Page 48 of Sun, Sea & Strawberry Shortcake
I follow them all the way back to the pink house, wonderingwhat the mysterious figure will do now. I hang back, sitting on a bench in thelane, to watch. But as Bee and Jodie disappear into the building, he makes nomove to follow them. Instead, he sits on the wall opposite their flat for amoment, pushing back the hood of his costume and scratching his curly blondhead. Then he jumps off and walks away.
Bee said her horrible ex has blond hair.Could that behim?
I need to warn Bee, in case it is...
But as I walk over to ring their bell, the door opens andJodie runs right past me. She stops at the gate and shouts, ‘I’m going to thepark. Mummy says it’s bedtime, but she promised I could go on the teapot lid.’
‘Jodie, wait!’ I hurry after her but she’s already runningoff along the lane in the direction of the park, as fast as her little legswill carry her.
A second later, Bee runs out. ‘Has she gone?’ she yelps indisbelief.
‘To the park.’
‘The little minx!’ she gasps, as we hurry after Jodie.‘She’s been badgering me all day to take her to the park. She’s obsessed withthat bloody teapot lid. But we were at the concert so we didn’t have time.’
‘It’s not like her to be naughty like this, though, is it?’
‘She’s been acting up in class lately, distracting theothers. Her teacher told me that tonight at the concert.’ Bee pauses to catchher breath. ‘I think she’s upset by everything that’s been happening lately.’
‘Oh, poor Jodie.’
‘She knows she can’t be out by herself – especially whenit’s dark like this.’
Hearing the panic in Bee’s voice, as she watches herdaughter round a corner and disappear from sight, I say soothingly, ‘She’ll befine. It’s not as if we don’t know where she’s heading.’
‘Bloody teapot lid,’ she mutters, as we race on.
At last, the park gates are in view, although I can’t seeJodie. She must be in there already.
And then my heart lurches at the sight of a figure inflowing robes, which appears from nowhere and slips through the park gatesahead of us into the darkness beyond. It looks like the druid I saw earlier,sitting on the wall, watching the flat.
‘Who’s that?’ cries Bee. ‘Jodie?Jodie? Come back here!’
We hare along, entering the park and running over the grasstowards the play area. Jodie is standing by the teapot lid and the figure infancy dress is bending to talk to her. And as we watch, he holds out his handand she takes it...
Bee gives a horrified gasp.
Reacting instinctively, I race towards the man and chargeright into him, taking him completely by surprise. He lets go of Jodie’s handbut just to make sure, I administer a swift kick in the area of his man parts,making him gasp and curse under his breath.
Jodie giggles. ‘He said a rude word, Mummy.’
‘I’ll give him rude words!’ shouts Bee in a frightened rage,grabbing hold of Jodie’s hand. ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing with mydaughter? I’m phoning the police!’
The druid slips off his hood and Bee freezes, staring at himas if she can’t believe her eyes.
‘Mummy, it’s Jon,’ says Jodie happily. ‘Don’t shout at him.He’s come to see us.’
Bee and Jon are gazing at each other. For one awful second,I think Bee’s going to start shouting at him. But suddenly, she steps forwardand flings her arms around his neck.
‘I can’t believe you’re here,’ she gasps, drawing away fromtheir tight hug at last so she can see his face. ‘How did you find us?’
He chuckles. ‘I read about the charity in the newspaper. Icouldn’t believe it when I looked at the group photo and spotted you in thefront row. I realised you were working here so I came to find you.’
She laughs incredulously. ‘But what’s with the druidcostume?’
He shrugs. ‘I knew you probably wouldn’t want to see me, butI wanted to make sure you were all right. Both of you. So...well, the disguise meant I could see you withoutyouseeingmeand telling me to get lost.’ He smiles sheepishly.
‘Why would I tell you to get lost?’
