Chapter 3

Scarlett spent what felt like hours staring at the three pictures of her father that Alfie had given her, and thinking about everything he had said. She felt more angry than ever at her mother, the thought of having to go home later and face her made her blood boil. Alfie had disappeared to make cups of tea, and left Scarlett to look at the pictures. Suddenly, Scarlett heard a voice behind her.
"Ello," the voice said. Scarlett turned around and saw Alfie's wife Kat stood in the doorway. She didn't look annoyed or upset. She looked at the pictures in Scarlett's hands and smiled gently.
"Alfie's showed you pictures of your dad?" Kat said, walking over to the sofa and sitting next to Scarlett.
"Yeah," Scarlett said, giving a small smile. "Did you know him?"
"I knew him quite well," Kat said. "We were really close once."
Scarlett's smile grew, and she looked back down at the photos.
"I don't have any pictures of my own," she said.
"Really?" Kat enquired. "Well Scarlett, I'm sure Alfie wouldn't mind if you kept these."
"Thank you.." Scarlett replied. She hadn't been expecting Kat and Alfie to be so nice, she had almost been preparing herself to fight with them to get answers. Alfie returned with three cups of tea, and they all sat together, in silence, drinking. Scarlett still had another question on her mind, but she didn't think it was appropriate, also, she wasn't sure if she was ready for the answer. She looked around the room, and spotted a photo on the mantlepiece. It was of Kat, Alfie, and a boy around Scarlett's age, who she knew to be their son, Tommy. She couldn't help but notice how much Tommy resembled her father. She'd seen him about the Square before, but as she had never known what her father looked like, she had nothing to compare him to. The only difference was, Tommy was smiling in the photo, and his face almost looked kinder.
"Tommy," Scarlett said, "He's my cousin, right?"
Kat put down her tea. "Yeah, he is," she answered.
"He looks like my dad. Like, he looks more like my dad than Alfie," Scarlett said, jokingly. Kat and Alfie exchanged slightly anxious glances, but Scarlett didn't notice, she was too busy thinking about everything she'd learnt that morning.

After the three of them finished their tea, it was nearing noon.
"Are you feeling better?" Alfie asked Scarlett.
"Yes," she replied. "Actually, I think I'll leave now. Thank you for everything."
"No problem at all, sweetheart," Alfie said. "Make sure you come back and see us soon, won't ya?"
Scarlett nodded, and after putting her new pictures in her bag, got up and went back through the pub and out the doors. Her stomach felt like it was flipping all over the place, and she went out into the Square and sat down on one of the benches. Thoughts about her dad kept racing through her head, until suddenly she recieved a steaming hot liquid all over her legs.
"OW!" she yelled, jumping up and trying to brush the coffee off of herself. She looked up and there was a girl standing before her, with a half empty cardboard cup of coffee, and a hand over her mouth. Scarlett could tell she was grinning, and this seriously annoyed her.
"What did you do?!" she exclaimed.
"I'm sorry," said the girl. "I tripped. I didn't see you there."
"Really?" fumed Scarlett, "Are you blind? Maybe it's those ridiculous fake eyelashes you've got on." The girl was indeed wearing noticibley fake eyelashes, as well as a lot of fake tan, and she had bleach blonde hair.
"Maybe you should try moving in the future?" the girl said, fiercely. Suddenly a woman, who looked like an older replica of the girl, appeared.
"What are you doing, Lexi?" the woman asked.
"Nothing mum," moaned Lexi.
"We have to go," Lexi's mum said. "Come oooon!"
Lexi and her mum walked away, and left Scarlett standing there, angrily. Her legs were still burning from the coffee, and they had gone an interesting shade of red. Thankfully though, her bag was safe.