Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Matt got dressed in a fog.
He’s finally gone.
It was one thing knowing Granddad was dying. It was another knowing he’d never hear his laugh again, never find him in the greenhouse muttering to tomato plants, never watch him disappear into the garden with a mug of tea and a trowel as though the rest of the world could wait.
The finality of it all stole his breath away.
Behind him, Owen pulled on his shorts and T-shirt. “I’m coming with you.”
Matt glanced over his shoulder. “You don’t have to.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “Dad’s still at the hospice. He told me to go and be with Mum.”
Owen stepped into his trainers. “Then I’ll make tea. Coffee. Answer the door if people start calling.” He met Matt’s gaze. “Whatever needs doing.”
Matt’s chest tightened. “You really don’t have to.”
Owen walked over and rested a hand on his shoulder. “I know.”
Not I should.
Not It’s the right thing to do.
Matt gazed at him for a moment before managing a nod. “Thank you.”
Owen squeezed his shoulder. “Come on. Let’s go look after your mum.”
They walked around to the house, and Matt led the way to the back door he knew would be unlocked.
Mum glanced up as they stepped into the kitchen. “Hey,” she said, her voice soft. A mug of tea sat untouched in front of her. Jamie was pushing a toy tractor around the kitchen floor, blissfully unaware the world had shifted beneath everyone else’s feet.
Mum’s eyes were rimmed with red.
Matt went over to her and hugged her. “Did Dad say when he’d be back?”
“He wanted a little time with Gordon before…” She drew a breath. “Before everything starts.” There was only the slightest tremor in her voice.
Owen approached the table. “Is there anything I can do?”
Mum managed a tired smile. “Not really, but thank you for asking.” She picked up her mug, sipped from it, then winced.
“I’ll make a fresh pot.” Without waiting for her response, Owen went about the task.
Mum sighed. “It wasn’t unexpected.” She met Matt’s gaze. “That doesn’t stop it from hurting, though.”
Silence settled over the kitchen, broken only when Jamie drove his tractor into Owen’s shoe.
“Crash!”
Owen looked down solemnly. “I never stood a chance.”
Jamie giggled, and for a few precious seconds, the sound lifted the room.
“Babs?” Beth’s voice came from the lounge. A moment later she stood in the doorway, one hand resting against the frame and the other cradling the underside of her bump. Her dark curly hair was pulled back, her face pale.
Very pale.
Matt straightened. So did Owen and Mum.
Beth’s voice barely carried. “I think my waters have broken.”
Mum was on her feet before the sentence had finished. “Are you having pains yet? How far apart are they?”
“I don’t… There isn’t much pain.” Then she swallowed. “But I’m bleeding.”
Oh my God.
“Zach!” Mum’s voice cracked through the house. “Get the hospital bag and the car keys. Now!”
Footsteps thundered overhead. “On it!”
Owen was already pulling out a chair. “Beth, sit down.”
Mum shook her head sharply. “Keep her standing.” In a heartbeat she’d gone from grief to grim purpose. “Matt, you’re in charge of Jamie.”
Jamie appeared delighted by this promotion. “I’m boss!”
Matt managed the ghost of a smile. “You are.”
Mum grabbed her handbag. “Owen, if Jeff rings, tell him not to leave the hospice until we’ve spoken to the hospital.” Then she turned to Beth. “We’re going. Right now.”
Minutes later, Mum and Zach were ushering Beth out of the house and into the car.
Jamie, meanwhile, was demanding juice. To know where Mummy had gone. To put together his wooden train set.
Matt had to smile.
Three-year-olds don’t stop because adults are grieving.
Actually, it felt good not to have the time to collapse and become overwhelmed.
I need someone to need me right now.
Owen’s day had taken an interesting turn.
His first instinct was to look after Matt, but he knew deep down Matt didn’t need wrapping in cotton wool.
What he needs is support that doesn’t smother him.
Owen could slip into the role of Second Adult, not taking over but simply being there. So when little Jamie asked if they could play dinosaurs, Owen got down on the floor without hesitation.
He glanced up at Matt as he walked in, carrying a snack for Jamie. “Ah, the cavalry arrives.”
Matt flushed. “I’m sorry your afternoon turned into this.”
