Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
The peace was soon broken by the sound of approaching children. Daniel leaped to his feet to check out the noise, his book and grandparents immediately forgotten. Two small boys with brown curly hair – one taller than the other – fought their way up the garden path, followed by a harassed-looking man carrying a brightly wrapped parcel. It was Nasty Nigel. Evidently, he’d found someone who didn’t think he was that nasty if they were prepared to conceive not just one child with him, but two.
‘James, stop pulling Nathan’s hair. Nathan, stop pinching James. Hello there, Stella. Fancy seeing you again, and here of all places, on today of all days. James! Don’t make me tell you again.’
Truly, a most unpleasant man, and the acorns had evidently fallen not too far from the oak by the look of things. At the bottom of the garden, Daniel and both of Nigel’s sons were now attempting to ride the swing at the same time and Stella briefly wondered whether it could take the strain. If it couldn’t, she reasoned, they’d only fall a couple of feet onto the grass and since they were sure to survive, she left them to get on with it. Before long, the garden started filling with an assortment of boys, two girls and a handful of parents.
The children amused themselves by chasing, fighting and laughing. Before five minutes had passed, one small boy was in tears and his mother was attempting to console him. Benedict circulated to ensure everyone had drinks and glanced Stella’s way to make sure she was all right. She was fine and quite happy chatting to those parents who weren’t Nigel, all of whom appeared to be friendly. But when she went into the kitchen to get some water, she found herself cornered by the unpleasant man, who decided to bend her ear on a few of his pet topics.
Given his captive audience, Nigel seemed to think it was a good use of his time to outline an astronomy grant application. While Stella was interested in the planets, she found it impossible to muster any interest in form-filling. Despite her lack of response, he insisted on telling her that he and Benedict were bidding for several million pounds so they could hold their own in some European research programme that Stella couldn’t begin to understand.
Bearing in mind she was a guest in someone else’s home, that a child’s birthday party was underway and it was the most difficult of days for several of those in attendance, Stella did her best to be polite – a quality that seemed to evade Nigel. This man was difficult with a capital D. Besides being able to bore for England, he kept grilling her about her relationship with Benedict, which made her uncomfortable, not least because she wasn’t sure there was any relationship to be grilled about. When Benedict finally came to her rescue, she smiled gratefully at him.
‘Hello, you two. The children have run themselves ragged, so I’m going to sit them down for lunch in the vain hope that Miranda’s organic banquet might have a calming effect.’
‘Strongly doubt that, old man, but I admire your optimism. Stella here has been telling me all about your weekend.’ Benedict raised an eyebrow, but before Stella could put him right, Nigel was off again. ‘Must say, rather bad form to invite someone over and then break their arm. Should have come to me, Stella, I know how to look after girls like you.’
Stella edged away from the leering man. ‘Benedict’s looked after me perfectly well. Besides, it’s only a sprain. Anyway, Nigel, it was… interesting to meet you again.’
‘Likewise, Stella. Catch you later.’
Not if she had any choice in the matter. Stella moved off with Benedict, relieved to be out of Nigel’s way, but not wanting to speak out of turn, since the two astronomers were colleagues. As they approached the children – all nine of whom were currently attempting to cram themselves into the rocket tent – Benedict waved his arms to attract everyone’s attention.
‘Kids, come on. Time to eat.’
The children cheerfully ignored him, gave up on the tent and started fighting their way around the garden. Miranda stood up and clapped her hands together, which quickly got everyone’s attention.
‘Children. Lunch. Now.’ Immediately, they stopped playing, fell silent and moved as one towards the picnic table.
‘That’s more like it. Now, who’s for a glass of green slime?’
Stella knew she should probably admire Miranda’s firm and confident manner, but she couldn’t help feeling the joy had been sucked out of the garden as all the little people sat quietly at the table saying please and thank you as they passed party fodder to and fro. As they ate and the parents alternated between pouring out green slime and mopping up green slime – which at least explained the crop of spinach in the fridge – Benedict stood next to Stella and patted her on the shoulder.
