Chapter 33
Spencer
Sitting in Lottie’s kitchen had never made Spencer feel awkward before, but having his sister, Samuel, Beth, and Archie all staring his way was rattling every part of him. Anyone would think he was the one who had done something wrong. Well, he wasn’t having it. Nope. They could all get stuffed. Except Archie. The baby was the only one with a shimmer of love in his eyes, and it was heartbreaking to look at him.
Spencer sniffed as Lottie unwrapped the first box, pulling out a leaflet.
‘Okay, before we start, did you do what I asked?’ Lottie glanced at Beth first, then Spencer.
Even though she was speaking to him as though he were five, it felt good to have her to focus on, because his eyes kept wanting to wander over to Beth all the time, and he wasn’t about to acknowledge her presence. It was way too hard just being in the same room with her. Besides, it wasn’t as though she had spoken to him. She hadn’t said anything but a polite hello to Lottie and Samuel.
‘Yes,’ he told his sister. ‘I haven’t eaten, had a drink, brushed my teeth or anything in over an hour. I’m good to go.’
Lottie turned to Beth.
Beth nodded. ‘Me too, and I have Archie’s bottle of water ready to give his mouth a rinse before we start.’
Lottie pointed at the sink. ‘Go rinse your mouth first, Spence.’
He went off to do as he was instructed, realizing he hadn’t done that before. He tried to think back, but it was a bit of a blur, what with his mind in a muddle at the time.
Lottie started to read the instructions out loud, checking things off. ‘My hands are clean, yep. All mouths are ready for swabbing, yep, you’ve both signed the consent form, yep.’
‘I didn’t last time,’ said Beth, sounding slightly bemused.
Spencer swallowed hard. ‘I did it by myself, as I thought I had parental responsibility, seeing how I was told I was Archie’s father, and the place I used only wanted a signature anyway.’
‘Never mind that now,’ said Lottie. ‘Let’s just sort this properly once and for all.’
‘Besides,’ said Beth, ‘I was going to talk to you about adding your name to the birth certificate. As far as I’m concerned, you have parental rights.’ He was sure there was a slight angry undertone to her words.
Spencer sat back down, keeping his gaze firmly on the containers that held the long-stemmed cotton buds, while Beth gave Archie to Samuel before heading off to rinse her mouth.
Samuel gave the baby some water.
‘I’ll do Archie first,’ said Lottie, once Beth had returned to her seat and held her son again. She broke the seal, then without touching the part that was about to enter his mouth leaned forward. ‘Right, so I just have to twizzle this between the bottom lip and gum.’ She smiled at the baby. ‘Sorry, lovely. Might tickle a bit.’
Everyone watched her take the swab, then seal it back in the tube, and Spencer wondered if he was as careful. Could he have accidentally touched the cotton tip and contaminated it? He took a silent breath as his sister came at him with a separate swab to rub around the inside of his cheek. She swirled it around about ten times, then sealed that one away too before turning to Beth for her turn.
‘One down,’ she mumbled.
‘Do we really need to do five?’ he asked.
‘I’m happy to do twenty,’ said Beth, looking only at the table.
Spencer had no words for her, so shut up altogether.
Lottie placed everything in the prepaid tamper-proof envelopes, ready to post, then opened the second box and once more followed the instructions to the letter.
As soon as it was over, Spencer rushed to the street door, feeling the need for fresh air. It was hard being around Beth and not holding her. His heart felt torn in two. He was so sure she wasn’t lying to him, but the test told him otherwise. He just couldn’t think straight.
‘Spencer,’ she called, sprinting to his side on the doorstep.
‘Look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the first test. I wasn’t—’
‘It’s not that. I don’t care.’ She tapped her chest. ‘I just want us to talk.’
He lowered his eyes, unable to meet hers and not kiss her. The pain was too much, and the confusion worse. Why was he even putting himself through more testing? Could he take the hit again? Lottie was so sure he’d messed it up last time. Now, he couldn’t think straight, and being so close to the woman he thought he loved was making the situation harder. He turned to walk away, but she grabbed his arm.
‘Please, Spence, don’t run away.’
He stared out at Berry Hill and at the seagulls. ‘I’m not running,’ he said softly. ‘I have to collect the boys from the Sunshine Centre. We’re searching for fossils.’ He felt her hand slip from his sleeve, and he missed her touch already.
‘Okay. But I just want you to know something before you go.’ He heard her breath catch, but he didn’t turn. ‘I didn’t lie. Hopefully you’ll see that when the results come back.’
Some of the test centres offered one- to two-working day results, and Beth had paid for the quickest, so it wouldn’t be long before he knew for sure if Archie was his son, but after the last test, he wasn’t holding out much hope, and Beth’s words were meeting a wall guarding his heart.
