For Your Own Protection(25)
‘Daddy! I’m going to walk the plank!’
Matt watched as Charlie whizzed down the slide, then immediately sprang up and ran around to climb back up the rope netting.
Charlie was showing no after-effects of the drama just an hour earlier. Unlike Matt, who couldn’t shake the terror he had felt over losing Charlie. During lunch at the leisure centre cafe – chips, sausage, and baked beans for Charlie, and a sandwich for Matt – he’d tried but failed to recover. His unease was heightened by the fact that he seemed to have got his son back with the help of the woman who was quite likely stalking him.
What would he tell Beth? She’d freak out if she knew he had lost Charlie for almost ten minutes. At the very least, it would put a new strain on their relationship. At the worst, it might jeopardise the current access arrangements, or even strengthen her resolve to relocate to Australia.
‘Daddy! I’m going to walk the plank again!’
Again, Charlie whizzed down the slide.
Even if Matt decided not to tell Beth about what had happened at the swimming pool, there was no guarantee Charlie himself wouldn’t mention it. He was now at the age where he passed messages, news, and secrets between his parents.
A few weeks ago, he had revealed to Matt that James had bought Beth a ‘special ring’. Matt hadn’t brought the subject up with Beth, and hadn’t seen the ring – she certainly hadn’t worn it during his pick-ups and drop-offs – but he did wonder, with some horror, whether it had been an engagement ring.
Except it couldn’t be, could it, considering Beth’s aversion to marriage?
Beth’s parents’ toxic relationship – a marriage built on sand mixed with broken glass – had shaped and warped her view of the ritual. Only two dates in, she had been upfront with Matt about her feelings: marriage, to anyone, was off the table, and there would be no changing her mind, no negotiation in future years. To Beth, commitment was about proving yourself with deeds over the long haul, not a shiny ring and paperwork.
But still, you could never say never, could you?
The thought made him feel nauseous.
Charlie slid down the slide for the umpteenth time, but on this occasion he raced over to Matt, who was still dwelling on whether to come clean with Beth. ‘Daddy, I want to go on the rocky, wobbly pirate ship!’
‘Okay, mate,’ Matt said, as Charlie sprinted off to the see-saw.
‘Excuse me.’
Matt turned to see a young woman. She was holding a baby against her chest, rocking from side to side as she looked up at Matt. ‘Hi,’ he said.
‘Aren’t you the guy who was looking for his son in the swimming pool?’ the woman asked.
‘Yes. That’s me.’
‘I just wanted to say, I was so happy you found him. I was near you, at the water slide, when you first lost him. I was in the pool with my little girl, and when I heard you talking to the lifeguard, I actually went to look for him myself. I’d been watching him going down the slide, so I knew what he looked like.’
‘That was really kind of you. I really appreciate it.’
‘I know what it’s like to be in that situation. It’s just so horrible. I lost my eldest once; he was three at the time. It was only for two or three minutes, but it felt like a lifetime. And when I got him back, I just didn’t want to ever let go again.’
‘But you have to, don’t you?’ Matt said.
‘Yes, you do. At least he doesn’t seem any the worse for it,’ she said, watching Charlie, who was giggling as the see-saw bounced up and down even harder than before.
‘No, he’s fine. It’s me who needs a lie-down.’
‘I bet you do. I was nearly the one who found your son,’ she revealed. ‘We’d looked around the toddler pool, and the bigger pool, and we were just about to enter the ladies’ loos when I saw him coming out with another lady. I was so happy to see him – I recognised him immediately – but then I suddenly wondered, what if that woman actually took your son? What if she hadn’t just found him, and she was taking him away? I feel a bit bad for thinking that now, but you just can’t be too careful these days, can you?’
‘No,’ Matt said, thinking that this woman didn’t know how close to the mark she possibly was.
‘Anyway, because I had those doubts, those suspicions, we followed them, past the changing rooms. I thought at first they were heading for the exit, and I was trying to think of what to do to stop her. But then I realised she must have just been looking for a member of staff, because she walked right up to one of the female lifeguards. As soon as I saw that, we went to get changed. Like I said, I felt a bit guilty about jumping to the wrong conclusion. But I felt better once I had a chat with her.’
Matt nearly didn’t take in that last sentence. ‘A chat? You saw her?’
‘Yes, just before I saw you, actually. I thought maybe you might have seen her too.’
‘Here? You saw her here?’
The woman seemed a little startled by Matt’s horrified reaction. ‘Yes, just over there.’ She turned to her left and indicated the picnic area. ‘She was sitting down at one of the tables, just a few minutes ago. I happened to spot her as we were walking past.’
Matt looked over at the picnic tables. There was no sign of the woman he knew as Catherine. But if she had been watching Matt and had seen the young woman who’d spoken to her now talking to him, she would surely have got up and left. Maybe she was still close by. His eyes swept across the wider area of the park.