’ve always liked.’

Kate put on the clothes and looked at herself critically in the mirror.

‘I feel like I’m going on trial. It’s like an
X-Factor
audition or something.’

‘That’s totally ridiculous,’ I said, like I hadn’t already thought the exact same thing. ‘Anyway, if anyone is going to be on trial today, it has to be the family. You’re trying them out to see if
they’re
good enough for
you
.’

‘But—’

I didn’t let her finish. ‘You’re an amazing girl, Kate,’ I said. ‘And this family will be very lucky if you agree to live with them.’

Suddenly Kate ran from the room. When she came back a few minutes later, she had messed up her hair, and she was wearing one of her old tracksuits that looked crumpled and dirty.

She sat on the bed and folded her arms defiantly.

‘I might not have a choice,’ she said. ‘But the family will. If I make them hate me, they won’t take me, and that will be the end of that.’

‘But that’s not a solution. You have to live somewhere – there’s no way you’ll be allowed to stay on your own, and we’re leaving next week, and …’

I stopped talking when I saw that tears were rolling down Kate’s face. I ran over and hugged her for a long time.

Finally she pulled away, and gazed at me with the saddest eyes I’d ever seen.

I tried to smile. ‘It’ll be fine, Kate,’ I said. ‘Nicola told Mum that the family you’re meeting today is really nice. They’re called the Dalys. They have heaps of pets – and you like animals, so that’s all good. And anyway, in a few months time, Martha will be well enough to come home, and then everything will be fine again. Try and be brave, Kate, please.’

‘Sure,’ said Kate, wiping her eyes. ‘I can do brave – after all, I’ve had plenty of practice.’

By the time Tom and Nicola arrived to bring Kate to meet the Dalys, she had changed back into the nice clothes, and fixed her hair. She’d washed her face, and her eyes were only slightly red.

‘All set?’ asked Tom as we stood at the door.

Kate just stared at him, and didn’t answer.

‘I know you’re nervous,’ said Nicola. ‘And that’s understandable, but Tom and I will do all we can to make things easy for you.’

Still Kate said nothing.

‘The Dalys live only a few miles from here,’ said Tom. ‘You’ll still be able to hang out with your friends and, after the holidays, you can go back to your own school.’

‘You can bring all your own things with you, so it won’t feel too strange,’ said Nicola.

‘And we’ll arrange for you to visit Martha too,’ added Tom.

It was like they were both competing, to see who’d be the first to make Kate smile. I could have warned them that they were wasting their time. When Kate’s decided to sulk, nothing will make her change her mind.

Tom and Nicola walked towards the car.

I hugged Kate.

‘It’ll be fine,’ I said. ‘Trust me.’

And then I wondered why she should possibly
trust me since I’d gone behind her back and then failed miserably in my attempt to help her.

Two hours later, Kate was back. Nicola and Tom went to talk to Mum and Dad, and Kate sat outside in the garden with me. Her face had the blank, secretive look that I remembered from the summer before.

‘So how did it go?’ I asked. ‘What was the family like?’

‘It went fine and the family was fine,’ said Kate.

Over the next twenty minutes, I tried lots of different questions, but I didn’t get any more information. Talking to Kate was like shouting into a cave. My own questions came bouncing back, just ever-so-slightly changed. I did my best, but I was kind of relieved when Kate said she wanted to go inside and be on her own for a while.

When Nicola and Tom left, Mum came out to the garden. ‘It’s all sorted,’ she said. ‘Nicola has to do some paperwork, but that won’t take long. As soon as it’s finished, Kate can move in with the Dalys.’

‘But that’s so sad,’ I said.

Mum sighed. ‘I know it seems that way right now, Eva, but it’s the best possible solution. The Dalys are a really lovely family, and they’re very much looking forward to having Kate stay with them.’

I thought of Kate’s sullen face, and her almost rude answers. I knew the real Kate, but if I didn’t I’m not sure I’d be happy at the thought of looking at that sulky expression all day long.

Mum must have read my mind. ‘Foster families get a lot of training. They’ll understand why Kate is upset.’

‘You’re sure?’