‘Thanks for putting up with us all today. It’s hardly been a roses and champagne sort of weekend, has it? ’
‘I’m not really a roses and champagne sort of girl, and at least the kids have diluted the ice-queen’s evil presence.’
‘Stella, you are wicked. Although she does bring it on herself – when Miranda ordered the children to sit down, quite a few of the adults almost sat down as well.’
‘Does the military know about your sister? She could go far.’
‘Mmm, it’s tempting, but she might cause a diplomatic incident.’
She laughed. ‘Speaking of diplomatic incidents, the jelly and ice cream’s all gone.’
‘Then it’s time the birthday cake made its grand entrance. Come and help me arrange the candles.’
Checking no one was in imminent danger of being tied up or drenched with green slime, they headed for the kitchen, where Stella unveiled the remodelled cake.
‘It’s fantastic! How on earth did you manage that?’
‘I was inspired by the terrible hole you made.’ She arranged seven candles around the crater and placed sparklers in the middle. ‘All done. Now, off you go.’
As Benedict carried the cake out, Stella noticed Miranda’s superior glances as she cleared a space in front of her nephew and prepared to sneer. Benedict set down the cake and stood back.
‘I forgot the lighter,’ he mouthed and dashed back to the kitchen.
‘Wow, Stella! Did you make my birthday cake for me? It’s brill! Look everyone, my birthday cake’s in the shape of the moon and it’s got aliens and spaceships on it. And the big crater’s got a space-lion in it.’
‘Doubt it’s a lion, kiddo,’ remarked Nigel, leaning over for a better look. ‘After all, there are no lions in space.’
‘But there is a lion in space,’ protested the boy. ‘Stella told me that when I was born, the sun was next to Leo the Lion in the sky, so I’m like a little lion but with really big teeth.’ As if to prove it, Daniel threw back his head, bared his teeth and roared at Nigel .
‘Leo the lion?’ Nigel rolled his eyes. ‘Stella must be a bit of an astrologer, eh?’
‘Yes, she is. Just like you and Daddy.’
‘No, son. She’s not at all like me and Daddy. Look, here he comes now with the lighter. Benedict, old boy, you didn’t tell me you were hanging about with fortune-tellers these days – I say, Stella the Fortune Teller!’ He snorted at his own joke. ‘And you seemed such a sensible-looking girl, too.’
Stella was about to take the bait, but remembered she was at a children’s party and smiled through gritted teeth instead. She wasn’t sure whether Benedict had heard the jibe, but judging by Miranda’s delighted expression, she’d certainly heard it. Fortunately, Daniel was too busy examining his cake to notice the barbed comments flying overhead. While Benedict lit the candles and sparklers, everyone gathered around to sing ‘Happy Birthday’. When they’d finished and given three cheers, Daniel blew out the candles and made a wish.
‘What did you wish for, Daniel?’ asked Grandpa Bob.
‘I can’t tell anyone – not even you, Grandpa – or it won’t come true, will it, Daddy?’
Benedict confirmed that this was indeed the case, and started to divide up the cake. He made sure that Daniel got the piece in the middle with the crater and the space lion, and that every other child got a slice with either an alien or a spaceship on it. The remainder, he shared between the adults. There was at least a five-minute silence while everyone munched.
‘It’s a wonderful cake, Stella,’ said Catherine. ‘Delicious and light as air.’
‘And decorated with one arm tied behind your back, or so I hear,’ added Grandpa Bob.
‘Well, not quite as bad as all that.’ Stella smiled gratefully at these two unexpected allies.
Once the cake was finished, the adults began clearing the table and the children sat on the lawn to play pass the parcel. Benedict rigged the game to make sure that the music stopped on a different child each time so everyone got a little gift – wooden yo-yos, which had Miranda’s name written all over them. By the time the table was cleared, Benedict had moved onto musical statues and insisted that all the adults join in as well. To give the children a fair chance, adults under fifty had to stand on one leg when the music stopped.
Stella joined in but when the music stopped, she wobbled about precariously. It had been a bad idea to wear heels to a garden party.
