Then as if he could read his mind, his father sat next to him and began to talk.
‘I couldn’t come before, Alun. Not for a while. Too much to work out. I wasn’t exactly ill but I needed time and I got that time at Maidenhall.’ Dad thought for a moment. ‘I suppose it stopped making me sorry for myself, seeing all the others. Not just ill people, but down-and-outs. They look after them too, you know.’ He smiled. ‘And the digging helped. It was all I was fit for at the time. I knew you had your Mam so I wasn’t worried. You see I didn’t know what had happened to you until Mrs Wellsman came and told me. That was only yesterday, Alun, and it was only a bit of luck that she bumped into me. Another couple of days and I’d have been gone. The fact is, I have another job on the railway, starting next week. And a little flat with lots of shelves for books.’ He looked at Alun and the tired blue eyes filled with pain. ‘There’s room for you, Alun. Two nice little bedrooms, see. Mrs Wellsman reckons your Mam wouldn’t mind if you stayed with me. For the present, like. Would that be all right with you?’
‘Don’t be daft!’ Alun said and Dad put his arm round his shoulders and squeezed him.
‘You’ve grown, son. Really. In every way. Taller than me now!’
It was funny, thought Alun, feeling bigger and stronger than Dad. It was as if, now Rhiwallon had helped him, he could help his father at last. He couldn’t quite work it out but he knew the two things were connected. He stared at Myddfai and the baby and the light Mrs Williams had placed behind the crib. If he and Dad were in the picture they would be miles away, somewhere at the top of the hill where it was dark and the stars didn’t reflect their light. But they would climb down. Together, they would climb down to the crib.
‘What do you want for Christmas?’ Alun asked.
‘I’ve got all I want,’ said Dad, smiling. ‘What about you?’
Alun went silent. All the different voices in his head started up. I want to bash up Tony. I want to see Mam smile and kiss Dad. I want that badly but I’ll never get it. I want to hold my little sister again. I want it to be like it was. I want us all to be happy. Proper. A real family. Like Huw’s. I want to get stronger. I want to be a doctor. Yes, I do want to stay with Dad, as long as it’s not too far from Catrin and Mam. The thoughts clamoured but not badly. Not like the shrieking black birds. More like the insistent tunes country birds sang as they flew across the Black Mountain.
He turned to Dad. ‘A bike will do,’ he said, smiling.
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Riding the Storm
Riding the Storm Page 11