Flight SQA016 (The Flight Series)

by A. E. Radley

  “Did you actually use those words?” he asked.

  “No, well, kind of, yes. I said that she was doing a tremendously bad job of looking after her son. And then she asked me if I was calling her a bad mother and I said yes.”

  “And then?”

  “And then she told me to go. So I did.”

  “Did you try to apologise?” Simon asked carefully.

  “No, she closed the door on me.” Olivia looked away from his reflection and continued to stare out of the window.

  “Okay,” Simon said. “What happened before that?”

  “Before?” Olivia grimaced as she recounted the conversation. “She told me she was in debt. Henry’s hospital bills. Oh, and that she was a foster child.”

  “Anything else?” Simon pressed.

  “I don’t know, I’m upset,” Olivia sulked, she turned to face Simon.

  “Olivia, some people are very sensitive about money issues. You telling her the hostel was a dive probably upset her,” Simon pointed out.

  “She got annoyed when I tried to help her,” Olivia said. “I got my wallet out to give her my spare hotel room key.”

  Simon frowned. “You…why?”

  “They have to leave the hospital tomorrow, and since tomorrow I go back to New York, I thought they could stay in my suite while I was away.”

  “Jesus,” Simon whispered and then spoke up. “Did you explain that to her?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Did you say, ‘I have a hotel room you can use while I am away’? Or did you just flash your purse about while telling her the hostel was seedy?”

  “I…” Olivia thought for a moment before realising her mistake. “Oh.”

  Simon let out a heavy sigh.

  Olivia turned back to the window and softly banged her forehead on the glass. “I’m so tired of it, Simon.”

  “Tired of what?” Simon gently asked.

  “Trying to understand people. Struggling to get them to understand me. It’s exhausting. I’m trying to do the right thing but I just don’t seem to be able to.” Olivia sighed before pushing herself away from the window. “Provide Miss White with the journalist details,” she said formally then sniffed and sat down in her chair again. “Tell her I send my apologies and that I won’t bother her or her son again.”

  “Olivia…” Simon started.

  “Thank you, Simon,” Olivia dismissed him and returned her attention to the screen.

  Simon looked at her for a moment before he returned the stress ball to her desk and quickly and quietly exited the room.

  CHAPTER 16

  On Friday morning, Simon arrived at the hospital bright and early. Emily stood by Henry’s bed folding clothes into a small travel bag. She looked at him in exasperation.

  “Here we go,” she mumbled. “So, she sent you?”

  “I bring freelance journalist details, as requested.” He held up a sealed envelope.

  “Oh, I completely forgot about them.” Emily blushed a little. “I’m sorry, Simon, come in.”

  Henry yelled, “Pasta Man!”

  Simon grinned and Emily shook her head in mortification at her son’s manners.

  “Yep, Henry! That’s me, Mister Pasta. Or Simon, if you prefer?”

  “Simon.” Henry grinned. “Olivia’s Simon.”

  “Yep.” Simon smiled. “Good to see you looking better. And what a nice giraffe hoodie you have there.”

  Henry grinned proudly. “Olivia got it me.”

  “Olivia got it FOR you,” Emily gently corrected.

  “She apologises, by the way,” Simon said quietly to Emily.

  “Did she tell you why she needed to apologise?”

  “In her own way,” Simon said. “She is genuinely sorry and didn’t mean it like that at all. But she said she understands and respects your wishes and will leave you and Henry alone from now on.”

  “Good,” Emily grumbled as she folded some of Henry’s clothes into his new rucksack. “Because I don’t need her charity.”

  “If you say so,” Simon shrugged.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Emily spun around and stared at him.

  “She told me you were in debt, she didn’t go into all the details but she told me that much,” Simon said as he started to help her pack Henry’s clothes.

  “Did she tell you she called me a bad mother?” Emily replied with a bark of laughter.

  “That she did. But I don’t think she’d realised that she’d said it exactly, not until she got back to the office.”

