by Judi Curtin
I breathed the quietest sigh of relief I could manage. I wasn’t sure I wanted to see Nicola from Child Services, but she had to be less scary than a crazed burglar or a mad, axe-wielding murderer.
‘It’s Nicola,’ came the voice again, ‘don’t you remember me, Kate?’
I looked at Kate who shook her head.
‘I’m here to help you, Kate,’ said the voice. ‘I know what’s going on. I know Martha is in hospital. I know you’re here on your own.’
Now Kate gave me a fierce look, and it was my turn to shake my head. I had thought about it a million times, but I’d never actually told a single person that Kate was still in Seacove.
‘I know you’re trying very hard to be brave and independent, Kate,’ said Nicola from outside the door. ‘But now it’s time for you to come out and let me take care of you.’
She sounded like a nice woman, and part of me was very glad she was here. At last someone was going to talk some sense into Kate, and sort things out properly.
Clearly though, that wasn’t the way Kate saw it.
She turned and raced up the stairs, two steps at a time. The letter-box was still pushed open, so I had to get down on my hands and knees, and crawl past the front door to get to the stairs. It would have been funny if it hadn’t been really confusing and scary.
By the time I got to Kate’s bedroom she had pulled a rucksack from under her bed, and was already stuffing it with a few clothes.
While I was still trying to think of something to say, she pulled on a jacket, and gave me a quick hug.
‘You’ve got to help me, Eva,’ she said.
‘How?’
‘Open the front door and talk to Nicola for a while.’
‘Talk to her about what? And why?’
‘I need you to distract her. Tell her I’ve gone for a walk or something, and that I’ll be back later.’
‘But what are you going to do?’
‘I’m going out the back door.’
‘But that’s crazy!’ I said. ‘You haven’t got anywhere to go. Kate, you should let Nicola help you – you can’t look after yourself forever—’
‘Actually I can,’ said Kate. ‘Now are you going to help me, Eva? Are you my friend or not?’
This was so unfair. I’d do anything to help my friend, but since what she wanted me to do was such a bad idea, surely the kindest thing was not to help her at all?
Kate shrugged, almost like she didn’t care any more.
‘I’ll leave it up to you,’ she said. ‘You do whatever you think is best. Bye, Eva.’
I followed her as she tiptoed downstairs and into the kitchen.
‘Wait,’ I whispered. ‘Don’t leave like this. Let’s talk about it for a minute.’
But Kate ignored me as she grabbed a few apples from the table and stuffed them into her rucksack.
I put my head down, and covered my face with my fingers. This was all much too mad and crazy for me.
If Kate escaped out the back door, she could end up in a lot of trouble.
I had a horrible picture of my friend, cold and hungry, sleeping rough in a field, or under a bridge somewhere.
How could I let her go?
How could I prevent her from going?
Did I dare to let Nicola in, before Kate had a chance to escape, or ……?
While I was still making up my mind, I heard Kate pulling open the back door. Seconds flew past. If this whole thing turned out badly, it was going to be my fault.
But my throat was dry and scratchy, and my feet felt like they were glued to the floor.
I felt sick as I waited for the sound of the door closing. Once the door closed, I knew I had only seconds to act.
I waited for the sound of Kate’s running footsteps on the gravel outside.
But all I heard was silence.
I looked up to see Kate still standing in the doorway, and I breathed a big sigh of relief. She wasn’t going to run away at all. At last she’d managed to see sense.
‘Oh, Kate,’ I said. ‘I’m so glad—’
As I spoke, I took a step forwards and then I realised that it wasn’t good sense that had made Kate stay. Because, on the back doorstep, blocking Kate’s escape route, stood a very tall, very serious-looking man. He was youngish, and he was wearing jeans and a cool striped shirt. His hair was gelled up, and he had lovely blue eyes. He looked a bit like he should be on stage playing a guitar, rather than standing outside the back door of a cottage in Seacove.
For a minute no one said anything, as everyone stared at everyone else.