Owen gazed at Jamie, who was trying to persuade a dinosaur to eat a crayon. “Funny. I seem to remember volunteering.”
Matt laughed.
Then Jamie climbed into Owen’s lap, dragging a book with him.
Owen smiled. “I love reading.” He scooped Jamie into his arms, then sat on the couch, Jamie cuddled up to him. “Now what do we have here? Ooh, what a surprise. A book on dinosaurs.” He read the title aloud. “Not My Dinosaur. Intriguing. It’s a mystery, huh?”
Jamie stabbed at the picture of the T-Rex with his little stubby finger. “Roar!”
He performed what had to be the worst dinosaur impression ever, and Jamie dissolved into hysterical giggles. Another glance in Matt’s direction found him smiling.
Owen chuckled. “You’re impressed, admit it.”
Matt shook his head. “I was just thinking, children are brilliant barometers.”
“How do you mean?”
“They know who’s safe.” He nodded towards Jamie, who’d already curled against Owen’s chest. “He decided that about you in under five minutes.”
Owen looked down at the little boy. “I think that’s more a reflection on Jamie than me.”
“No.” Matt’s smile was warm. “It’s definitely you.”
Owen wasn’t entirely convinced. He gazed at the toddler sprawled across his lap. “Or perhaps he simply recognises quality dinosaur impressions.”
Matt laughed. “Let’s not get carried away.”
Jamie, meanwhile, was impatiently turning the page. “Roar!”
Owen rolled his eyes. “No rest for us dinosaur impersonators.”
There’d been nothing from the hospital apart from a brief text from Babs to say Beth was okay, and the doctors were assessing whether to slow down the labour or stop it altogether.
When he reached the end of the book, Owen closed it. “What would you like to do now?”
Before Jamie could respond, Matt bent down and retrieved Jamie’s tablet from where it was tucked beneath the couch.
“What do you fancy watching?”
Jamie considered the question with the seriousness only a three-year-old could manage. “Bluey.”
Matt smiled. “I thought you might.”
Owen relinquished hold of the wriggling toddler. “Here, you take over, and I’ll put the kettle on.”
Matt wrapped Jamie in a dinosaur blanket, and started the episode.
Owen had no clue who Bluey was, but it was plain to see the cartoon was a favourite. Within seconds Jamie was absorbed.
“Are you hungry?” His own stomach rumbled, reminding him they hadn’t eaten since breakfast at the hotel. Given everything that had happened, he doubted Matt had noticed either.
Matt gave a distracted shrug.
Owen smiled to himself. That wasn’t a no.
“I’ll make sandwiches.”
Matt opened his mouth, clearly thought better of it, and nodded. Owen headed for the kitchen.
Looking after people didn’t always require grand gestures.
Sometimes it was as simple as making sure they remembered to eat.
Matt watched Owen move around the kitchen, one ear trained towards the lounge, listening for Jamie. Owen buttered bread, laid slices of ham and cheese onto it, then picked up a knife and cut the crusts off one lot.
Matt chuckled. “Are those for Jamie?”
Owen nodded. “He looks like a crust remover.”
He smiled. “You’ve known him all of ten minutes.”
“And I stand by my assessment.” A moment later, he set a mug in front of Matt. “Tea.”
Matt wrapped both hands around it. “Thank you.”
“And perhaps we should take our lunch to Jamie. I doubt we could drag him away from Bluey anyway.”
He had a point.
Matt grabbed a plate of sandwiches and his mug, and followed Owen into the lounge where he placed the small plate on Jamie’s blanket-covered lap.
Jamie looked up from the tablet. “Triangles.”
Owen glanced at Matt. “Three years old and he knows what a triangle is.”
Jamie frowned at the sandwiches. “Not triangles.”
Owen blinked. “Oh.” Without a word he disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a knife. He cut each rectangle diagonally before placing the plate back on Jamie’s lap. “Problem solved.”
Jamie’s face lit up. “You clever.”
Owen’s grin was immediate. “Don’t spread it around. I have a reputation to maintain.”
Matt laughed again, and Owen welcomed the sound.
Jamie gave a solemn nod. “Okay.”