  “This social awkwardness thing doesn’t excuse her from her behaviour,” Emily argued quietly.

  “If you say so,” Simon repeated.

  Emily folded her arms, glancing over to where Henry was reading a book to Tiny before looking back at Simon. “Go on, say what you want to say.”

  Simon shrugged. “It’s up to you but I just think we should judge people on their intentions. Like, when I came in here your son shouted pasta at me. Now, I took into account that he is five and I laughed it off. I could have taken it personally but I didn’t because I know that he is still learning social skills. Olivia is the same; social awkwardness, on the spectrum, just plain crappy childhood, whatever you might want to call it or blame it on…I dunno. But the honest truth is that she struggles to make herself understood. She says the wrong things and accidentally hurts people, and that hurts her. But, I can see that you’re a very proud woman, and there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just an observation. So, I’m not going to come in here and defend Olivia to you because there’s no point. What’s done is done and I think you and her are always going to clash.”

  “How many meanings can there be to ‘you’re a bad mother, let me pay to fix your mess’?” Emily questioned quietly, more sad than angry now.

  “You know, I can’t figure out if you have a problem with accepting help or accepting help from her.”

  “What do you mean?” Emily asked.

  “Okay, let’s say that a very kind, rich, old man, picture a Father Christmas type, right? Let’s say he’s Lord Richard the Rich of Richshire, and he’s walking through the corridors of the hospital and he sees Henry and gives you a cheque for a thousand pounds, dollars, whatever, would you turn it down?” Simon asked.

  “I…” Emily hesitated.

  “See? You hesitated, because you are thinking of all the things that a thousand whatevers could do to help your son, and it’s right of you to do that. It is absolutely right. Sometimes we need to accept help from others, lock our pride away,” Simon said. “And, for your information, Olivia wasn’t planning to give you money, she was planning to give you the spare keycard to her hotel suite.”

  Emily opened her mouth but no words came out.

  “She’s gone back to New York today,” Simon continued, “and she figured that you and Henry could stay in her suite until you got something sorted out. At least she could save you some money,” he said. “She has been staying at the hotel every week for years so she has a permanent suite. It’s empty on the weekend so she lets whoever needs it use it, sometimes I use it if I have family down from York or something.”

  “She has a permanent suite at the Hilton?” Emily said in shock. “Why doesn’t she just own property?”

  “You remember what I said about Olivia and logic?” Simon laughed. “She stayed there when she was a kid visiting her father in London. His new wife didn’t want Olivia or her mother staying at her home. And later, Olivia just kept on doing it. I think she likes it because she can see the office from her hotel window. She likes symmetry in things. Anyway, not that it matters, but that’s what she was going to do. Not shower you in fistfuls of fifties.”

  “Okay.” Emily sighed. “Okay, I admit I’m a bit sensitive when it comes to accepting help and especially so when it’s from Olivia. I don’t know why? I suppose I just find her intimidating or something.”

  “I know she’s not easy to talk to sometimes,” Simon admitted. “It took me a
while to figure her out.”

  A moment of silence passed as they packed up the last few items. “Isn’t this the part where you tell me to forgive her?” Emily asked, folding a small sweater.

  Simon shook his head. “No, I didn’t come here to fix things. As I said, you two might always clash. I’m here to help you, if you want any help?”

  “I think we’ll be okay.” Emily shrugged as she looked at the packed bags.

  “Sure, you’ll be absolutely fine going to a busy London Underground station with a suitcase, three bags, and a sick child all on your own. The long escalators and staircases will be the best bit.”

  Emily smiled and shook her head. “Fine, thank you, Simon. I’d love some help. How’s that?”

  “Better.” Simon grinned.

  “Shouldn’t you be working?”

  “Yeah, but she’s…” Simon looked at his watch. “Just checking in at the airport so I won’t hear from her again until later this evening.”