At last Kate found her voice.
‘Who are you?’ she asked rudely. ‘And what are you doing in my back garden? Don’t you know that trespassing is a crime?’
The man smiled, making his eyes go all crinkly and kind-looking, ‘I’m guessing you’re Kate?’ he said. He paused for a moment to allow her to answer, but when she said nothing, he continued, ‘Sorry if I gave you a fright,’ he said. ‘My name’s Tom and I’m a trainee social worker. Nicola sent me around here to the back of the house. For some strange reason she seemed to think that you might try to run away.’ I could see the muscles in Kate’s neck tense up, and then he went on. ‘But I can see already that you’re a smart girl, and would never do anything stupid like that.’
Ha, someone ought to do him a favour and tell him that while the first part of that sentence was right, the second part was very, very wrong. Kate is very smart, but I feared that she’d do pretty much anything to get away from Nicola.
I stepped closer to Kate, and saw that her face was grim and perfectly focused. She was gazing past Tom’s shoulder, towards the lane at the back of the house. She was tensed up like a cat getting ready to pounce. I’m not a mind-reader, but I’ve known Kate for a long time, and I knew for sure what she was thinking. I knew she was wondering if she could make a dash for the lane and outrun Tom.
Luckily he seemed to know that too. He smiled again.
‘There’s something you should know, Kate,’ he said.
‘What?’ she asked in a dull voice, like she already knew that nothing this man could say would ever, ever interest her. I could see the muscles in her legs tensing, like she was waiting for a whistle to signal that it was time for her to run.
Tom took a step closer to her, making her angle of escape even narrower than before.
‘I should tell you that I was once a champion runner,’ he said. ‘If you run away, I’ll have to run after you. You see, as I said before, I’m still a trainee. It would look very bad on my record if I lost one of my first clients. My career could be ruined forever.’
I started to smile, but stopped when I saw Kate’s angry face. I put one hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off.
‘Just go away, Eva,’ she said. ‘You’ve got what you wanted all the time. You told on me, and now my life is ruined. I hope you feel proud of yourself.’
‘I didn’t …’ I began, but I stopped. Kate had turned away, like she couldn’t bear to look at my face.
I wasn’t sure how I should feel. I was really, really sorry that my friend looked so sad, but at the same time, I couldn’t help feeling relieved that at last someone else was in charge.
Just then there was the sound of footsteps and a woman came around the side of the house.
‘Nicola,’ said Kate, in a colder voice than this smiling, ordinary-looking woman seemed to deserve.
‘Hello, Kate,’ she said. ‘So you were here all the time. My sources were right.’
Kate glared at me. ‘Your source is standing right here. Why don’t you give her a pat on the back – or maybe fifty euro. Do spies get rewarded for all their hard work?’
Nicola shook her head, ‘This has nothing to do with your young friend, Kate. This is a very small community. You think you’re invisible, but people see and hear the tiniest things.’
I thought of Kate and Martha trying to be discreet, as they stocked up their food cupboards. I thought of the vanishing tracksu
it and Kate’s long midnight walks.
Nicola continued, ‘You’d be surprised to hear how many people care about you and are interested in your welfare.’
‘Stupid busybodies with no lives of their own,’ muttered Kate.
Tom quickly turned away to hide his smile, as Nicola went on, ‘I have to admire your courage, Kate, but I’m afraid things are going to change now. You know you can’t stay here on your own.’
‘As you can see, I’m not on my own,’ said Kate. ‘Eva’s with me.’
Nicola looked closely at me. I stood as tall and straight as I could and wondered if there was any way of convincing her that I was a very young-looking, but very responsible, twenty-five-year-old.
Probably not, as Nicola just smiled vaguely at me and then continued, ‘I think we need to go down to my office to discuss what to do next,’ she said. ‘Come on, Kate.’
By now we had all stepped out into the back garden, and I could see Kate looking wildly around her. She looked like a gazelle in a nature programme – a gazelle surrounded by tigers. I knew she hadn’t given up. She was still searching for an escape route and mentally revving up for a dash to freedom.
