Chapter 37
Ben pulled out his ear buds, chucking them on the counter before bending over with his hands on his thighs, panting.
After finishing work, he’d headed home, but his mind had felt as fidgety as his body and he knew going for a run was the best cure for his current mood.
He’d done two loops around the park, joining the early-evening joggers and double-lapping the end-of-day strollers, enjoying watching the sky turn stunning shades of pink, apricot and red.
Letting Fred in, he headed for the shower, enjoying the feeling of washing away the day.
It had been a difficult shift. He’d been called out to a domestic fire, only to find a woman and her two children trapped inside a first-floor flat. They’d inhaled a lot of smoke before being rescued, and all three were in intensive care at the local hospital.
What had stayed with Ben was the husband’s reaction. He’d arrived home just as his wife and children were being pulled out, and the shock and distress on his face was clear to see. When he’d left his family that morning, all had been well, but then his world had been turned upside down.
Ben always found that change in circumstance so upsetting to see. One minute you’re fine, the next you’re not. Life offered no certainties.
He turned the temperature to cold and plunged himself under the freezing water, attempting to blast away the last lingering thoughts of the rescue, and then stepped out of the shower to get dressed.
Ten minutes later, feeling much better, he strode into the kitchen and laughed when he saw Fred’s cross-looking face glaring at him.
If he could have drummed his fingers impatiently on the countertop where he was sitting, then that’s what he’d be doing.
Instead, his angry meow made it very clear that Ben had taken far too long.
Ben tickled the cat behind the ears and Fred closed his eyes in ecstasy, all forgiven, until they were interrupted by the phone ringing. Ben reached to answer it as Fred jumped down from the counter and hopped onto a stool, where he curled up and settled into sleep.
Ben glanced at the phone’s display to see who was calling.
‘Hi, Mum.’
There was a pause. Then the sound of his dad clearing his throat.
‘Dad? What’s happened? Is Mum okay?’ Ben practically shouted, gripped with fear.
‘Yes, yes she’s fine, everything’s fine. I just, er, I thought I’d give you a call.’
‘Oh!’ Ben frowned, puzzled.
‘How are you?’ his dad continued.
‘I’m okay…?’ Ben was confused. What was going on? His dad never rang him. If he answered the phone when Ben called, he’d mutter a hello and then say put his mum on. He never asked Ben how he was or stayed on the line to chat.
‘Good, good.’
Ben steeled himself for bad news. Were his parents getting divorced? Perhaps something had happened to Penny. Or worse still, Evie. Before panic set in, his dad spoke.
‘I wondered if you’d like to help me with a summerhouse for the garden?’
‘A summerhouse?’ Ben repeated, confused.
‘It doesn’t matter. I just thought we’d done a good job with your cat house thing and your mum’s been asking for somewhere shady to sit in the garden. I thought maybe you fancied having a go at something bigger, but if you’re busy—’
‘I think it’s a great idea, Dad,’ Ben interrupted. ‘You just caught me by surprise, that’s all. I thought something bad had happened. You don’t normally ring.’
He hoped he didn’t sound argumentative.
There was another pregnant pause before his dad asked, ‘So what do you think? About the summerhouse?’
‘I think it’s a great idea. What do you have in mind?’
Ben listened, his panic subsiding, as his dad described the sort of thing he wanted: a medium-sized structure to fit in the corner of the garden, a bit of decking so they could sit outside on a sunny day, with a storage cupboard for deckchairs.
Ben grabbed a pen and started to make notes on the back of an envelope. They agreed Ben would draw up some proper plans and then they could go over his design before ordering all the materials they’d need.
‘That sounds great, Dad. I’ll get started when I have a couple of days off.’
‘Okay. Thanks, Ben. Bye.’
Before Ben could say goodbye there was a click and the phone went dead. Ben rolled his eyes. Typical.
But then he remembered what his mum had said about his dad doing not saying.
Perhaps this was his way of trying to make things better between them.