Leave it to Eva (13 page)

Chapter Twenty

T
he next few days were weird. Lily was still away visiting her cousins and without her and Kate, Seacove was just a boring village by the sea. A few times I was so fed up I even volunteered to play Monopoly with Joey.

Then, on the last night of my holidays, Ruby came to stay over, and I was totally glad to see her.

‘I’m so glad you invited me,’ she said. ‘I leave for London in a few days, and I wanted to see you before I go.’

‘Are you excited?’

‘Yeah, excited and a bit scared. Mostly excited
though. I know it’s going to be amazing, and if it weren’t for you, it wouldn’t be happening.’

‘Well I’m glad I was able to help someone,’ I said.

‘How’s Kate?’ asked Ruby, guessing what I was thinking of.

I told her all about the foster family.

‘So basically, I wasted your time in London,’ I said. ‘I didn’t manage to change anything.’

‘But you did your best,’ she said. ‘And that means something.’

‘Does it?’

She nodded. ‘And besides, foster care isn’t so bad.’

Something in her voice made me look up.

‘You sound like you know that from personal experience.’

‘When Mum had her accident, she was in hospital for months, and there was no one to mind me and Jenny, so …’

‘But you never said.

She giggled. ‘You never asked.’

‘So what was it like?’

She shrugged. ‘It was OK. I missed Mum and our house like crazy, but the foster family was really nice. I still visit them sometimes. Kate will be fine, you’ll see.’

‘I just wish I knew that for sure. I have no way of contacting her until I get the Dalys’ phone number and …’

Just then my phone rang.

‘It’s an unknown number,’ I said. ‘It’s probably Joey and some of his friends playing one of their not-funny tricks.’

But it was Kate.

‘It’s so good to hear from you,’ I said. ‘Whose phone are you using?’

‘It’s mine. Joan and Denis bought it for me.’

‘Joan and Denis?’

‘The Dalys.’

I grinned. If
The Dalys
had turned into
Joan and Denis
already, that had to be good news.

‘Anyway,’ she said. ‘What time are you leaving tomorrow? Joan and Denis said they’ll bring me to Seacove to pick up a few things from home, and if you’re still there, we can hang out for a bit.’

‘We’re not going till after lunch.’

‘Perfect. See you at eleven then.’

And before I could say any more, she hung up.

Ruby left early the next morning, and I waited very impatiently for Kate.

When she arrived, we hugged for a long time. Then I stepped away and looked at her.

She wasn’t fully back to normal, but her eyes were a bit brighter, and I could see tiny traces of the clever, funny girl I’d known the year before.

‘Let’s go visit Jeremy,’ she said. ‘He’ll be really surprised to see me again so soon.’

A few minutes later, we were lying on our
usual spot under the tree.

‘So tell me everything,’ I said.

‘What’s to tell? Joan and Denis are really nice, and their house is totally cool. It’s kind of like a mini-zoo. They’ve got three dogs, four cats, heaps of birds and even a pet donkey.’

‘That sounds good.’

‘Sometimes it’s still a bit weird. When I wake up in the mornings, I forget for a minute where I am – and when I remember, it’s …’

‘It’s what?’

‘I don’t know really. Joan and Denis couldn’t be kinder but … it’s just … it’s just that I don’t feel like I’m really at home there.’

‘How do you mean?’

‘I feel like I’ve got to be polite all the time. I’m never sure if it’s OK to wander around in my pyjamas, or if Joan and Denis are going to get mad at me if I lie on the couch watching tv all afternoon.’

‘That sounds kind of normal to me.’

‘Does it?’

I nodded. ‘And remember,’ I said. ‘You’ve only been there for a few days. It’s going to take you a while to settle in properly.’

‘You think so?’

‘I know so.’

She smiled. ‘You’re probably right – anyway, every day is a little bit less strange than the one that went before.’

‘So you’re happy?’

She hesitated for so long before answering, that I had to turn to see if she’d fallen asleep or run away or something.

‘Happy’s a big word,’ she said slowly. ‘It’s like you predicted all the time. Everything’s fine.’

But was fine the best Kate could hope for?

Stories are supposed to end with the heroine living happily ever after.

Was sort-of-happy-ever-after good enough?

Later we walked back home.

