Well in advance of the fifteen minutes when Harry walked into the kitchen, to find Wes helping Ruth get breakfast underway, she'd been occupying herself in the same way that had seen her being employed as his senior analyst. Because, as she always does now, for no other reason than to listen to the news headlines, she'd switched the radio on. Only to be reminded that the Festive Season was less than three weeks away. Although, quite why they'd both managed to ignore what was a time for children and in their case Wes, she'd put down to the trauma of the last few weeks, which had been replaced by the euphoria of the last twenty-four hours. Which was why she'd decided that in the time she had available to her, she needed to find an alternative, which would guarantee they all enjoyed Christmas, but without the constant reminders from the media that it was a time when families came together.
Confident that she was doing the right thing and in a way that she hoped Wes would respond to. In the same way that Fiona who she remembered not only as being beautiful, but never holding back when she had something to say; a compliment which if asked, Harry would no doubt have said applied to her at the time, she'd tested her own resolve, by suggesting to Wes that it would help her to get to know him better, if he wrote her a list of things he'd like to do. Which not only received a positive response, but when she suggested that he might like to help her get breakfast underway, she discovered that he wasn't a child who would shy away from rolling up his sleeves. The opposite in fact, which was a credit to Adam and Fiona she thought, just as Harry walked into the room.
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The list which Harry is yet to see, is a world apart from the mental list which she herself has been making, to which she's now able to add, not only does Harry wake up in the same mood as when he went to sleep, but he prefers toast and coffee for his breakfast. Quite why knowing this makes the fact that they're living together feel more intimate, she decides is because it had felt so right when they'd finally made love. That Harry is looking at her in a way to suggests that he's thinking about that as well, she knows is making her blush. Harry on the other hand, appears to be able to hold the stare she's returning without any apparent discomfort. Forcing herself not to look away, she only manages by clenching her fists, which of course reminds her of how she'd reacted when Harry's hands, gently at first and then with more urgency, had caused her to stifle a groan of pure pleasure.
Saved now from the same reaction, comes when Wes asks if, 'he can please leave the table,' and when he does, Harry asks her, 'if Wes can put the TV on?'
Finally alone and with Wes out of earshot, the battle not to mention what happed the previous night continues. Until the moment when Harry is buttering a second slice of toast and Ruth takes of advantage of the fact that Harry won't talk with his mouth full, by bringing up the subject of Christmas and the list that Wes has made. Whether or not he took into account that she lives within spitting distance of the sea when he compiled his list doesn't matter. What does, if she can ignore the fact that Wes wants to join MI5, is that the remainder are easily doable. Going on a boat trip and fishing, the former of which is seen as art form if you are born and bred in East Anglia, neither of which she's even considered, but now must, if only as a spectator, are available after what would be a short drive across the county border into Norfolk. As is, the still to be discussed subject of a school that might be suitable for Wes, which amongst its many and varied out of school activities, guarantees its pupils fun on, in and under the water.
But it isn't until they've finished their own breakfast and washed the dishes, by which time Wes has gone upstairs to get ready, that she feels calm enough to tell Harry the full extent of what she's been doing.
'My friend Angela, the one who described you as a parcel, has a son about the same age as Wes who goes here,' she tells him, pulling up the details of the coeducational school where children can board during the week and come home every Friday afternoon until the following Monday morning. 'I've also found these, is an attempt to delay showing Harry, the one item on Wes's list that is jumping off the page. Making her wonder if she'd jumped the gun and it might be too soon for her to be making suggestions about what Wes might or might not want to do and where they might like to spend, what will certainly be an unconventional Christmas.
'What would I do without you?' predictable perhaps because it's Harry, proves otherwise. What it does though, is to give Ruth the confidence to respond in such a way that had they not slept together the previous night, she might well have avoided.
'You won't have to Harry, although you might want to read this before we get around to making any firm decisions as to what we do over Christmas. How do we even have this conversation with a ten-year-old?'
'We don't Ruth, not at the moment anyway,' isn't what she expects. 'All that matters, is that I love for caring and we get on and sort out this holiday. And whatever you do, please don't tell me that you feel guilty, because if you hadn't suggested to Wes that he make a list, we'd never have known that he has, what I can only imagine is a desire to follow in his parent's footsteps, or worst still mine. Virtually every adult that child has seen in the past few weeks, works or worked at Thames House. Besides I need to apologise to you about my arrival and being described as a parcel. Which incidentally was my idea. Not that I expected Angela to be less than trusting. It took me an age to persuade her to make that call. But I am sorry, it wasn't at all how I intended it to be.'
