Henry glanced surreptitiously at his father. He was looking thinner and older lately, with lines of strain across his forehead and around the eyes. If he really was sleeping with Anais, it wasn't making him any happier. But he couldn't be sleeping with Anais – not Dad. He just wasn't the type.
His mother said, 'Aren't you going over to see Charlie this evening?'
For a beat, Henry didn't realise she was talking to him. Then he woke up and said, 'Yes. Yes, I thought I would.'
'Mrs Severs will probably feed you – she usually does.'
'Yes, I thought – '
But his mother had already turned back to his father. 'I thought perhaps if you could get back a little early, we could have something to eat together, maybe go out somewhere. For a meal, I mean. Aisling won't be back from Pony Club until the weekend. Henry's going out. There'd just be the two of us.' She swung back to Henry. 'You wouldn't mind that, would you? If you're having supper with the Severs?'
'No,' Henry said. 'I could stay over if you like.' He often stayed over at the Severs's, but she ignored him, which presumably meant she didn't want him to. Hey-ho.
He saw his father glance at the clock. He had half an hour to make his train. 'I think that would be an excellent idea. I'll ring you later.' His voice was strained.
Tension had spread over the kitchen like a rug. Henry tried to defuse it. 'Wow, another nice morning!' he exclaimed brightly, looking at the sunshine through the window. 'Pity I have to go to Mr Fogarty today.'
'I thought we might talk,' Mum said. 'About… things.'
Dad closed his eyes briefly, then said, 'I'd better go now.'
'You haven't had your breakfast,' Mum said at once.
'I've had coffee,' Dad said. Which was true, although only one cup.
'I'll make you something,' Mum said. Her chair scraped on the tiles as she stood. 'You've plenty of time.'
'I don't have plenty of time,' Dad said flatly. 'If I don't leave now I'll miss the train.' He stood up. For just the barest instant they faced each other, very close together. Then Dad looked away and muttered, 'Better go.'
'Can you drop me off at Mr Fogarty's, Dad?' Henry asked quickly. He purposely avoided looking at his mother – for some reason he had a guilty feeling he was taking sides.
'I thought you weren't going to Mr Fogarty's until this afternoon,' his mother said sharply.
'No, this morning, Mum,' Henry said, still without looking at her.
'You haven't had any breakfast either.'
'Yes, I have.' He gestured at the empty cornflakes bowl.
'That's not enough.'
'I put bananas in it, Mum,' Henry said. 'Anyway, I can have something with Mr Fogarty. He likes the company.'
'Mr-'
'You'll have to come now if you want a lift,' Dad cut in.
'Bye, Mum,' Henry said. He ignored the stricken look and kissed her on the cheek.
Dad left without kissing her at all.
'What was all that about, Dad?' Henry asked as he clicked his seatbelt.
His father said nothing, but pulled out of the drive far too fast and without really looking. Henry noticed Mum wasn't standing at the door to wave them off as she usually did.
Henry sat in the passenger seat feeling nervous. He hated it when his parents fought. You could cut the tension with a knife and now Dad was in a mood. They didn't do it very often which made this one all the more worrying. Henry told himself it was probably nothing, but that didn't stop the worry. He knew five kids at school whose folks were divorced.
His father said something, but Henry missed it. He dragged his attention back from his thoughts. 'Sorry, Dad?'
'This Mr Fogarty – what's he like?'
'Old guy. You know… ' Henry shrugged. He didn't want to talk about Mr Fogarty. He wanted to find out what was wrong between his mum and dad.
'No, I don't know,' Dad said shortly. 'Why don't you tell me?'
He was uptight because of Mum. Henry said, 'Pensioner. Seventy, eighty – I don't know. Old guy. His house is a mess.'
'And you're cleaning it for him?'
If this had been Mum, the question would be followed by So bow is it you never clean your room?, but with Dad what you saw was what you got. Or sort of. They'd been through all this before. But Dad was clearly hassled because of Mum. He was driving too fast, for one thing. 'Sort of,' Henry said. 'I clean up a bit, but some of the time he just wants to talk.' And some of the time he didn't. Mr Fogarty was weird, believed in ghosts and fairies, but he wasn't about to mention that. Weird or not, Mr Fogarty paid on the nail and Henry was saving for an MP3 player.
'About what?'
'What?'
'Talk about what? You said some of the time he just wants to talk. Talk about what?'
'This and that,' Henry said.
All his father's pent-up frustration suddenly exploded. 'Oh, for God's sake, Henry, has he made you sign the Official Secrets Act? I just want to know what sort of thing you chat about. You're my son. I take an interest.'
Henry said, 'You wouldn't slow down, would you, Dad? You've got the heir with you.'
His dad glared at him for a moment, then grinned for the first time that morning and the tension in the car suddenly lifted. 'Sorry, old son,' he said softly. 'I really shouldn't take it out on you.' He eased his foot back off the pedal.
Henry sat back in his seat and watched the trees and hedges whizzing by.
Mr Fogarty lived in a small two-up, two-down at the end of a cul-de-sac on the edge of town. Henry's father pulled in on the corner. 'There you go,' he said. 'Don't work too hard.'
'You too,' Henry said. He reached for the handle, then stopped.
Dad said, 'Might see you this evening, son. Before you go off to Charlie's.'
Henry said, 'Are you having an affair with Anais, Dad?'
The silence was so deep it seemed to overcome the ticking of the car's engine. Henry sat quite still, his hand still on the door handle, looking at his father. He thought his dad would be angry, but instead he just looked distant, as if he was in the hot seat on Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?
Are you having an affair with Anais?
A. Yes.
B. No.
C. Not any more.
D. We're Just good friends.
One of those answers is worth?64,000, Mr Atherton. But the drop's a bit steep if you get it wrong.
After a while, Dad said, 'If you don't go now, I'll miss my train.'
'Come on, Dad,' Henry said. 'Don't you think I have a right to know?' He stopped himself adding, You've plenty of time to make your train, knowing it would sound too much like Mum. What he did add was, 'If you are, I won't tell Mum.' As he said it, he felt about six, promising not to tell the teacher.
Dad still didn't say anything. When the silence stretched further than he could bear, Henry opened the car door. 'OK,' he said.
His father said something as he climbed out. Henry was closing the car door at the time and didn't catch it. He opened the door again and bent down.
His father said quietly, 'I'm not having an affair with Anais. Your mother is.'
Two
The teashop was in a converted mews-house situated in a warren of side streets so narrow that Henry's father had to pull the car half on to the kerb to park.
'Have I left you enough room there?'
Henry opened the passenger door cautiously. 'Loads of room, Dad.' He managed to squeeze out, if only just. As his father was locking the car he said, 'Aren't you going to miss your train?'
'Stuff the train,' his father said.
Three steps took them down to a cosy, carpeted room with chintzy tables, only a few of which were occupied. The smell of frying bacon met them as they entered. His father led the way to a table tucked beside a door marked PRIVATE, well away from any of the others. Henry sat down underneath a window that looked out into a tiny, empty yard. There was a menu card propped up in a plastic holder in the centre of the table. 'Fancy bacon, egg and sausage?' his father asked without looking at it.