The Reading List(81)
She stood there, frozen, watching her mother cry, not moving an inch closer, too afraid to find out what it was this time, knowing deep down it was all her fault.
Eventually Leilah spoke. Quietly. So quietly that Aleisha wasn’t sure she’d caught every word, until their meaning eventually sank in:
‘He never came home.’
‘Who didn’t?’ This had happened before. She was talking about Dean. The day he left, with his bags, his things all boxed up, and he never came back. And now Leilah was reliving it all. Remembering it as if it were today.
‘Aidan,’ Leilah whispered. ‘He didn’t come home.’
‘That’s ridiculous,’ Aleisha snapped. ‘You were probably asleep. He came home just after I left for the library this morning. I’ve been out longer than I should have been. It’s my fault. I should have been home hours ago.’
‘No, Aleisha.’ Leilah looked up now. Her eyes were red, but alert. ‘After you left, he never came home. I waited. I was awake all day. I couldn’t sleep. I tried to pick up the phone to tell you but I didn’t want to call. In case he wanted to get hold of me. I couldn’t find my mobile. I couldn’t. I’m sorry.’
‘Mum, don’t worry,’ Aleisha said softly, trying to keep the panic out of her voice.
‘I don’t know what to do.’
Aleisha’s heart began to race again. Her mind was jumping forward a million steps and she had to pull herself back, had to try to think rationally. Aleisha knew there would be an explanation. There had to be. Aidan wasn’t the type to be out of the house for a long time. He always had a reason. Either that, or it was all Aleisha’s fault – she probably misread his Post-it notes, or misheard what he’d been saying. Did he have an extra shift at the mechanic’s? Or maybe there’d been a big delivery at the warehouse?
She had to calm Leilah down, otherwise she’d trick herself into panicking too. This had to be just a stupid misunderstanding.
She pulled her phone out of her pocket and called Aidan. It rang. It rang. It rang. That was a good sign. It was on, and he wasn’t rejecting the call as soon as he saw it. The automated voicemail lady said, ‘Please leave a message after the tone.’
‘Aidan, where are you? Mum says you haven’t been home all day. Call me when you get this.’
In the kitchen, she made Leilah a cup of cold water. When Leilah was feeling restless, or scared, or angry, or stressed, a cup of ice-cold water often did the trick.
When she brought the glass up to Leilah, her mother hadn’t moved an inch. She didn’t take the cup from Aleisha, so she instead rested it carefully on the wooden floor beside her.
Leilah was unreachable.
Aleisha wandered out, needing some air, and went into Aidan’s room instead.
It was a complete mess. Aidan usually liked everything so tidy.
On his bedside table: a half-drunk energy drink. A pint of Stella. A stack of Martina Cole novels gathering dust – they had always been his favourites.
Then she spotted his phone, tucked underneath a pile of receipts on his desk. It was charging. She pressed the home button and it illuminated: 100 per cent battery, four missed calls: Al. Some text messages. Some more missed calls: Guy. Claris. Whoever that was.
Aidan never left the house without his phone. He always kept it on him on vibrate, even against the regulations at the warehouse, in case Mum called. In case Aleisha called. In case something happened.
She argued with herself, with the booming thought in her head that something wasn’t right. She knew Aidan was sensible; Aidan would never have left the house without his phone if he didn’t plan on being back soon.
He’d be back soon. Of course, he would be back soon.
Chapter 28
MUKESH
MUKESH WOKE WITH STIFF knees, an aching hip, and a stiff back. Today the pain was much worse, like the darkest depths of winter. He should have taken himself to bed at a reasonable time, but he’d become wrapped up in the story of the March sisters, excited to open the book, to step into their world, to find out what all the fuss was about. The warmth of the family – it felt as though they were inviting him in as a beloved guest too. After everything over the past few days, the fall-out with his girls, the reconciliation, the tumble that hurt his hip, his confidence taking a knock, that’s exactly what he was looking for.
Little Women was undoubtedly the book. It was the book he should have asked for at the library when he didn’t know what book to read.
As soon as he met the March sisters and Marmee, he knew why Naina and Priya had loved it so much. The girls – Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy – they were fun, imaginative, they lived in books and outside books. They cared for one another, looked after each other. And everything about Little Women spoke of Naina. Every page burned with her legacy, her spirit sprinkled through the sentences. Sadly the sisters’ dad was away at war, and their mother Marmee was looking after them all on her own, in America, Massachusetts – and beyond that, she was looking after and caring for so many other people too, helping out with the war effort, treating her neighbours with kindness and warmth, as well as bringing food for families who needed it at Christmas, helping her neighbours and friends. If Naina had still been here, she would have been just like Marmee; so happy to put her own needs and comfort second to that of others. With each page, he just imagined Naina, everywhere, around him.