I don’t know if Tom was reading my mind, or Kate’s, but he caught her eye, and shook his head.
He was tall and fit-looking and happened to be wearing running shoes.
‘Gold medal at 100 metres,’ he said. ‘Five years in a row.’
Kate sighed, and relaxed like a balloon deflating.
‘Do you want to pack a few things?’ asked Nicola kindly. ‘I don’t mind waiting.’
Kate pointed at the rucksack she was still carrying. ‘I seem to be ready,’ she said. ‘I guess I must have had a premonition or something.’
Tom smiled and reached to take the rucksack from her, but she just pushed past him, flung her rucksack over her shoulder and started to walk slowly towards Nicola’s car, which was parked on the road outside the house.
I realised that, only a few minutes earlier, Kate and I had been so excited about making hot chocolate that we hadn’t even heard the car approach.
Kate stopped walking and hugged me.
‘I owe you an apology, Eva,’ she said. ‘I’m sorry I thought you’d told Nicola on me. I should have known you’d never, ever do a mean thing like that.’
‘Er … that’s OK,’ I said, feeling totally guilty.
Would I ever be brave enough to tell Kate how close I came to telling on her?
Would Kate ever understand that sometimes, telling on a person requires more courage than protecting them?
By now Kate was climbing into Nicola’s car.
‘It’s been nice knowing you, Eva,’ she said. ‘Hope you have a nice life.’
Tom smiled at me. ‘Things aren’t all that bad,’ he said. ‘It’s not like we’re taking Kate to the other end of the earth. I can see that you’re good friends, and no matter what happens, Kate will be able to see you and spend time with you.’
Kate rolled her eyes, ‘Yeah, right! Maybe we’ll meet again when I’m grown up, and allowed to have a mind of my own.’
She was being all defiant and brave, but her eyes were glistening, and I knew she was close to tears.
This was awful.
Clearly Nicola and Tom were nice people, and they were only doing their jobs, but how could I let them take Kate away like this?
Could anything save us now?
Chapter Nine
Then I heard a beautiful sound. It was Joey, calling out, ‘Eva? What’s going on here? Is everything OK?’
A second later he appeared in the laneway, all excited and out of breath.
‘What are you doing here?’ I asked.
‘I was coming back from my soccer game, and I saw the strange car, and I heard strange voices, and I thought maybe Martha’s house was being burgled. So I told your mum and dad, Eva, and they’re on their way here right now. I ran ahead of them.’
‘But if the house was being burgled, it would be dangerous for you to come here on your own,’ I said.
Now he looked kind of embarrassed.
‘I heard your voice too, Eva, and I was afraid you were in trouble. I thought maybe I could save you.’
I looked at the skinny little boy, and hoped I’d never need him to save me from anything scarier than a kitten or a puppy.
‘That’s really sweet of you,’ I said as I gave him a quick hug. ‘But I’m not the one who’s in trouble.’
As Joey pulled away, Kate climbed back out of Nicola’s car and he noticed her for the first time.
‘Hey, Kate,’ he said, as he ran over for a hug. ‘I thought you were in Cork. What are you doing here?’
‘Long story,’ said Kate without smiling.
Before anyone could explain further, I heard Mum and Dad’s voices coming along the lane. I had no idea what they could do to help, but at that moment, I didn’t really care. Waiting for them was delaying the horrible moment of watching Kate being driven away.
So I hugged Joey again, and we waited for my parents to come to the rescue.
Mum, Dad, Nicola and Tom went inside Martha’s cottage and had a long talk. Outside, Joey and I sat on the grass and tried in vain to make conversation with a very silent Kate.
Much later the adults came out again. Mum came over to Kate and patted her shoulder. ‘You need to go with Nicola and Tom now,’ she said.
I sighed. Why had I ever thought that just because Mum and Dad were adults they could fix everything?
‘Where are they taking her?’ I asked.
