‘What shall we do with the kids this weekend?’ Tasha asked, looking up from her book as Charlie came into the bedroom. He had been working non-stop for the past two weeks, missing their school fete and the children’s sports day because he couldn’t escape the office. Now that things had calmed down a bit Tasha wanted to make sure they had some quality time together as a family to make up for it.
‘Not sure,’ Charlie said. ‘Have you got something in mind?’
‘We could have a picnic at Cannizaro Park?’
‘Great! I feel like I’ve hardly seen them all week.’
‘You haven’t!’ Tasha said.
‘Don’t start,’ he said, a note of warning in his voice.
This immediately made Tasha feel defensive. ‘I’m not starting. I feel sorry for you, that’s all. When you work this hard you must really miss them.’
‘I do. I’m bloody knackered, to tell you the truth.’ Charlie sighed. ‘I’m not sure I’ve got the energy for all this any more.’ Tasha felt like echoing his sentiments. She never got sympathy for the lack of help she received from him when he was busy at work. She was just expected to manage as a virtually single mother of three.
‘You can always leave…’ she suggested.
‘But what about the mortgage? We’ve got so many financial commitments. It’s not as simple as that…’
‘I could go back to work. That would take some of the pressure off you in terms of money.’
‘Do you want to?’
‘I’ve been thinking about it quite a lot recently.’
‘Really? I had no idea.’
‘Well, we haven’t talked much about stuff like that lately.’
‘I suppose not. Well, what would you have to do to requalify?’
‘There’s a whole induction programme I’d have to go through. It’d be a hell of a lot of work.’
‘How would you manage that? What would we do with the kids?’
‘I guess I’d have to revise at night and during weekends. And then there’d be placements, which I’d need to arrange childcare for. And eventually we’d have to find some wrap-around care: someone to take them to school in the morning, pick them up, give them tea, do their homework – that kind of thing.’
‘It’s worth investigating. But you always said you were glad you had left, that you didn’t want to be in that world any more… Have you changed your mind?’
‘No. Not really. That’s the problem. I’m not sure retraining would be the solution. I think I might be better off doing something completely different.’
‘Like what?’
‘I’ve got no idea. I keep racking my brains to think what I’d enjoy, what I could use my skills for… but so far nothing obvious jumps out.’
‘Well, it’s definitely something to think about. If you think you might like to. You are right. Perhaps that would take the pressure off a bit.’
Tasha was pleased with his response. Perhaps she would start looking into her options properly this week. The thought filled her with nerves and anticipation in equal measure.
*
The next morning, they packed the cool boxes with a picnic lunch and set off for Cannizaro Park. ‘Can we get an ice cream?’ Max pleaded as they passed the ice cream van on the way into the grounds.
‘Good idea!’ Charlie said.
‘No, you can’t!’ intervened Tasha. ‘It’ll spoil your appetite. You won’t want to eat your sandwiches.’
‘Spoilsport!’ Charlie laughed.
‘Mu-um!’ chorused Flora, Max and Bella as they went past the van, their eyes gazing longingly at the garishly bright pictures.
‘We can come back later,’ she promised.
‘But it might have gone by then,’ Max moaned.
‘I doubt it,’ Tasha said. She wished Charlie would be the responsible one sometimes. It was always Tasha that seemed like the killjoy.
Before choosing a suitable picnic spot they went for a walk in the woods. Luckily, thoughts of the ice cream van were soon forgotten as the children navigated their way down hidden paths, searching for abandoned dens and secret hideouts. Charlie had a wonderful imagination and the children loved the stories he made up of little woodland creatures living in the dens and burrows they found. Under the mossy trunk of a tree stump Bella found a little ring of stones carefully arranged in a circle.
‘What can this be, Daddy?’ Bella asked.
‘Oh,’ said Charlie, assuming the solemn voice of a wise storyteller. ‘Well, this must be none other than a fairy meeting place.’
