Chapter Twenty
Alex had managed to put Ellie to bed and for once she had gone straight to sleep, although it could be less from exhaustion and more a wish to escape the sheer stress that was a Sunday evening.
Making sure her reading had been done, her uniform was washed and ready and that no note had slipped out of her reading folder into a crevice in her school bag informing him that he needed to have helped create a Roman Colosseum out of loo rolls by Monday morning, was not as easy as it sounded.
He was fast learning the truism that it’s only ever on Sunday night that the children remind you that they need freshly baked cake/a fully completed sponsorship form/a piece of obscure uniform you have never even heard of, and that no matter how organized you tried to be every Friday, it was a universal law that things kicked off at six-thirty on Sunday evening and there wasn’t much you could do about it.
However, tonight had gone relatively well, and she was now tucked up in bed and snoring which was a huge relief as he had invited the boys around for a catch-up.
Just as he settled on the sofa there came a knock on the door. He had been in the house for nearly two months now but this was the first time he had invited Chase over who, in turn, had suggested Angelina’s brother come as well.
He opened the door and there was Matt standing grinning at him, beers in hand.
‘Hey, mate, come in. Good to see you.’
‘Thanks for inviting me. Shall I sling these in the fridge?’
‘Great, thanks. Chase should be joining us shortly.’
‘Yeah, I got a text from him earlier, he says he’s bringing you a surprise but doesn’t say what it is.’
‘Oh God, that’s always terrifying. Unless it’s Richard – he was going to join us but has had to spend the weekend in London, work’s been crazy for him recently.
He’s barely able to get back at weekends let alone weekdays at the moment.
I’m not sure what they’re doing to him up there but I remember when he took the job, the deal was he could work from home the majority of the time.
It’s getting so bad he’s having to consider getting Marion a puppy for company, and he’s been fighting that battle for years. He really isn’t a dog person.’
‘Puppy or divorce seems like a no-brainer to me.’
‘Right? I said the exact same thing.’
Sitting and chatting they were startled by a deafening banging on the door, one that threatened to have it coming off its hinges.
‘What the…?’ Alex jumped out of his seat, both in alarm and anger. Who on earth would be that inconsiderate? As he swung the door open his jaw dropped. Of all the people – and of course it was!
‘Hector! How? Aww.’ Alex man-hugged his old school friend who he hadn’t seen in years. The two shared a prolonged embrace and then with the age-old that’s-enough-now pat on the back, separated and just stood looking at each other.
‘You look exactly the same.’
‘I am exactly the same, old man. You, however, have a definite sprinkling of grey,’ boomed Hector, in a deep and very loud voice that screeched public-school privilege.
‘Childbirth does that to you.’ Alex winked.
‘I heard about that bloody tomfool idea, but you’ve always known your own mind so I guess you had your reasons. Just don’t bore me with them. Now, are you going to bloody let me in or do I have to stand in the fucking doorway all night? Always were a shitty host.’
‘Get yourself in and stop making a fuss.’ Alex grinned widely as he stepped to one side to let his old friend into the living room.
‘Ah, so you must be the gardener.’ He heard Hector address Matt. ‘Anything to drink in this bastard house? Beer? No, thank you. Chase, where’s that bloody wine?’
Chase had been standing in the doorway behind Hector and gave a what-can-you-do shrug to Alex.
And he was right, Hector had been Hector since they had met him at twelve years old and was never going to change a whit.
He was a constant in their ever-evolving world, even if it was a constant dressed in salmon-pink trousers that matched his complexion, a hideous braying voice that carried, and viewpoints that most people felt were outdated when Victoria was on the throne.
‘The wine you left in the car and expected me to carry for you, Hector? That wine?’
‘Yes, stop being such a girl. Have you got it or not?’
Alex caught Matt’s eye and laughed. ‘Matt, you’ll get used to him. Just don’t even try to bring him into the twenty-first century, it’ll be a battle you’ll never win.’
‘Why would anyone want to live in the twenty-first century? As far as I can see it’s all about bloody narcissism and over-sharing – social media has to be the biggest waste of time ever invented.
A whole generation of men who like to rub oil on themselves and take photos.
That sort of nonsense died out with Classical Greece and they at least did it without constant bloody sobbing and wanting “likes”.