‘Out, Stella,’ announced Benedict. ‘You’re out. You’re moving all over the place, and you’re nothing like a statue at all.’
Stella, pretending to sulk, clomped off to sit down. The children were all trying to stay still, but eventually Daniel burst out laughing and wobbled over.
‘Daniel’s out too. Off you go, son. Anyone else? No? Right then. On with the music.’
Daniel sat next to Stella while the game continued. He linked her good arm.
‘Thank you for my lovely cake. Did you bake it yourself? You’re very clever. My Daddy knows about science things, but you know about cleverer things, don’t you, like broccoli biscuits and alien cakes and brilliant presents. I hope you never go home. Can you come and live here, please?’
Stella bit her lip and was struggling to find the right words when she was spared from answering by the arrival of a man dressed in a silver cape and top hat riding up the garden path on a blue bicycle that was far too small for him.
Daniel jumped up and shouted, ‘It’s a magician. Look, everyone, it’s a magician!’
The magician doffed his top hat, flicked back his cape, and produced a bouquet of flowers, which he presented to Stella, much to her surprise. One of Nasty Nigel’s sons pointed at the new arrival.
‘You’re too big for that bike, mister. It’s for a little kid.’
The magician rubbed his chin and pondered for a while. Without speaking, he looked around the garden, examining each child in turn until his eye fell on Daniel. Then he beckoned him over and presented the bicycle to him. Daniel’s mouth opened in a big O as he took possession.
‘Daddy, is this for me? My very own bike with only two wheels on it?’
Benedict nodded and Daniel passed the bike to Stella before rushing over to hug his father and say thank you. The magician rummaged in his wide sleeves and after a prolonged search, revealed a telescope, which he also presented to Daniel.
‘Daddy, is this off you as well? A proper grown-up telescope?’
‘It’s from your aunt. Go and say thank you.’
Daniel ran to Miranda and kissed her, then she extracted the telescope from him and carried it into the house, no doubt to put it somewhere it wouldn’t get broken. The magician then proceeded to work his way through the children. First rolling up his sleeves to prove there was nothing there, he produced a series of bubble blowers from behind each child’s left ear. He did his whole act without speaking, and the children were fascinated by him, especially when he put Nasty Nigel behind the garden shed and made him disappear. Stella wondered if she was the only audience member who wished he wouldn’t come back. Sadly, Nigel emerged from the kitchen only moments later and crept up rather too close behind her.
‘It’s not real you know, Stella,’ he said. ‘It’s just make-believe.’
‘Obviously,’ she whispered, ‘but the kids love magic, so try not to spoil their fun.’
‘I wasn’t talking about the magician’s act. I was referring to all that astrology rubbish. I can’t believe Benedict’s allowed you to fill his son’s head with all that dangerous made-up stuff.’
‘What?’ Stella whipped round to stare at him. ‘There’s nothing dangerous about it at all. I was only teaching Daniel the zodiac, and there’s no harm in that.’
‘There’s plenty of harm in that when the child on the receiving end is the son of one of the country’s leading astronomers. Have you any idea how ridiculous you’ve made Benedict look in front of everyone?’
‘What, in front of a bunch of little kids and their parents at a Sunday-afternoon tea-party?’
‘These parents aren’t just any old people. They’re part of the academic community, and it’s a tight-knit one. What do you think the chances of Benedict being taken seriously for major government grants are, when he has a girlfriend whose head’s filled with superstitious nonsense?’
Stella was too angry to speak. Nigel’s words were like poison, and she struggled to understand how someone who barely knew her could apparently hate her so much.
‘Nigel, you’re being very unfair,’ she said, ‘and a child’s birthday party is hardly the place for this discussion.’
‘Unfair? I’ll tell you what’s unfair. A man who has worked for over a decade to build the reputation of his department to the extent that he’s even in the bidding for a grant like this. Then to lose it all because of some muddle-headed stargazer who’s hooked him in under false pretences. And he will lose the grant, because these awards are always governed by reputation and standing, and thanks to you, missy, he’ll lose those too.’
Tears stung Stella’s eyes as she fled from the garden, determined not to cause a scene.