‘How’s it looking?’ Amy called from the kitchen counter, where she was hastily assembling packed lunches for the three of them. It was cheaper than buying school lunches, of course, but the effort of making them – not to mention finding enough variety to keep Claire happy – was wearing her down all the same. Would it really kill her to just eat cheese and cucumber sandwiches every day, like she had for four years of primary school? Now it had to be pasta salad or chicken wraps or whatever.
Amy had made herself a cheese and cucumber sandwich instead, mostly out of nostalgia.
‘One thousand shares overnight!’ Claire squealed. ‘We’re definitely getting the word out.’
‘That’s brilliant, sweetheart.’
As she hunted for the least dried out clementine to put in Claire’s lunchbox, Sookie twining around her legs and almost tripping her over, Amy’s mobile beeped. She sighed without even checking it. It would be work – again. Flu season had well and truly hit, which meant they had the double whammy of people desperate to get the flu jab they should have got months ago, as well as sick people who wanted to see their doctor or nurse – even if all they would be told was to go back to bed and look after themselves at home. Add in a stomach bug that had knocked out a few of the staff, and work didn’t look like it was going to get any less manic this side of Christmas.
‘Let me see.’ Jack swung into the kitchen, his school bag hanging off his arm as he grabbed the chair next to Claire.
‘Jack, do you want to get your lunch together?’ Amy asked, hoping that, while she was sure the answer was ‘no’, he might just do it anyway. Just to give her a hand.
‘In a minute, Mum.’
Amy sighed. She knew what ‘in a minute’ meant. It meant ‘I’m just going to leave it so long that you end up doing it anyway so we’re not all late getting out the door.’ She’d been here before.
‘Jack, we don’t have time for this. Claire’s already dressed and ready to go, that’s why she’s on the computer. Have you even had breakfast?’
‘Not yet. I’ll grab something in a minute.’
Amy’s phone beeped again, somehow sounding more insistent this time, so she grabbed it rather than responding to Jack again. Maybe if he went to school hungry, he’d listen next time. Except, probably not.
Flora’s sick now, so I can’t get in today, the text message from Shireen, the surgery receptionist read. Flora was her three-year-old daughter. Can you get in early to open up? I’ve got cover, but they won’t be in until 9.
Amy’s gaze flicked to her watch. Early? She was going to be lucky to get out of there on time, at this rate.
I’ll do my best, she texted back, anyway. Wasn’t that what she always did? Her best?
She just wished it felt like it was enough more often.
‘Okay, guys, we really need to get a move on now. Jack, if you want a lift to school you need to be ready to go in fifteen minutes. Claire, same for you.’
Neither child responded. Of course.
Sighing loudly, Amy slammed the last of the packed lunches together and slung them onto the kitchen table along with various other ‘must not forget’ items.
Her phone beeped again, and Amy glared at it – until she opened the message.
Any news on Henry yet? Luke had written. Oh, and just got Shireen’s message about Flora. I’m on my way in now, so will be there to open up – don’t worry if you’re running late.
Smiling, Amy typed a reply. Usual morning chaos here, and still no sign of Henry. Thanks for opening up. Don’t know why you’re so good to me!
Luke’s reply was almost instant. Because you deserve it.
Amy read the message several times before shoving her phone in her pocket, and turning her attention back to her children.
‘A thousand shares is a start,’ Jack was saying, as he took over the laptop trackpad. ‘But we need something more. Something to really catch the public imagination. I mean, London is huge, and Henry could be anywhere. We need to get people out hunting for him, somehow …’
‘Or we could all get ready for school and work,’ Amy suggested, and Jack and Claire both glared at her. ‘Look, I’m as desperate to find Henry as you two are, but that doesn’t mean that the rest of the world stops while he’s missing. You still have to go to school. I have to go to work. Meals still need cooking, the house still needs cleaning … We’re doing everything we can to find Henry, okay? But it doesn’t mean we can give up on everything else.’
There was another beep, and Amy reached for her phone again – but this time, it was coming from the computer.
‘Hang on …’ Jack made a few clicks, his expression getting more excited with every one. ‘Wait. Wait. This is it!’
‘This is what?’ Amy asked, as Claire tried to elbow her brother out of the way, saying, ‘Let me see! Dad left me in charge of this page, remember? It’s my name on it! You’re just an admin.’
‘What is it?’ Amy asked again, impatiently.
‘A message! From someone saying that they’ve seen Henry!’ Claire was practically bouncing in her chair with excitement.
‘They say they found him wandering around St James’s Park … and they’ve got him safe!’ The same excitement was clear in Jack’s voice, too.
Amy hurried over to look at the screen. ‘Did they send a photo? Or any other details?’
‘No …’ Jack scanned the rest of the message. ‘He’s asking if there’s a reward for finding him. We can give a reward, right?’
Money. Of course. Didn’t everything come down to money?
Amy shook her head. Something about this message just didn’t feel right – and she didn’t have the time right now to figure out what it was.
‘I don’t know. This person could be anybody,’ she pointed out. She hated to burst their bubbles of hope so soon, but she didn’t want them to get carried away, either. ‘We need to talk to your father – he set up the page, he might be able to get some more information about who they are.’ And if they wanted a reward, and they really had Henry, well they were definitely going to have to talk to Jim. She barely had enough money to make it through to the end of the month.
‘But what if Henry runs away again?’ Claire asked. ‘We need to get him right now!’
‘Right now, we all need to go to school and work,’ Amy said, firmly. ‘Jack, forward the message to my email address, and I’ll try to speak to your dad today. Or you could,’ she added, as the thought occurred to her. Jack was quite old enough to handle these things with his dad, but she wouldn’t want him dealing with it alone. ‘Then tonight we’ll decide what to do about it. Together. Okay?’
‘Fine,’ Jack said, sulkily. ‘I’ll call Dad.’
‘Great. But after school.’ She grabbed her handbag and her lunch from the table. ‘Come on, we’re all going to be late!’
The kids glowered as they sullenly gathered their things. Amy sighed. She didn’t want to be this person – the nagging mum who made her kids life miserable. But she didn’t want them all to be late or show up to school with no lunch. There had to be a balance, somewhere …
Suddenly, Amy grinned, as a memory from Christmas pasts came to her.
‘Tell you what, I’ll put the Christmas CD on in the car.’
Jack groaned, but Claire perked up a bit.
‘The one I made last year?’ she asked.
‘Yep,’ Amy confirmed. ‘And we can sing along as we drive.’ A good sing-song always lifted the spirits, right?
‘You’re going to open the windows at traffic lights and traumatise the people in the next cars, aren’t you?’ Jack was rolling his eyes, but Amy knew that secretly he loved it as much as they did.
‘Absolutely!’ she said, and Claire squealed with delight.
Maybe the day wouldn’t be a complete disaster, after all.