‘Now, are you sure you two will be okay without me today?’ Amy looked nervously back at her children as she wrapped a fluffy scarf around her neck. ‘Remember, I’m only at the surgery if you need me, and your dad is only a phone call away too. There’s stuff to make sandwiches in the fridge, and if you could remember to feed the cat …’ she trailed off as her two children stared at her impassively. Even Sookie was sitting alert next to the radiator, watching her. Judging her, in that way cats always seemed to.
Henry never judged her.
Amy sighed. ‘Look, I know that staying home while I go out to work isn’t the most exciting way to spend the first day of the holidays, but—’
‘Actually, Mum … we did have a sort of plan for today.’ Jack was looking faintly guilty before she even asked what the plan was, which didn’t bode well at all.
She unwound her scarf. This might take a while.
‘What plan?’ she asked.
‘Jack thought we could go into London again, on the train,’ Claire said, excitedly.
Amy’s chest tightened. Last time they’d gone to London, they’d come home a family member short. She really wasn’t sure she could bear risking that again.
‘We could put up some actual Hunt for Henry posters, for local people who maybe wouldn’t see it online,’ Jack explained. ‘And maybe we could even check out the Dogs and Cats home at Battersea. See if he’s ended up there by mistake.’
‘He’s microchipped, Jack,’ Amy pointed out. ‘I’m sure they’d have checked that.’ But what if they hadn’t? Had she even called Battersea? She couldn’t remember if it was on her list of places to check in with. If it wasn’t … it had to be worth a try, right?
‘What if something went wrong with the microchip?’ Claire asked. ‘I’ve been reading up, and sometimes they do. They might have him and have no idea that he’s ours.’
They both looked so excited, so eager, Amy wanted to say yes. Even if it all came to nothing, at least they’d be doing something. And doing it together, which made her feel kind of warm inside. With the age difference, it wasn’t often that Jack and Claire found a common interest. But for Henry, they were working together. That felt good.
The only problem was, could she bring herself to trust them both again after the stunt they’d pulled the other night?
‘Look, this is different from the guy who said he had Henry,’ Jack said, reading her mind in the way he only ever seemed able to do when he could use it to get what he wanted. ‘We’re not going to meet anyone else, or do anything dodgy. We’ve told you exactly where we’re going, and we’ll text and tell you our train times if you want. It’s not like I’ve never been into London without you before.’
That was true. Jack was seventeen, perfectly old enough to take the train into town on his own. He went often with his friends, on the weekend, and had even volunteered at a city centre animal shelter the summer before, in preparation for his vet’s training. She didn’t have to worry about Jack finding his way around the big city.
But taking his baby sister with him? That was a different proposition altogether.
‘And I’m twelve now, Mum,’ Claire added. ‘It’s not like I’m a baby any more, or anything.’
‘You’ll always be my baby,’ Amy said, absently, and Claire pulled a face.
‘Mum!’
‘I know, I know.’ They were both growing up. And she couldn’t keep them home and safe and with her twenty-four hours a day – however tempting that might sometimes be. It was just … she’d lost so much she’d taken for granted recently, it was hard to risk anything more.
‘Maybe I could get someone to cover for me at the surgery. Then I could come with you.’ She’d only taken the extra shift at the Saturday clinic because they were desperate for staff, and because the extra cash would come in very handy this month. The chances of finding someone else willing to work the weekend were limited, she knew. But maybe …
‘Mum.’ Jack gave her a serious look, and suddenly he was more man than boy. More parent than child, even. ‘We’ll be fine. You know we will.’
And that was the problem. She did know that. They were capable, sensible children – usually, at least. She didn’t have an argument against the plan except that she didn’t want to spend the whole day worrying totally unnecessarily.
She sighed. ‘Okay. Fine.’ Claire squealed and threw her arms around her mum’s waist. Even Jack managed a proper smile. ‘But I want you to text me every hour to check in. Okay?’
‘Sure. We will,’ Jack promised.
Claire grabbed a pink floral folder from the kitchen table and stuffed it into Amy’s hands. ‘Look! These are what we’re going to put up, and show around.’
Amy opened the folder. Inside were page after page of copies of the photo of Henry in his Christmas cracker hat, along with the link to the ‘Hunt for Henry’ Facebook page, and the word ‘Missing!’ in a large font. Underneath, was a full description of Henry, starting with the words: ‘Much loved family pet.’
Would it help? Probably not. But at least they’d feel like they were doing something. Amy could understand the need for that.
‘Maybe don’t attach anything to the Palace railings though, yeah?’ she suggested. ‘I have a feeling the Queen wouldn’t like it …’
Jack grinned. ‘We won’t, Mum.’
‘In that case … good luck!’ She gave them both a hug and reached for her scarf. ‘And I really, really hope you find him.’
‘Um, Mum?’ Jack said, giving her the guilty look again. ‘I don’t suppose you could lend us any money for today could you? Only …’
Only he’d given all his to a scam artist to try and get Henry back. Of course.
Amy sighed and reached for her purse, doing some quick mental calculations about the cost of train tickets, and how much today’s extra shift would bring in. Apparently her children weren’t as entirely grown-up and self-sufficient as all that just yet.