‘Sure I’m sure. Remember what Kate was like last year, but you still managed to see through
to the lovely girl underneath. They’ll work it out. Just you wait and see.’

A few days later, Kate was ready to leave. When her bags were packed and waiting in the hall, there was still an hour to go until Nicola was due to pick her up.

We stood and looked at each other, and I wondered desperately how we were going to pass the long minutes.

In the end, Mum came to the rescue.

‘Why don’t you go and call for Lily?’ she asked.

I totally wished that I could.

‘She’s gone to visit her cousins in Dublin,’ I said.

‘Well, looking at each other with long faces isn’t helping anyone,’ said Mum. ‘You two had better go somewhere and do something, or I’ll have to ask you to do the ironing.’

Kate and I both hate ironing, so there was no need for discussion.

‘We’re going,’ I said, as I raced towards the door with Kate following close behind me.

When we got outside, we looked at each other again.

‘Come on,’ said Kate with a sigh. ‘Let’s go say goodbye to Jeremy.’

I followed her along the familiar road to her favourite field and her favourite tree. Kate flung herself on to the grass, and I lay beside her. For a while we lay in silence, watching the leaves rustling over our heads.

It was hard to know what to say.

I’d already said ‘it’ll be fine’ a million times.

And a million times, Kate had shrugged and not answered, almost like she didn’t care anyway.

Suddenly Kate sat up and stared at me.

‘Last year,’ she said.

‘Last year what?’

‘Last year, when the developers were
threatening to cut Jeremy down, there didn’t seem to be any hope of saving him. But you found a way, Eva. Against all the odds, you found a way to save Jeremy.’

‘It wasn’t just me,’ I said, embarrassed. ‘It was you, and my parents, and Martha and Lily and the locals, and the tourists and …’

‘But it was mostly you,’ she said. ‘It was amazing. It was just like magic. So …’

‘So what?’

Now she looked embarrassed too. ‘Now I need you to work your magic again. The Dalys are a nice family, but I don’t want to live with strangers. I just want to stay here until Martha gets better, and you’re the only one who can help me. Please, Eva, can’t you think of anything?’

I looked at her and thought I was going to die of sadness. Apart from stupid, hopeless plans of running away, I couldn’t think of a single thing to help her.

‘I’m so sorry, Kate.’ I said. ‘I’m all out of
amazing magic plans.’

She shrugged and tried to smile. ‘That’s OK,’ she said.

Then I knew the time had come to be honest. ‘There’s another thing too, Kate,’ I said, as I sat up. ‘But if I say it, you might hate me.’

‘But you’re my best friend. I’d never hate you.’

I wasn’t so sure, but I couldn’t pretend any more.

‘I don’t want to help you.’ An angry look flashed across her face, but I knew I had to continue. ‘What I mean is, I
do
want to help you, but if I did, I’d be doing the wrong thing. You see, I know you’re scared of going to live with the Daly’s – and that’s perfectly normal. I’d feel the same.’

‘But?’ Her face was blank again.

‘But living with the Dalys is going to be a million times better than staying on your own. I couldn’t bear for you to spend another single night inside that dark and empty house. So,
even if I came up with the most amazing escape plan in the world, I wouldn’t share it with you.’

Kate was quiet for a long time. I lay down again and gazed up at the rustling leaves. I wondered if I’d managed to ruin our friendship forever.

Then, after ages and ages, she spoke in a quiet voice.

‘Thank you for being honest,’ she said.

I felt sick. If I was so honest, how come I couldn’t mention the small detail of her dad’s new wife and their totally sweet new baby?

An hour later, I watched the back of Kate’s head, as Nicola drove her away to her new home.

‘Why isn’t she waving?’ asked Joey. ‘Has she forgotten about us already?’

‘No,’ said Mum, patting his head. ‘She hasn’t forgotten us. She’s probably just excited.’

Joey was satisfied with that explanation, but I
knew Mum hadn’t been telling the truth. Kate was too proud to let us see her tears.

‘Bye, Kate,’ I whispered, and then I went to my room and stared at the ceiling for a very long time.