Now I was returning and he would go to Laura’s. My apprehension grew as I drew nearer home, my throat and shoulders tightening and a weight pressing on my chest. Ray barely expressed any interest in where I’d been or any concern for me. We exchanged practical information about the kids before he left but the air was thick with tension and neither of us was capable of diffusing it. Although I loathed Arndale shopping, and knew I had more than reasonable grounds to renege on my earlier promise to Maddie, the prospect of sitting gnawing my knuckles and waiting for Ray’s reappearance was worse than the alternative. I tried calling Geoff Sinclair after lunch, before we left, but the phone just rang out. We walked through the park to the local train station. The kids didn’t ask to push the buggy. Jamie had become part of the furniture as far as Tom was concerned and probably something even less positive for Maddie. The train was full of people returning from the airport, heading for connections at the main station at Piccadilly.
