Page 39 of The Wedding Proposal

At the end of this workshop session most of the teens slipped away, leaving space for the younger children who came in after school. Quiet, saturnine Axel came up to check his e-mail during his break time, greeting both women politely before settling down at a machine.

Aileen swivelled on her chair, stretching her limbs and reaching for her handbag. Her handbag and sandals matched, and she reminded Elle of a forties movie star, carefully set hair waving back from a conspicuously powdered face. Elle always half-expected Aileen to tie on a headscarf and hop into an open-top sports car.

‘Your Carmelo will probably be dashing in at any moment.’ Aileen took out her powder compact as if reluctant to brave the world outside without a fresh coat. ‘He’s got a real pash on you.’

Elle laughed. ‘What’s a pash?’

‘A passion. A crush.’ Aileen put away her powder and got out her lipstick.

Sighing, Elle agreed. ‘I’m afraid he has. He’s a lovely boy but I’m not exactly sure whether I should be discouraging him. And if so, how.’

‘Talk to Joseph. He’s a whiz with little lost kids like our Carmelo.’

As Aileen left, Elle made a round of the machines, closed down open documents and signed out of a couple of Facebook pages abandoned negligently by their users. She passed a few minutes with Axel, who was shopping online for books for his e-reader, then gathered up her bag and slung it over a shoulder. With a brief goodbye, she ran down to look for Joseph.

She found him sitting on the back doorstep talking to Maria.

Elle hesitated. ‘Am I interrupting?’

Joseph waved her forward. ‘Nothing more important than deciding whether to buy new school stationery now or wait to see if there are any offers when the time comes to go back to school. Something on your mind?’

‘It’s about Carmelo Tabone.’

‘Ah.’ Joseph smiled and exchanged a look with Maria.

It was stupid to feel self-conscious but Elle felt herself going pink. ‘I was just talking to your mum about Carmelo. She — well, I — well, both of us — we feel that he’s suffering from a bit of a crush. On me.’ She licked her lips. ‘I don’t know how to handle it. I don’t want to do the wrong thing and hurt his feelings, but, obviously — I — i-it’s not appropriate—’ She halted, irritated that her stammer had put in an appearance.

Sombrely, Joseph nodded. ‘Thank you for being careful of his little heart. I’m afraid that Carmelo is seeking affection.’ He paused. Then, delicately, he added, ‘His mother cannot always look after him as we’d wish her to.’

Elle’s heart gave a great squeeze. ‘Poor little boy. What about his Nonnu?’

A shrug. ‘Unfortunately, his mind is very old.’

‘Then I can see he might not be a help.’ Elle sighed. ‘Carmelo follows me home sometimes, Joseph; how should I handle it? The first time, I took him on board the boat for a drink, but I took care that we stayed in public view and that someone else was there. Since then, I’ve either pretended not to see him or taken him a drink in the gardens.’

Both Joseph and Maria sighed. ‘It’s hard for him.’ Maria shook her head, sorrowfully.

Joseph smiled at Elle. ‘Continue to be sensible in your own conduct and remember your training. But be his friend. Carmelo needs friends.’

A great lump snuck up into Elle’s throat. ‘Thanks,’ she managed.

When Elle left the centre she had seen no sign of Carmelo, so she wasn’t altogether surprised, arriving at the boat overheated and slightly headachey because she’d forgotten her hat, to find him on the quayside near the Shady Lady. It was new behaviour, getting one step ahead of her, but there was a schedule on the wall showing when she was due to be at Nicholas Centre. He was a fiercely bright kid, easily able to work out that if she wasn’t in the internet cafe she might be at the boat.

He was perched on the kerb around the garden, his attention on the Shady Lady’s open door. As Elle watched, she saw Kayleigh emerge, a bottle of drink in each hand. Her thick hair shone in the sunlight and swung either side of her face.

Elle paused. Till now, it had seemed as if Lucas had been keeping Kayleigh out of Elle’s path and Elle had assumed that he felt safer that way. Having lover and ex-lover together in one place wouldn’t be comfortable for anyone concerned so Lucas’s separatist strategy wasn’t something Elle was about to dispute.

But here Kayleigh was, speaking to Carmelo, gesturing towards the gardens and handing the little boy a drink. Carmelo turned and fell into step beside her. His shorts drooped and he hitched them up before he twisted the top from the bottle, tipping back his head to drink enthusiastically. His hair looked as if it hadn’t been cut for months.

Elle altered her trajectory in order to intercept them in the dappled shade of Gzira Gardens. ‘Hi,’ she called, brightly.

Carmelo’s head swung around and a smile burst like a splash of sunshine across his face. ‘Kayleigh gave me Fanta.’ He held up the bottle of orange pop.

‘That’s great.’ She exchanged a smile with Kayleigh. ‘And now you’re going to play in the gardens?’

‘You, too?’ Carmelo looked hopeful.

‘I can watch you for ten minutes,’ Elle temporised. ‘Then I have to go to work.’

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