  Emily walked into the en-suite bathroom and picked up Henry’s toiletry bag. “What did you mean when you said we might always clash? Olivia and me, I mean.”

  Simon laughed. “Are you sure you want to go down this route?”

  Emily laughed along with him. “Go on, hit me with it.”

  Simon blew out a breath. “Olivia…is Olivia. She won’t change. Not that she doesn’t want to, she just can’t. If she could choose to not be socially awkward then she would, obviously, choose that. And she can’t learn from all her mistakes, or she would stop making them. But she doesn’t, she does the same things again and again. So, in my opinion, that’s that. She’s fixed the way she is and it’s up to those around her accept who she is and change their way of interacting with her. I’m not saying that’s easy,” Simon said. “I’ve wanted to throttle her many times, but when I realised that her actions don’t always match her intentions, I started to change the way I communicated with her. Ask for clarification, don’t fly off the handle, and always assume the best in her. But it’s not always easy.”

  Emily nodded. “But she’s your boss so you had to find a way to deal with her.”

  “She’s my friend too,” Simon confessed. “She may be a mess when she’s in here calling you a bad mother and critiquing your choice in hostel. But she is one of the best financial brains there is. She’s an expert on taxation law in every country in the world, she can quote investment returns across hundreds of funds, she brokers impossible deals. I have learnt more from her and her way of doing business than I would have working my whole career at another firm.” Simon folded his arms and smiled at Emily as he continued. “As awkward as she is in her personal life, she’s completely different in her work life. Analytical, sharp, and shrewd. It’s like she’s a different person, like the corporate world just clicks with her. And because of that she gets things done. For example, without Olivia, your son would not be in this room today.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “She worked with the Great Ormond Street charitable trust for years. When they came to her with the redevelopment plan, she was the person who convinced investment banks to part with their profit margins to fund the construction of this new wing.”

  Emily looked around the room as realisation began to sink in.

  “Anyway, before you accuse me of being a one-man Olivia Lewis appreciation society, where are we heading? If you still want help, that is?” Simon said.

  “She’s lucky to have you, Simon,” she said seriously as she picked up her handwritten notes and looked through.

  “Yeah, I know. If you ever speak to her again, tell her I need a raise.” Simon grinned as Emily handed him a page with the hostel address.

  Simon gave it a curious look. “I know the road but not the actual hostel. Look, I have a travel allowance, let’s just grab a taxi. It will be better than fighting against the morning commuter crush.”

  Emily opened her mouth to complain but quickly closed it again. “Well, I’m opening myself up to the idea of accepting help so whatever you think is best.”

  They signed Henry out of the hospital and collected his medication and schedule for check-ups. Then Emily, Henry, and Simon hailed a black London taxi to take them to Kings Cross.

  Henry was ecstatic to be in the London icon and spoke animatedly with the chatty driver. He looked out of the window and pointed out everything to his mother, from red double-decker buses to other taxis.

  At the hostel, Simon paid the driver and looked up at the old Victorian building with a tilt of the head. “Hopefully it’s better on the inside,” he said.

  Emily nodded with a frown. “Yeah, the pictures online looked okay.”

  They made their way down a dark and narrow passage to a large metal door that looked like it wouldn’t be out of place at a maximum security prison. Simon pressed the bell and they waited. “Don’t come down here at night,” Simon warned Emily quietly.

  Emily looked around the dank passageway and at the metal door, which was obviously there to keep undesirables out. “No, I won’t,” she agreed, holding Henry’s hand a little tighter.

  Several heavy metal bolts slammed and the door creaked open to reveal an older man who looked as run down as the building.

  “What?” He growled at them.

  Emily blinked at the rudeness and spoke up. “Um, my name is Emily White, I made a reservation by telephone the other day.”

  “Come in,” the man said, taking in Simon’s suit and tie with a roll of the eyes.

  They stepped into the cramped reception area. Henry pressed close against his mother and clutched Tiny to his chest. Emily looked at the people in the lobby and wondered who the metal door was supposed to keep out if these were the people they let in.