‘Mum’s making pancakes,’ I said. ‘Denis and Joan aren’t coming until four, so you’ll have plenty of time to eat some.’

‘Yum,’ said Kate. ‘But first I need to pick up some stuff from my place.’

‘Sure,’ I said, following her.

Then she stopped, embarrassed. ‘I’d kind of like to go on my own,’ she said.

‘Sure,’ I said again. ‘I’ll wait here.’

It was nice sitting on the wall in the sunshine, listening to the birds singing in the hedges.

Then the sound of a car coming along the lane, ruined the peace.

‘That so isn’t fair,’ I muttered, convinced that it was Denis and Joan back too early.

But then the car came closer, and I could see that the only occupant was a man – a familiar man.

But it couldn’t be.

Or could it?

The car came even closer, and at last I could see for sure.

It was Kate’s dad, Patrick.

Chapter Twenty-One

‘O
-mi-god,’ I breathed as the car stopped and Patrick climbed out.

‘You again,’ he said, and I couldn’t tell if he was glad or sad to see me.

I looked desperately towards Kate’s house, but there was no sign of her.

I didn’t know if I wanted her to appear or not.

‘I suppose you’re surprised to see me,’ said Patrick.

‘Of course I’m surprised,’ I said coolly. ‘You said you weren’t coming. You said––’

‘I said a lot of things, and most of them were rubbish.’

‘I can’t argue with that,’ I said.

‘Anyway, I’m here now.’

Suddenly I had a horrible thought.

‘Hey,’ I said sharply. ‘If you’re thinking of hanging out with Kate for an afternoon, and then running out on her again, that sooo isn’t a good idea.’

‘But—’

I know it’s rude to interrupt adults, but I didn’t let that small detail stop me, ‘Kate’s moved in with a foster family,’ I said. ‘She’s trying really hard to make it work. If you march into her life for a few hours, and mess everything up, that would be a disaster. You can’t do it to her. It wouldn’t be fair.’

Patrick raised one eyebrow. ‘Are you telling me what to do?’

Suddenly I felt really brave.

‘Yes,’ I said. ‘Actually, I
am
telling you what to do. Kate’s my friend, and I won’t let you hurt her all over again.’

Now he looked old and sad.

‘You were right, you know,’ he said.

‘About what?’

‘Zoe knew nothing about Kate. I know that was wrong, but somehow, I’d never found the right time to tell her. After talking to you, though, I knew I couldn’t live a lie any more. So I told her everything.’

‘And?’

‘And she was really mad at me for a while, but once she got over that, she started to think about finding a way to help Kate.’

‘And?’

‘And my new job is as a journalist for an environmental magazine. It’s a job I can do from pretty much anywhere. And Zoe’s taken time out from her career to be with Simon, so the three of us are going to move back here with Kate. We’re going to start over. That’s if …’

‘If what?’

Now he looked even older and sadder than before.

‘If Kate can ever forgive me.’

‘That’s a big “if”,’ I said. ‘Kate’s the most stubborn girl I’ve ever met.’

For the first time he smiled. ‘Good,’ he said. ‘That’s exactly how I remember her.’

The sound of Kate’s front door slamming made us both jump.

‘Hey, Eva,’ called Kate from over the hedge, ‘can you come and give me a hand please? This bag is huge, and really heavy.’

‘Sorry,’ I said. ‘I’m kind of busy, but I’ll send someone else, OK?’

‘Whatever. Just hurry before my back breaks.’

Patrick looked like he had turned to stone, so I shook his arm.

‘Didn’t you hear that?’ I asked. ‘I think your daughter needs you.’

He took a deep, shaky breath and started to walk. I followed him as far as the gap in the hedge. He stopped walking when he saw Kate standing on the doorstep of the house.

Kate looked up and saw him.

There was a very long silence, and I had to bite my tongue to stop myself saying something stupid.

Finally Patrick spoke two strangled, choked words.

‘My Kate.’

Kate spoke a single, equally strangled word.

‘Dad?’

Patrick walked slowly towards her, and as he walked, I watched the expression on Kate’s face change from surprise to joy to anger and back to surprise again. She folded her arms, and stared at her father, watching his every move. She didn’t turn away, though – not for a single fraction of a second. I knew that was a good sign.

I turned around and walked home.

I was beginning to think that maybe this story was going to have a happy ending after all.