‘I have to go.’ Spencer walked slowly down the steep hill, inhaling the sea-salty air in large clumps. He daren’t look back in case she was watching, but suddenly he could hear footsteps behind him, then arms clutched his body as she embraced his back, causing him to stand stock still.
You’re killing me, Beth. You’re actually killing me .
‘Take this with you,’ she said quietly, then released him, and whatever spell was keeping him in place was broken.
Without saying a word, Spencer walked away.
The drive over to Penzance settled Spencer a touch. Looking out at wide green fields and quaint farmhouses had him thinking about family life. It was Easter soon, and he could just see himself hunting colourful eggs in the park with Archie. It was a nice dream.
A sign caught his eye, and with little thought, he pulled up next to someone’s gate so he wouldn’t be in the way of any traffic. He jumped out of his van and walked over to a man attaching an orange For Sale sign to a post.
‘You interested?’ asked the man, following Spencer’s gaze down the short driveway.
Spencer scanned the small brown-brick cottage. ‘I remember the woman who lived here. Kathleen. She passed a while back now. How come this place is only going up for sale now?’
The man lowered his hammer. ‘Family have to wait a while before selling an inherited property.’
‘Yeah, I know about that stuff, but it’s been ages.’
‘They did have it on the market, but no takers. Rundown, you see. They took it off for a while, as one of them decided they’d take on the project, but that fell through, and now they’re trying their luck with us again.’
Spencer narrowed his eyes as the clouds moved away from the sun. ‘How bad is it?’
‘Structure’s all right. Just old. Unloved. You know how it goes.’
He nodded, stepping up to the small dark picket fence that made the entrance. Pink, purple, and blue came to mind. Potted flowers placed out front, a paddling pool at the back. ‘Three beds, isn’t it?’
‘Yep. Do you want a quick peek while you’re here?’
Did he? He wasn’t entirely sure why he had stopped. ‘If that’s okay,’ he found himself saying.
‘I’m an estate agent, of course it’s okay.’ The man told him his name was Geoff as he handed out his card. ‘Recent price drop, just so you know.’ He leaned in his open car window and came back with a flyer. ‘Here, take this.’
Spencer glanced down at the info about the old house, remembering entering a few times as a child with his aunt.
Geoff rattled off house prices, comparing Kathleen’s old home with others in the area while he went from room to room, splaying his arms left, right, and centre.
It made little difference to Spencer what the man was going on about. All he could hear was Archie’s content sounds and see Beth’s smile. Had things not gone so wrong, they could be viewing properties together.
He remembered the last time he was in the house. Rebecca had brought Kathleen some groceries, as she wasn’t well and there was no one else to help her since her children had grown and moved away.
‘Bit of plastering,’ said Geoff, coming back into focus.
‘Hmm? Oh, yeah.’ Spencer laughed to himself at the attention the place needed. ‘And the rest,’ he mumbled, heading for the front door. He shook hands with the man, then went back to his car, still wondering why he had bothered to check out the home for sale.
With the engine purring, and his hands clasping the steering wheel, he took a deep breath and lowered his head to his fingers for a moment.
‘Bloody hell!’ he muttered, feeling agitated on every level. Snapping out of his haze, he made his way to the Sunshine Centre, as the boys would be waiting. He didn’t feel much in the mood for fossil hunting, but it was planned, and the children were looking forward to another badge.
It wasn’t long before Spencer swapped his van for the centre’s minibus and was heading to the seafront with buckets and spades and three eager lads. It was nice to see how much more they smiled since he first met them.
‘Right, now the chance of finding a fossil is slim, but if we can find some unusual shells, that’ll be good enough,’ he told them as he parked.
‘Or sea glass,’ said Leo, gasping at the thought.
‘Knowing my luck, it’ll be an old boot we dig up,’ said Jax, collecting his spade from the back seat.
Ryan laughed. ‘Skeleton bones.’
‘Pirate treasure,’ said Leo.
Spencer shook his head as he followed them down to the shingles, thankful it was a lovely day and the sea was calm. The gentle whooshing sound soothed his weary soul, and the boys laughing brought back his joy. Before he knew it, half an hour had passed.
Jax pulled him over to a small pool nestled by a circle of rocks someone had built up by a wall. ‘Do you think they tried to make a castle for a fish?’
‘Probably just someone playing with—’
A yell ripped through the air, coming from the shoreline. It took a moment to notice Leo’s red cape flapping in the breeze.
‘Leo,’ shouted Spencer. Following the boy’s pointing finger out to sea.
‘It’s a dog,’ said Leo. ‘Looks like it’s struggling to swim.’