  “You okay?” Simon checked with her and she gave a half-hearted nod. He looked down at Henry whose eyes were darting about the room in panic and back at Emily “Is this what you were expecting?”

  “Nope.” Emily shook her head.

  “Excuse me,” Simon called out to the old man. “Can we just have a minute?”

  The man looked at Simon and then Emily and walked away into a tatty office.

  Simon turned to Emily his face happy and jovial for Henry’s sake and spoke quietly. “This place is a dive, are you sure you want to stay here? I’d offer you a bed at my place but I share a house and we’re at full capacity. I’m sleeping on the sofa at the minute because my sister is visiting.”

  The sound of a fight breaking out around the corner made Emily jump and she took a hesitant step backwards. Henry pressed himself into her leg. “Mommy, I don’t like it.”

  “I know, Henry,” she said as she looked around the lobby.

  “Look,” Simon said calmly. “You can’t stay here. Let’s go back to the office, you can sit down and use the Internet to find something else. At least it will be warm and safe and…not here.”

  “I can’t take up more of your time.” Emily shook her head.

  “Look, Olivia will skin me alive if she ever found out I left you and Henry here,” Simon pointed out. “Come on, let’s go. London’s got other places to stay, I’ll help you find something else.”

  “Mommy.” Henry squeezed Emily’s leg tightly as a woman in the corner give him a wave. Emily wondered distractedly if she was a street worker by the way she was dressed, or rather underdressed.

  Mind made up, she looked at Simon. “Let’s go.”

  He nodded and called out to the old man to open the door again. He told him they’d changed their minds and, before long, they were in a taxi again, making their way back towards Bloomsbury. The difference between the two London districts was like night and day, despite the short distance.

  “Maybe I am a bad mother,” Emily muttered as Henry chatted to the new taxi driver. “God, that place.” She shuddered at the thought.

  “You know what would make you a good mother?” Simon said with a serious face.

  “What?”

  “Swallowing your pride and letting
Henry stay at the Hilton for a few days,” Simon told her. “You’ll have the suite to yourself and there are no prostitutes in the lobby. Olivia won’t be back until Monday evening so if you don’t want to see her you have until then to organise something else.”

  “I think she’s probably retracted that offer by now.”

  “No.” Simon shook his head. “She’s not like that. She’d want you and Henry to have somewhere safe to stay, no matter what was said yesterday.”

  Emily remained silent as her brain struggled to think of another option. She really didn’t want to take Henry to Olivia’s office while she looked for somewhere new and she already knew the options were pretty slim in her price range.

  “Is this silence a yes?” Simon pulled her from her thoughts.

  Emily gave him a small smile. “It might have to be.”

  “Wow, we wore you down,” Simon chuckled before speaking up to the driver. “Change of plan, mate, can you take us to the Hilton on Southampton Row?”

  * * *

  Simon spoke to the hotel staff at the reception desk and obtained a new keycard. Then all three made their way to Olivia’s suite on the fourth floor. Henry was the first to walk hesitantly into the suite while Simon held the door open for him. He clutched Tiny to his chest and looked around at the plush surroundings with an awed expression.

  “Who lives here, Mommy?” he asked.

  Emily came in behind him and stood with her mouth open as she took it all in. “Well, this is where Olivia lives when she’s in London,” she explained softly.

  “Is Olivia here?” Henry asked excitedly, his face beaming as he wandered off to look for Olivia.

  “No, Henry, do you remember I told you yesterday that Olivia is very busy and we may not see her again for a long time?” Emily said.

  Simon wheeled the large suitcase into the room. “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

  Emily blushed with guilt.

  “So,” he continued, pointing out various doors and hallways. “This is obviously the sitting room, and through there is the kitchen and dining room and over there are the bedrooms.” He opened a door that led to a small hallway. “On the left is the spare room and the main bathroom and on the right is Olivia’s room and in there is her en-suite.”