慡he must have liked it a bit then,?says Nelson.
慖t was dated 1963,?says Ruth. 慣hat was written on the back, 揇awn 1963??
慖t抯 a mystery,?says Nelson. 慖 know you like those.?
慡o do you.?
慖抦 a policeman. I hate mysteries.?
Ruth thinks of the photograph from Peter. The two kittens sitting on her shoulders. Sparky is buried in the back garden. Nelson actually dug the grave. Can she bear to leave those memories behind? And what memories did her mother have of the house, some thirty years before Ruth ever lived there? But, before she can say more, or argue with Nelson ?she thinks he likes detection more than he admits ?Kate comes galloping over to show them a mermaid抯 purse. Concentrate on the present, Ruth tells herself.
Nelson, too, has always imagined this day. What would it be like, in a parallel universe, to be married to Ruth? Restful, is one answer. Ruth doesn抰 feel the need to tidy up constantly ?she has left Monday抯 Guardian on the table all week ?and she seems to have no particular agenda for the weekend. Of course, all the places Michelle would frequent ?gym, garden centre, shops ?are shut but Nelson gets the feeling that they wouldn抰 figure in Ruth抯 plans anyway. They have a leisurely breakfast, eating bacon sandwiches and drinking coffee. Nelson tries to lure the demon cat with a bacon rind, but the animal simply turns its back on him. Katie laughs so much that orange juice comes out of her nose. Ruth laughs too, and it抯 pure joy to hear mother and daughter enjoying themselves so much, even if it is at his expense.
Ruth seems less happy when he settles down to watch the football, as he always does at home. She forces them to go out on a walk, across the dull, flat landscape, pitted with treacherous streams, all the way to the dull, grey sea. Nelson calls it 慻odforsaken?and Ruth gives him one of her sideways looks. They have quite an interesting talk about Ruth moving house. Although she stamps on the notion, it抯 the first time she抯 ever admitted that it might be a possibility.
Back at the cottage, Nelson offers to make fish finger sandwiches for lunch and is astounded that Ruth does not stock this essential foodstuff. They have cheese on toast instead. Afterwards, Nelson helps Katie construct a Lego house. He抯 forgotten how much he likes this sort of thing, fitting the little grooved bricks together, looking at the baffling Danish instructions, searching for that elusive corner block. He asks Katie what they抮e making and she says 慔agrid抯 hut?so he抯 none the wiser. Ruth sits at the table by the window working on her laptop but Nelson notices her looking over towards him several times. He asks her if she抯 had any more sinister messages and she says no. He抣l look into it on Monday. He doesn抰 trust Joe McMahon, not one inch. The boy is obviously obsessed with Ruth and now he抯 God knows where, plotting God knows what. Nelson does not approve of suspects being where he can抰 see them.
Ruth cooks a curry for supper. She does it in a rather haphazard way, with a book propped up on the work surface and Radio 4 tuned to some interminable play about the end of the world, but the curry is surprisingly good. Nelson and Katie wash up （after Nelson spent several futile minutes searching for the dishwasher） and Nelson makes coffee. Then they settle down to watch The Princess Bride. It抯 a film Nelson抯 daughters loved so, for the first time today, he feels slightly uncomfortable. Katie is sitting very close to him and keeps telling him the plot but, even so, after half a bottle of wine with supper, he feels his eyes starting to close. Ruth, the other side of Katie, is surreptitiously checking her phone. Is she worried about more Grey Lady messages? Or is someone else calling her? That horrendous David from work, perhaps?
慏ad,?says Katie. 慪our phone抯 buzzing.?
Nelson抯 phone is on the table. He picks it up. Laura. Instantly, the sleepiness and content fall away and all that is left is guilt. Nelson takes the phone and goes into the kitchen where Flint is sitting on the table hoovering up crumbs.
慦hat is it, love??
Laura is crying. 慖t抯 just so awful here, Dad. I can抰 cope. Can I come home??
Chapter 25
Ruth watches Nelson getting dressed, pulling on his shirt and jumper, ruffling his wet hair. She almost offers to make him a cup of tea but decides against it. To be honest, it抯 as if he already left last night, as soon as he got the call from Laura. Ruth understands his concern for his daughter. Nelson is a devoted father, it抯 one of the things she loves about him. But is he always going to leave her, as soon as he gets a summons from his other family?