“I’ve brought Theo to play with you.” I wasn’t sure if he recognized Theo’s name, or whether it was because Theo just happened to charge in at that moment, but it seemed to me that David shrank back slightly. I patted him on the head. His blond hair was so fine, I could feel the shape of his skull. It was eerily similar to Maddie’s, and so different from Theo’s heavy black curls.
“Well, I’ll see you at twelve thirty,” I said to Theo as I got up. “Remember to play nicely.”
“There’s really no rush,” Lucy said. “By the time you’ve gotten home, you’ll be setting off again. Why doesn’t Theo stay for lunch? Then he can rest in the car on the way back.”
* * *
—
I WENT HOME, BUT it was hard to concentrate. Driving across London had been more tiring than the stroll to the nursery used to be. But it wasn’t just that. I kept thinking of David, sitting in that massive playroom, surrounded by shelves of toys he couldn’t play with. There’d been something shut-in about him, something passive. It would be so easy to ignore a child like that, particularly with a fireball like Theo around.
Our house is small, so once Theo’s grown out of a toy we tend to put it in the attic. I went and found a crate of books he’d enjoyed at eighteen months. Julia Donaldson’s Toddle Waddle, Eric Hill’s Spot stories, Chris Haughton’s Shh! We Have a Plan. I pulled out some with sliders, flaps, and other gizmos, too.
When I went back that afternoon, I showed Lucy. “Theo doesn’t read these anymore, but I thought David might like them.”
She looked at them doubtfully. “He’s not a big reader, I’m afraid.”
“Of course not,” I said patiently. “But he might like me to read to him.”
I went and sat down next to David in the playroom.
“Look, David,” I said gently, holding up We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. His eyes turned toward it. Theo would have snatched it out of my hands in an instant, as a prelude to either hurling it away, if he wasn’t interested, or hitting me with it until I read it, if he was. David did neither. Instead, he reached out and touched it experimentally with his fingers.
Opening it, I started at the first page. “ ‘We’re going on a—’ ”
“Mnnneow,” yelled Theo, charging into the playroom with a Lego rocket in each hand, followed by Tania.
“Hi, Theo. I’m just going to read this with David. You can watch if you want.”
“Neow-neow.” Theo crashed the rockets into my head, one after the other.
“Tania, could you take Theo into the other room and help him rebuild his rockets? I just want to finish this story with David.”
“Of course. Come on, Theo.” She led him away.
“ ‘We’re going on a bear hunt,’ ” I repeated, turning the page.
* * *
—
DAVID SAT RIVETED TO We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, followed by Each Peach Pear Plum and Where’s Spot? When I brought out Dear Zoo he eagerly reached out and turned the flaps to reveal the animals behind them as I read.
“ ‘The end,’ ” I said at last, closing Dear Zoo and putting it down. I’d done all the noises, though I’d kept the lion’s roar to a quiet purr so as not to startle him.
“That was wonderful,” Lucy’s voice said. “Simply wonderful.”
I looked up. She was filming me on her phone. “Pete, you’re a marvel,” she added.
39
PETE
“PETE, YOU’RE A MARVEL,” Maddie said drily.
I laughed into my phone. “Of course. But how did you know?”
“Lucy’s put a video of you reading to David on Facebook. You can hear her voice behind the camera.”
It was barely four o’clock. “That was quick.”
“Well, I guess one has to do something while the nanny’s getting tea.”
“The nanny looked pretty shell-shocked, actually, after a whole morning of Theo. Speaking of which, Mika’s gone. This one’s called Tania.”
“What’s she like?”
“Seems all right,” I said guardedly. “Theo’s dubbed her Tanner.”
“Well, it’s only a temporary arrangement. I’d better go, my meeting’s about to start.” She paused. “It was lovely seeing you read to David, though. It made me want to reach out and put my arms around you both.”
* * *
—
AT HALF SIX THE doorbell rang. Deliveroo or Miles? I wondered.
It was Miles.
“I left work early this time,” he said cheerfully, stepping through the door. “Hope that’s all right. Ah! There you are, big man. Still up, I see.”
“Only just,” I said. Theo was on the sofa in his pajamas, watching a cartoon.
“Don’t worry, I won’t razz him up. We’ll just sit quietly for a bit. Here. This is for you.” Miles handed me a square package.
“You don’t have to bring us gifts,” I said automatically.
“You gave us all those books. Small gesture of gratitude.”
I opened the box. Inside was an iBaby monitor, one of the expensive ones with a remote-controlled camera.
“It’s the dog’s knackers,” he added. “I have the same model for David. Wi-Fi, 4G, omnidirectional microphone, night vision…It claims the humidity sensor can even alert you when there’s a wet nappy, though I guess that’s not something you need with Theo anymore.”
I lifted the camera out of the box. It was satisfyingly heavy, sleek, and rounded, with the lens part mounted in a kind of gyroscope. “It’s great, Miles, but…Those books were only sitting in the attic.”
“That monitor you’ve got would have been out of date in the Dark Ages. I’ve set it all up for you—just put in your Wi-Fi password and you’re away. It’s nothing, really. And Lucy’s been raving about how good you were with David today. She sent me a link to the video.”
“It was a pleasure,” I said, shrugging.
“Mind you, Theo looked quite put out when you sent him away like that,” he added. He sat down next to Theo, ruffling his hair. “Poor little chap.”
“Theo gets plenty of attention.”