I tell you, this world is going backwards, not forwards. ’
‘See,’ Alex smiled, ‘he just doesn’t stop.’
‘Just have a drink and sit down, Hector. Poor Matt isn’t used to you yet, so maybe tone it down so he can adjust first.’
‘Tone what down? Everybody loves me, you know it.’
‘I’d argue you were an acquired taste,’ Chase chipped in.
‘Just open the bloody wine. Now, do I have to find myself a glass in this godforsaken house?’
As the evening progressed Alex was able to tell them about his plans and the work he was doing whilst on his sabbatical.
‘The thing is, they’re in peace talks again at the moment but every single time they break down.
Meanwhile there are well over one and a half million displaced people, and tens of thousands of those are children who have lost their families.
I was able to save Elechi because I saw her entire family killed and village razed, but there are so many families that need to be reunited… ’
‘You can’t save every child, Alex. That’s not how the world works.’
‘No, Hector, but any positive impact I can have, surely that’s worth something.
And we sit here in this cute Cornish cottage with resources at our fingertips that can help these children, can help reunite them and give them the best start they can have.
So shouldn’t we? A good education and excellent pastoral care doesn’t cost that much, not comparatively, not when you look at what wealthy families may pay for one child to attend private school here.
I’m not trying to save the world, I’m not super-bloody-human, but if I can make a bit of a difference, help these kids a bit, maybe try and do something that stops the constant repeated circle of vengeance that you get in the aftermath of civil war, if it ever bloody ends, then yes, I’m going to do that.
I have a voice, I have skills, I have contacts and I’m going to use them all.
And you, Hector, are one of those people that I’m going to use shamelessly to try and make some headway in… ’
‘Oh, use me, boy, use me.’ Hector aimed for a super-sultry tone.
‘Ha, I will. We can talk about how later.’ Alex winked at his friend.
‘Actually, things are going really well so far. I’ve already got quite a lot in place in a short amount of time.
I’ve set up the Elechi Foundation, sorted out the tax stuff and charity status.
Just having Ells in school has freed up so much time, so I’ve started to organize a big fundraising gala thing.
Yeah, I know, don’t roll your eyes, you can do it for me and for Ellie, it’s only one evening, All of you.
Apart from you, Matt, you’re off the hook seeing as I’ve only known you a couple of months. ’
‘Whoa, I’m more than happy to help – sign me up for anything within reason. Rosy will too, maybe we can build some links between the school and the orphanages. Do some local fundraising – even if it’s just small-scale, it’s better than none. I’ll chat to her when I get home.’
‘Thank you. The foundation is in place to raise awareness and educate as much as fundraise, although obviously the two go hand in hand, and I’ve been wondering about trying to involve schools in the UK, maybe get them to mentor new-build schools over there, fundraise or donate as part of some kind of global citizenship programme. Rosy would be a great place to start.’
‘No worries, it sounds like exactly the sort of thing she’d be interested in. I’ll get on it.’
‘Now, Chase, your turn. With those Hollywood clients of yours, you could really help. They’ve already demonstrated they like to give their money away.’ Alex winked at his friend.
‘Hey, they get real value from… oh, hang on a minute…’ Chase’s phone started to bing.
‘Hey, babe, yes, of course.’ He spoke into it and then held it up and moved it around the living room.
‘See, no strippers, just me and Alex, Hector and your brother drinking wine and working out how to save the world. And then I’m going to cook kebabs…
Of course I’m missing you, but I expect I’ll live with the trauma…
Ha, yes, I may develop separation anxiety but I doubt it.
Hang on, let me ask Matt. Hey, Matt, do you suffer any form of separation anxiety when you’re not with your sister? ’
‘Dear God, no. Just an overwhelming sense of relief. Tell her to stop being so needy and leave you alone to have a drink with your mates or I’ll ring the tabloids and tell them she’s developed acne and a beard.’
‘I think she can hear you, no need for me to relay that message.’ The whole room could hear Angelina’s furious squawking.
Matt laughed. ‘Pass me the phone. Ange, leave him alone, for goodness’ sake, the man’s hardly likely to be anywhere else, and if he was I’d hardly be vouching for him.
Now get off the phone and leave us in peace.
No, you’re not going to ring him one more time just to check.
I mean it. Now sod off.’ And Matt very decisively hit the end button.