Owen leaned closer to Matt and lowered his voice. “I don’t think he understood the joke.”
“I think he just promised not to tell anyone,” Matt whispered back.
Owen’s quiet, uncomplicated kindness felt as natural as breathing.
When the episode ended, Jamie climbed off the sofa and wandered over to where Owen sat in the armchair. Without a word he held both arms up.
Owen glanced at Matt. “May I? I mean, he’s already done this once, but it’s only polite to ask.”
Matt nodded.
Jamie, however, was apparently unconcerned with formalities and was already climbing into Owen’s lap, settling there as though it were the most obvious place in the world. Owen absent-mindedly stroked Jamie’s hair while the next episode started.
Jamie’s eyelids were already beginning to droop.
Matt glanced away. He wasn’t sure why that suddenly felt too intimate to watch. It was simply Owen being Owen, but somehow that made it harder.
“You don’t have to be the strong one all afternoon.” Owen spoke quietly without taking his eyes off the tablet.
Matt swallowed. “I know.”
Owen peered at him then. “I don’t think you do.” Beats of silence. “I can make tea.”
“I noticed.”
“I can make sandwiches.”
“I noticed those too.” Matt gave a tiny smile.
“And if the phone rings, I’ll answer it.”
Matt stared at him.
For the first time since Dad had called from the hospice, Matt felt some of the weight lift from his shoulders. Granddad was gone. Nothing could change that. But for a little while, Matt didn’t have to carry everything alone.
The phone rang just as Jamie began giggling at something Bluey had done.
Matt pounced on it. “Dad?” He walked into the hallway.
“How’s Jamie?” He sounded exhausted.
“He’s fine. He’s watching Bluey and eating triangular sandwiches.”
There was a pause. “‘Triangular’?”
Matt glanced towards the lounge. Owen was currently engaged in a very serious discussion about whether dinosaurs would have enjoyed cheese.
“Owen was informed rectangles weren’t acceptable.”
A weary chuckle filled his ear. “That sounds about right.” The laughter faded almost immediately, and Matt heard voices in the background.
“Have you heard from Mum?”
“Just texts.” Dad paused. “I’m coming home. I’ve said goodbye. There’s nothing more I can do there.”
Matt closed his eyes. “We’ll be here.”
“Good. I’ll see you soon.”
The line went dead, and Matt lowered the phone. A moment later, it rang again, his mum’s name flashing across the screen.
Matt answered before the second ring had finished. “Mum? Is everything okay?”
She sounded a little breathless. “Beth’s fine. They moved things along because of the bleeding. She lost quite a bit of blood, but she’s doing well. They’re keeping both of them in for a few days.”
Matt let out a long whoosh of air. “And the baby?”
“Six pounds two ounces. And absolutely perfect.”
He smiled. “Boy or girl?”
“A little girl.”
He closed his eyes. I have a niece.
“Zach’s staying with Beth for the rest of today.”
Matt nodded, even though she couldn’t see him. “Do they have a name yet?”
“They’ve called her Rosie.” He could hear the smile in her voice.
“After Beth’s mum.”
“Yeah. And her middle name is Barbara.”
He could hear the emotion in Mum’s voice now.
“So today, we said goodbye to one member of the family, and welcomed another,” he murmured.
Neither of them spoke for several seconds.
“I’m coming home.”
“We’ll see you then.” He ended the call.
Life had taken a moment to remind everyone it never stopped moving.
He gazed into the lounge where Owen was now sitting on the floor beside Jamie, helping him build an elaborate wooden railway that occupied most of the rug.
He hasn’t once asked whether he should go home.
He’d simply stayed.
I haven’t even thanked him.
He went back into the lounge and Owen glanced up. “Everything all right?”
Matt nodded. “I’ve got a niece.” He joined Owen on the floor.
Owen’s whole face lit up. “Congratulations.”
“Her name’s Rosie.”
He smiled. “That’s a beautiful name.”
Matt stared at him for a long moment. “You know, I don’t think I could’ve got through today without you.”
Owen’s expression softened. He reached over and squeezed Matt’s hand.
Matt glanced down at Jamie, who was now trying to persuade a wooden cow to travel by train.
“And I’m very glad you were here.”