Least Said (8 page)

‘Of
course,
you’re
right.’
As
I
acknowledged
that,
I
could
feel
a
massive
load
lifting
from
my
mind.

‘And,’
Tina
reminded
me,
quite
firmly,
‘the
chances
still
are
that
Jon
is
Will’s
biological
father,
you
mustn’t
ever
forget
that.’

By
the
time
I
put
the
phone
down
I
felt
like
a
different
person.
All
the
doubts
that
had
resurfaced
since
bumping
into
the
Adonis
the
day
before
just
melted
away
like
ice
cream
on
a
sunny
day.
Of
course,
Jon
was
Will’s
biological
father
–
who
could
ever
doubt
it
after
once
seeing
them
together?
And
I
saw
them
together
every
single
day.

I
went
back
to
tackling
the
wedding
cake
with
renewed
energy
and
a
clear
mind.
When
I
finally
stood
back
I
knew
that
I
had
created
something
unique
and
very
beautiful.
The
bride
was
going
to
be
thrilled
and
the
cake
would,
I
felt
sure,
result
in
a
rash
of
orders
after
the
wedding,
probably
enough
to
keep
me
busy
for
at
least
twelve
months.

We
would
be
going
to
the
wedding,
of
course,
because
the
bride
was
one
of
the
school
gate
mums
I’d
become
friendly
with.
Like
the
majority
of
couples
in
these
modern
days,
she
and
her
partner
had
completed
their
family
before
they
decided
to
name
the
day.

‘The
only
problem,’
Lucy
had
confided,
‘is
that
having
your
children
before
the
wedding
means
you
end
up
struggling
to
get
back
to
your
pre-maternity
figure
in
time
for
the
big
day.’

I
actually
thought
she
had
an
enviably
slim
figure,
especially
since
the
latest
arrival
was
still
small
enough
to
be
jiggled
on
her
hip
while
she
waited
for
her
six
year
old
to
burst
out
of
the
classroom
at
the
end
of
the
school
day.
I
was
actually
a
little
slimmer
than
my
pre-William
days
myself,
but
had
finally
accepted
that
I
would
never
be
what
you
might
call
sylph-like,
and
discovered
that
I
could
live
with
that
quite
happily.

‘How’s
the
cake
coming
along?’
Lucy
greeted
me
as
I
arrived
to
take
my
place
among
the
mothers
and
fathers
gathered
outside
of
the
school.
I
just
nodded
and
smiled,
not
wishing
to
boast
about
how
pleased
I
was
with
it.

‘It’s
finished?’
she
squeaked,
and
when
I
nodded
again,
she
squeaked
again,
before
begging,
‘Oh,
my
God,
can
I
see
it?’

I
laughed,
and
told
her,
‘Well,
I
can
hardly
stop
you,
can
I?  It
is
your
cake.’

‘Now?’

‘Probably
best
if
we
wait
for
the
children
to
come
out
of
school,’
I
reminded
her,
and
right
on
cue
the
bell
went.

‘Am
I
allowed
to
take
a
peek?’
Jade
Sopley
had
obviously
heard
every
word
but,
as
one
of
Lucy’s
closest
friends,
no
offence
was
taken
by
either
of
us
at
her
nosiness.

Lucy
heaved
a
fake
sigh
and
agreed,
‘Oh,
ok,
as
it’s
you?
That’s
it,
though,
no
one
else
or
we’ll
ruin
the
surprise
element.
Is
it
ok
to
come
back
to
yours
now,
Wendy?’

I
just
managed
to
nod
before
Will
raced
towards
me
and
hurled
himself
into
my
arms,
knocking
the
breath
out
of
me.
‘Hey,
buddy,’
I
wheezed,
‘missed
me,
have
you?’

I’d
never
got
over
being
blessed
with
the
birth
of
my
–
our
–
beautiful
boy.
He
wasn’t
just
a
handsome
child;
he
had
the
most
wonderful
sunny
nature,
too.
No
whining
or
tantrums
to
contend
with,
no
terrible
twos,
and
he
wasn’t
even
a
fussy
eater.
I’d
actually
have
liked
another
six
just
like
him,
but
it
had
never
happened
even
once
more.
Not
even
so
much
as
a
false
alarm.

Not
that
we
had
given
up
hoping,
of
course,
because
as
Jon
has
said
repeatedly
over
the
years,
‘If
it’s
happened
once
it
can
happen
again,’
but,
content
with
our
little
boy,
neither
of
us
felt
like
giving
nature
a
helping
hand
by
going
the
fertility
route.

Will
was
beside
himself
with
excitement
when
he
realised
we
weren’t
going
home
alone.
I
knew
he
would
have
all
of
his
toys
out,
only
too
happy
to
share
anything
and
everything
with
his
friends.