‘Nicola has set up an emergency care meeting for this afternoon,’ said Dad.
‘I don’t like the sound of that,’ I said.
‘It’s not as bad as it sounds,’ said Mum. ‘It’s just to make a plan for what happens next.’
‘And what is going to happen next?’ I asked.
Mum smiled at me. ‘We don’t know for sure yet. Nicola is going to talk to Martha, though, and if it’s all right with her, we’re hoping that Kate can come and stay with us for—’
‘That’s brilliant news,’ I said interrupting her. ‘Did you hear that, Kate? You’re going to stay with us. Who knew it could all have been this easy? You can—’
Now Mum interrupted me, ‘You didn’t let me finish, Eva,’ she said. ‘Kate will just be staying with us for a few days, until—’
‘Until what?’ asked Kate, who had, up to then, been acting like this whole conversation was nothing to do with her.
Nicola came over, ‘Until a more permanent solution can be found, Kate. Eva’s family are only here on holidays, and soon they’ll be going back home. Ultimately we’d like you to stay somewhere near here, so you can still go to your own school, and see your own friends and neighbours. We want your life to go on as normally as possible.’
‘But …’ Kate started to argue, but then she looked closely at the four adult faces lined up in front of her.
‘I totally get it,’ she said. ‘You’re ganging up on me. I surrender.’
Then she picked up her rucksack and climbed back into Nicola’s car.
Nicola and Tom climbed in too.
‘Bye, Kate,’ I said as she closed the car door, but she was already looking the other way.
When we got back home, Joey played outside in the garden, and I had a very long, very serious talk with Mum and Dad. It sooo wasn’t any fun.
Most of their sentences started with ‘Eva, darling, we know you were only trying to help your friend but …’
Mum and Dad only had one point to make – basically, they were very disappointed that I hadn’t told them about Kate staying on her own. Even so, the conversation took over an hour.
I didn’t bother arguing. For one thing, when Mum and Dad are agreed on something, nothing in the world will change their minds. And the other reason was even simpler – I knew for sure that they were right. I felt guilty and embarrassed that I hadn’t been brave enough to get help for Kate.
Finally, after Mum and Dad ha
d each made their single point in a hundred different ways, we all hugged.
Then we sat down in the living room and waited for Nicola to come back.
Hours later, after lots of trips back and forth to Nicola’s office, and lots of phone calls to Martha, and lots of interviews, and lots of signing of long, complicated-looking documents, things were sort of sorted out.
Everyone agreed that Kate could stay with my family for the few weeks that were left of our holidays. Nicola and Tom were going to use those weeks to find a local family who would then take care of Kate until Martha was well enough to come home.
Kate didn’t look very happy as Nicola and Mum and Dad signed the papers.
I hugged her.
‘It’s the best possible plan, Kate,’ I said. ‘It’ll all work out in the end. You’ll see.’
She shook her head sadly. ‘All I see is that in a few weeks time you’ll be going back home to your real life, and I’ll be staying here. I’ll be the lonely foster-kid, relying on the charity of strangers.’
Tom patted her on the shoulder. ‘Nicola’s very good at her job, Kate. She won’t rest until she’s found you the perfect family.’
‘So she’s going to miraculously cure Martha, and bring her home to me tonight?’
I felt sorry for Tom as he flinched at her sarcastic comment. I wished he could see the real Kate – the clever, funny girl I’d known the summer before. I was beginning to think that that girl was gone forever.
Nicola was putting all the forms into her briefcase, and everyone else was just standing there, looking awkward.
‘So,’ I said brightly to Kate. ‘You’re going to be moving in with us for a while. It’s going to be so cool. It’ll be like one great long sleepover.’
Except it wasn’t.
I often have sleepovers with Victoria, and they’re always totally fun. We rent a few DVDs, Mum makes pizza, and later, when everyone else is asleep, Victoria and I sit up all night, filling our faces with popcorn and laughing about nothing.
That evening, Kate and I had the DVDs and the pizza and the popcorn.