'Nor did I Harry. But Angela's a good friend and she's been very protective of me since I moved here,' and Harry finds himself free to think about the future. Rather than reliving the agony of watching her sail away, or having to worry about what Wes might or might not like to do.
Which is why he says, 'that's my job now.' Proving to her, not that she didn't already know, that the man who attacked Mace to protect her is back. Changed only in that they are now able to do and say whatever they want, as well as being closer than she'd decided was appropriate in those days, but in the space of twenty-four hours has become the norm. Having a conversation which they are both one hundred percent determined will have a positive ending.
'Time to get ready,' Ruth suggests, not only to move things along, but because there's a fair chance that Wes will come downstairs and see more than he bargained for.
A sentiment which also applies to Harry, when he asks her, 'when did she last have a proper day out?' Which is an attempt to ignore a partly dressed Ruth, who is reaching up to get the sweater she's going to wear, which means that there is far too much flesh on show, on what is still only the morning after. Admiration of what not only he can see, but that she's come up with a plan that will see Wes settled. The second of which will guarantee that for the best part each week, they'll be on their own. A thought that's only making things worse.
'I can't remember, probably when I was in Paris,' and Harry's still on the same train, but the scenery is different. They're walking in the streets, sitting in cafés, when only a few days ago, he'd spent his time struggling to come up with ideas to keep not only Wes but himself amused.
That said, his priority now is to answer the question about Christmas and whether messing about in boats, which comes with several misgivings in Harry's mind, is a good idea? That's not to say that he won't be persuaded if Wes goes into raptures, when they arrive at the Stacks. Which is described as a small country estate with a number of wooden cabins, located in the heart of the Waveney Valley. An area of waterways and lakes.
.
That the website doesn't do it justice, when they drive through the gates and follow the signs to the estate office to be met by the manager, is because the whole look of the place is the opposite of what Harry had been visualising.
Not only that, for a man whose sceptic by nature, does he think that they're being buttered up, when they're told, 'to take their time deciding which cabin they might like to stay in and that a warm drink and a selection of biscuits which will be served,' at the tables which overlook what had been described as acres of parkland, is anything less than usual. 'That the cabins are a recent addition, reflecting the need to move with the times,' and because Ruth is looking at him with an expression to suggest she agrees with him and he's halfway to signing on the dotted line.
One coffee, one pot of tea and one hot chocolate later, no prizes for guessing who drank which, or who ate most of the biscuits, the which cabin and what else this little bit of heaven holds, is provided by Alan one of the estate workers, who they follow on foot, having refused the offer of transport.
A walk of about half a mile, along what are well maintained footpaths, during which time their guide explains, 'that the estate is pretty much self-sufficient and that apart from converting the one-time stable block into a shop, that the new owner is maintaining the traditions in line with his predecessor. The only other thing that has changed, is that they'll have access to the towpath via the kitchen garden.'
.
Having made their choice and booked for a ten- day period to include Christmas but will allow them to be at home in time for the New Year, Harry drives into Southwold. It's what he knows, in as much as it has shops and restaurants and because Ruth has only ever been there to do food shopping, provides a change for both of them. What he doesn't appreciate, until he parks up and they walk the short distance to the high street, is that the entire town is geared up to accommodate the boating fraternity and is the moment when his own personal concerns are challenged.
'However much we worry about them, the time comes when we have to let them spread their wings,' the father of the boy that Wes is talking to about a sailing club, tells them.
Harry responds with a nod, then crosses the room to where a row of waterproof jackets, give him the chance to breathe properly, having been imagining Wes out of his reach on the high seas.
But not so Ruth who says, 'he's right Harry. Adam trusted you enough to make the right decisions for Wes and you will. Remember what you told me this morning, that we deal with the here and now. If that means that we have to trust someone else whose far better qualified then we'll ever be, to enable Wes to go sailing or whatever else he wants to do, then we must. And is why a week later, by which time the thought of spending the best part of two weeks in a log cabin that is twice the size, of what Ruth is now insisting Harry calls their home, they've invited Angela to spend an evening with them. Partly because Harry wants to thank her for looking after Ruth, who he knows had been fairly vague when explaining where he was when she moved in, but in terms of their relationship had told Angela that they'd been together for years and partly, having sent for and received details about the school that Angela's son Michael goes to, they want to suggest that he spends a couple of days with them. An opportunity for Wes, not only to spend some time with another child, but someone who goes to the school, that on paper at least looks ideal.