Ryan went to move closer to the sea, but Spencer pulled him back. ‘But I can save it,’ said Ryan.
‘I’m sure you can, but you’re not going out there.’
Leo frowned at Spencer. ‘Can I go?’
Spencer shook his head. ‘No one’s going in the sea.’
Jax started to coax the dog to the shoreline, patting his knees and whistling.
The little dog was paddling furiously as wave after wave rolled over its head.
Spencer knew he had to help, as the poor thing looked exhausted. ‘I’ll go.’
Leo gasped dramatically, then clapped as Spencer waded into the cold water, glad the dog wasn’t too far out.
Jax was still calling the dog, and Ryan asked if he should call the coastguard.
Spencer told them not to move, then tried to walk a bit faster, reaching for the dog as the rolling waves splashed against his stomach.
The children cheered as the dog was whipped up into Spencer’s arm just as another dark wave rolled their way.
Spencer was relieved the sea wasn’t too choppy as he plodded to the shoreline, lowering himself and the soaked dog panting in his face.
Leo tugged his cape so it draped on the animal. ‘It’s all right. You’re safe now.’
The dog licked Leo’s hand, making the boy smile.
Ryan flopped to his side. ‘He’s so small. He must have got swept away.’
The boys started to fuss the dog while Spencer scanned the beach for an owner.
‘He looks fine now,’ said Jax.
‘You need a good sleep,’ Leo told the animal, stroking its brown fur.
‘Hello. Hello,’ a high-pitched voice squealed.
They all turned to see a young man running their way.
‘It that my baby?’ he cried, approaching.
The dog jumped up, tail wagging.
‘Your dog was drowning,’ said Leo, standing as the man bent to his pet.
‘He ran off. I only let him off the lead for one minute. Didn’t think he’d get far on his little legs, but then he saw another dog, and zoom, he was gone. I’ve been looking everywhere. I had no idea he came down here.’
‘Spencer saved him,’ said Jax proudly.
Spencer half smiled, glad the dog was okay, but fed up with his legs being soaked through to the bone.
‘Your dog isn’t a good swimmer,’ said Leo.
The man cradled his pet close to his face. ‘Thank you so much for saving Tiny.’ He turned to his pet. ‘What were you thinking going in the sea?’
‘Maybe he chased a seagull,’ said Jax.
‘Or was paddling and got swept out,’ said Ryan. ‘It’s not the same as a swimming pool, you know. There’s all sorts going on out there.’
‘Barracudas,’ said Leo, scrunching the damp part of his cape to his chin.
Ryan frowned at him. ‘I meant the undercurrent.’
‘We’re just glad your dog is okay,’ said Spencer.
‘Thank you once more.’ The man let the boys stroke Tiny again before he headed off, looking slightly teary.
Leo glanced at Spencer. ‘Do we get a badge for that?’
‘For what?’
‘Saving Tiny.’
Ryan laughed. ‘Spencer saved him.’
Leo lifted his cape. ‘I helped keep Tiny warm while he was in shock.’
‘I think Tiny was more out of breath,’ said Jax.
‘Can we have a paddle in the sea now?’ Leo asked Spencer.
Spencer shivered, needing dry clothes and less drama in his life.
‘Are you all right, Spencer?’ asked Ryan.
‘Cold, but okay.’
Leo stepped closer to offer his cape, making Spencer smile at his kindness.
‘Thanks, Leo, but I think we should head back to the centre now.’
‘I agree,’ said Ryan.
‘Me two,’ said Jax.
‘Me three,’ said Leo.
Spencer glanced at his wet bottoms. ‘Right, let’s go.’
They trudged to the minibus in silence, which was a small blessing, as Spencer was having one of his stress headaches. Just when he thought his day couldn’t get any worse.
‘I need to tell Debra so she can put it in the incident book,’ said Leo, clambering into the vehicle.
Ryan frowned. ‘Tiny’s not a member of the centre.’
Leo shrugged. ‘Spencer had an incident.’
Jax chuckled as he sat down. ‘Spencer saved a dog. He’s a hero.’
That was the last thing Spencer felt like. He’d gone behind Beth’s back, refused to talk to her, hardly looked at Archie earlier. He was pretty sure heroes didn’t act that way.
The corner of Ryan’s mouth curled. ‘I think we’re all heroes in our own way.’
Very profound .
Spencer mentally shook his head as he started the engine. It had been one hell of a day, but suddenly the fog in his head started to clear. Leo had the skills to calm himself with breathing techniques, and Jax had spoken to a shopkeeper, and now Ryan was willing to go back into the water, even if it was to save a dog. Inspiration hit hard. If the kids could find ways to navigate their problems, then so could he. It was time he faced his own insecurities.