When Daniel remembered that both their bikes had gone to the shop for a service, he looked out his dad’s old one. It was tied to the wall of the shed by cobwebs that crackled when they tore. The chain was stiff, golden with rust, and the gear cassette at the rear looked like the bloom of some long-dead flower.
He found an oil can on a shelf in the shed and eased the upturned bicycle back to life in the garden until the wheel was turning like a spinning wheel as he wound the peddles round.
‘Where are you off to?’ asked his aunt as she stood by the back door, arms folded, the morning sun pooling on her auburn hair in patches.
‘Bennett’s. He’s my best friend.’
‘Really? Didn’t he want to come here?’
‘No.’
‘After all you’ve been through?’
Daniel didn’t know what to say to that.
‘Daniel, where are you really going? We need to sit down and sort things out. Go shopping. What about going to see your father?’
‘We’ll go later. I need to go to Bennett’s first,’ he said again, more urgently.
‘Wait there,’ she said, ducking back into the kitchen. She reappeared, holding out three twenty-pound notes. ‘In case you get hungry or see anything you want. If you need a new wallet then we can choose one along with anything else you lost in the car. I thought we could make a list before we go shopping.’
‘Sure,’ said Daniel. ‘Thanks.’ He took the notes and put them in his pocket.
He turned round, wheeling the bike over the grass towards the door in the fence. When he lifted the latch and glanced back, his aunt was still standing in the doorway, watching him. For a minute, he imagined her as someone else, not the person his dad had told him about. And then Daniel whispered to himself that she wasn’t that person at all and went on his way.