‘Great,’ he breathed, relieved. ‘I promise I’ll try to be more supportive.’
‘And I’ll try to be less reactive,’ Sarah promised too.
‘Unless you have to be,’ Joe suggested, letting her know that he also got that sometimes she might have to react, for her son’s sake. ‘So, how’s it going this morning?’
‘Okay … ish. I’ve just spoken to Laura, actually.’ Sarah tried to sound matter-of-fact. ‘I, um …’ Pausing, she blew out a sigh, realising she couldn’t tell it any different to how it was. ‘To be honest, I think I might have overreacted a teeny bit,’ she admitted.
‘Ah.’ Joe sounded amused. ‘How so?’
‘I heard Ollie chatting to himself earlier. He has an invisible friend, it seems. A superhero who rescues starfish.’
‘Right,’ he processed. ‘That’s not a problem, is it?’
‘No,’ she assured him. ‘It’s just … he said he was a lost little boy, that Laura had lost him and that he was trying to find him and take him home. He also said he’d seen him in a photograph. He was worried about telling me. Said he wasn’t supposed to, and I thought …’
‘That Laura had told him not to?’ Joe picked up.
‘Yes. Exactly.’ Sarah breathed out another sigh, one of relief that Joe did appear to understand. ‘I was really concerned, to be honest. I mean, it didn’t sound like something Ollie would invent.’
‘So what did Laura say? You asked her about it, I take it?’
‘I did. I felt I had to.’
‘And?’ Joe sounded wary, but hopefully for the same reasons she did this time.
‘She said she’d told him a story about a lost little boy, wanting to impress on him that superheroes didn’t all have to have superpowers, or something like that, but that she hadn’t told him not to tell me.’
‘Sounds feasible,’ he said.
It did. Also a good life lesson for Ollie, teaching him that ordinary people could be heroes, but still something was niggling away at her.
‘And the photo?’ he asked.
‘I suppose it’s possible that he dreamed it up, or else saw a photo at Laura’s house.’ The way he’d described it, though … he’d seemed so specific. Sarah just wasn’t sure.
‘Could be,’ he agreed. ‘Children’s imaginations tend to embellish the facts, don’t they?’
‘I suppose,’ she mused, but still she wasn’t convinced. Ollie had never kept things from her in the past, yet he’d seemed positive he shouldn’t tell her. And would he really invent a photograph?
Sixteen
Laura
Noting Ollie’s startled face as a lorikeet swooped down, landing on Steve’s hand to peck at the nectar in the cup he was holding, Laura quickly crouched to reassure him. ‘It’s okay, Ollie,’ she said, looking into his eyes, which were flecked with worry. ‘It’s just a parrot. See its pretty rainbow colours?’
Ollie nodded uncertainly, glancing up at the bird and then back to Laura. He stepped swiftly into her arms as the lorikeet took off again with a raucous screech.
A man next to them chuckled as Ollie followed the bird’s progress across the top of the foliage. ‘Don’t you worry, young man,’ he said jovially. ‘Your mummy will fight them off for you.’
‘Course I will.’ Laura smiled and gave Ollie a squeeze.
Steve looked at her curiously, she noted, as he bent to pick the little boy up. ‘Hey, it’s all right, mate,’ he assured him. ‘These birds are tame. They won’t hurt you.’ Ollie still looked uncertain, his big blue eyes brimming with tears.
‘Shall we?’ Laura gestured towards the exit.
‘Good idea.’ Hoisting Ollie higher in his arms, Steve headed that way. ‘He thought you were his mum,’ he commented as they walked.
She noticed his questioning glance sideways. He was probably wondering why she hadn’t corrected the man. ‘That’s because we look like a family,’ she said, sliding an arm around his waist. ‘It’s a natural assumption to make. I thought it was easier not to try to explain.’
‘I suppose.’ He nodded thoughtfully.
‘Maybe the Lorikeet Lookout wasn’t the best plan after watching the birds of prey display,’ she suggested as they emerged.
‘Yeah, you’re probably right,’ he agreed. ‘He’s only three, after all.’
‘Four,’ Ollie piped up, trying very hard to put on a brave face now he considered they were safe. Laura had to smile at that.
‘Almost.’ Steve laughed, chucked him under the chin and set him back down on his feet. ‘How about we go and meet the farmyard animals instead?’ he asked, taking hold of his hand.
‘What kind of animals?’ Ollie asked, a concerned furrow forming on his brow.
‘Ooh, lots,’ Laura said. ‘Chickens and geese and cows. They have guinea pigs and rabbits, too.’
‘Do they have baby rabbits?’ His eyes growing wide, Ollie brightened considerably.
‘I believe they do.’ She smiled and checked the zoo schedule, and then her watch. ‘If we hurry, we’ll just make it.’
After meeting all the animals in the Farm and Barn, including an abundance of baby rabbits, with which Ollie was delighted, followed by a visit to Kidzoone, where he was congratulated on his very realistic loo roll model of a baby giraffe, he got to pick their next stop: the adventure playground, inevitably.
Once they’d found their way there, Laura eyed the various apparatus worriedly. ‘Do you think he might be a bit too young for some of this?’ she whispered sideways to Steve.
‘Nah. He’s been on most of this stuff at the local park. We have a system, don’t we, Ollie?’ he assured her. ‘He wobbles, I hold him.’ Giving her a reassuring wink, he swept up Ollie, who was raring to go, and headed for the monkey bars.
Watching them, Laura almost had palpitations, but Steve was so good with him, never letting him take a step that was beyond his ability and making sure to shadow and support him. She almost had complete heart failure when, once back on the ground, Ollie pointed gleefully to the long green chute attached to one of the wooden climbing frames, shouted, ‘Slide next, Daddy,’ and made a dash for it.
Steve helped him up, making sure he was steady, and was ready for him as he emerged from the end of it, thank God.
‘He can’t come to much harm in there.’ Laura nodded towards the sandpit Ollie was happily making sandcastles in minutes later. Sitting on the bench, she finally allowed herself to relax as she watched him. ‘Unless you want to join him anyway, just in case?’ She eyed Steve with wry amusement; he’d obviously enjoyed their adventures in the playground as much as Ollie had.
‘No, I’m good.’ Giving her a mischievous smile, Steve moved closer, sliding his arm around her. ‘It’s a tough choice, but I think I’d rather sit here with you than make sandcastles, although I’m red hot at them, obviously, me being a builder.’
‘Obviously. You’re a big kid, do you know that?’ Laughing, Laura turned her face up to him as he leaned towards her.