‘Wow!’ Bella’s voice was full of awe, her eyes widening at the thought. Max crept closer to examine the scene. Charlie went on to explain how all the fairies would gather to listen to stories from the elders, sitting on the stones like miniature chairs. He said that the biggest stone was for the fairy queen, the most important of all the fairies. Tasha laughed as Max and Bella listened, transfixed, to Charlie. It felt so different when she wasn’t the only parent in charge. Besides, they were always much better behaved around Charlie. Even Flora seemed more like a normal ten-year-old and less like a hormonal teenager in his presence.
Later they ate their picnic under the shade of a huge oak tree: egg and cress sandwiches, Ribena, chewy bars and yoghurts. When they had finished Charlie bought them all Mr Whippy ice creams with flakes as promised, ensuring that the children were high on sugar and squabbling furiously in the back seats of the car for the journey home. Her interventions fell on deaf ears so Tasha gave up and checked her phone instead, trying to tune out the noise coming from behind her. She had missed several calls from her mother, and her family WhatsApp group showed a hive of activity, numerous notifications flashed up on her screen.
‘Oh, God!’ Tasha said as she caught up on the messages.
‘What’s up?’ Charlie asked, pulling the car into a space outside their front door.
‘It’s Ella. The poor thing has caught malaria!’ Her youngest sister was working for a charity in Haiti for a month as part of an extensive backpacking trip with her best friend Tammie.
Charlie switched off the ignition and turned to look at Tasha. ‘Is she OK?’
Tasha shook her head. ‘Apparently she’s in a critical condition. I’m going to have to call Mum.’ Charlie swiftly took the kids inside, leaving her in peace.
‘Darling?’ Lizzie answered on the first ring. ‘We’ve been waiting for you to call…’
‘Sorry, Mum, I was out with the children. I’ve only just seen the messages. What’s the latest? Is she OK? I can’t believe this...’
‘She’s in hospital in Port-au-Prince,’ Lizzie explained. ‘The charity organised transport to get her there. Apparently, she was in a critical condition but she’s now stabilised a bit. They are monitoring her closely.’
‘I can’t bear it!’ Tasha said. ‘Poor Ella.’
‘Stupid girl. She didn’t take her malaria pills.’
‘I did tell her she had to.’
‘I bet she just thought it would never happen to her – typical Ella.’
Tasha could understand why her mother was cross. She was clearly extremely worried.
‘Well, she’s in the best place at least so try not to worry. And malaria is extremely treatable these days.’
‘If she was still critical I’d be on the first plane out there, but her condition seems to be improving and Tammie assures me that the doctors think she’ll make a quick recovery.’
‘OK. Well I’ll try calling her and see if I can get any more information. Maybe I can speak to her doctor?’
‘Good idea.’ Lizzie passed her over to her father next. Having reassured him, she then called Tammie, who was able to get Ella’s doctor to speak to her. By the end of the call she felt confident that the situation was as under control as it could be. Apparently, it had started off as a headache and escalated quickly. Luckily, Ella had managed to see a local doctor, who had spotted the symptoms. Her condition had deteriorated rapidly but Tammie had contacted the charity head office and they had arranged a medical evacuation straight to Port-au-Prince.
Tasha felt quite shaken as she hung up the phone. She went into the house and found Charlie and the children watching Blue Planet in the sitting room.
‘Everything all right?’ he asked.
‘Is Auntie Ella OK?’ Flora said. All eyes were on Tasha as they waited to hear the news.
‘Yes, don’t worry, darlings,’ Tasha said. ‘The doctors in Haiti are looking after her very well.’ She filled Charlie in on what she knew. It had really taken her by surprise and she felt quite shocked. It occurred to her just how much she took her family’s health for granted.
Later that night, as she lay in bed trying to drift off to sleep, she couldn’t stop thinking about Ella lying alone in a hospital bed on the other side of the world. She was grateful that Ella had Tammie with her, but she wished one of the family were there too. Childhood memories ran through her mind and she found herself welling up with tears. She wanted Charlie to hold her in his arms and comfort her, but he was still downstairs watching rugby. Tasha prayed that Ella’s condition would continue to improve. She was thankful that her symptoms had been diagnosed and treated so quickly. She knew only too well what might have happened had that not been the case.