I came running up. Barbara had been shouting, ‘Wait!’ all the way, but I was that far gone. All that jogging pays off sometimes. There they were, the terrible triplets. Chris standing to one side, and Billie and Rob, wrapped up together. She was in his arms, crying her heart out. I was going to push them all to one side and just run in and give her a hug. But there he was doing it for me.
I came to a halt next to them.
‘There, love,’ I said. ‘There, love. We’re all here, aren’t we?’ She looked at me over his shoulder, and she tried to smile. Then Barbara came huffing up behind, her and Dan, and they ground to a halt too. There we stood, all four of us, watching Billie cry. In a moment she pushed Rob away. She came over to me and gave me a kiss. Then she went to Barbara and put her arms round her and just stood there hugging her.
Barbara looked astonished. She held her tight. ‘You’re coming home, Billie, right now,’ she said firmly. Billie nodded. Barbara glanced at me, and I nodded, and she led her off, still crying. I watched after her. And – I was a little hurt, if I’m to be honest. There I was waiting for her, and it was Rob and Barbara she turned to. But – she’d done it, hadn’t she? She’d let them in. She wasn’t even trying to hide those tears. Barbara will take care of her. And Rob – well, he was so far from her usual crowd, he might have been another species. He was a nice lad. Since when did Billie end up crying on the shoulder of a nice lad?
She was learning.
There now, I thought. Maybe we’re getting there after all.