‘That sounds straightforward enough. How does ten o’clock suit you?’
Alistair clearly didn’t have much idea of what it took to keep a three-year-old occupied for a whole day. Raina took another swig of her coffee.
‘Ten o’clock’s fine. We’ll see you then.’
* * *
Alistair had been prepared to learn. And parents had told him how uncomfortable it was when people stared at their children, but he wasn’t prepared for just how bad it felt.
They’d agreed that Alistair would come on Saturday and stay over until Sunday. He’d picked Raina and Anya up at ten, determined that it should be Raina’s day out as well, and was glad to see her relax while he negotiated the London traffic, parking in Hyde Park. They strolled to the lake, and Raina took a plastic beaker from her bag, filling it with duck food and tucking it under Anya’s arm so that she could use her hand to feed the ducks.
It was a gorgeous day, sun glinting on the water. Raina seemed relaxed and Anya was obviously having a good time, laughing and pointing at a white duck that came to the side of the water to eat the food that she threw.
‘Mum... Look, that girl’s only got one hand. And she’s got food for the ducks.’ A child’s voice came from the pathway, and Alistair turned to see a young mother, bright red in the face and reprimanding her boy. Raina smiled at her.
‘I’m so sorry...’ The woman shot Raina an agonised look. Alistair glanced down at Anya, who seemed oblivious to anything but the ducks.
‘That’s okay. My daughter’s name is Anya.’
The woman smiled. ‘This is Tom.’ Tom knew that he’d done something wrong and was hiding behind his mother’s skirts.
‘Would he like to come and feed the ducks with us?’
The woman hesitated for a moment and then smiled. ‘Yes, he would. Thank you very much.’
Raina produced another plastic cup from her bag and tipped some food into it. Introductions were made, and the two children stood together feeding the ducks, their mothers holding onto them to stop them from falling into the water. When Anya’s cup was empty, Tom held his in front of her so that she could reach into it.
Alistair watched as the two mothers chatted a little, and then Tom and his mum both said goodbye to Anya. Raina caught her hand, suggesting that they try some of the ducks a little further up, and Alistair fell into step beside them as they strolled along the path that ran alongside the lake.
‘Nicely done.’ Alistair wouldn’t have known what to do. The urge to find some way to defend Anya from the looks that some of the people walking by the lake had given her had left him shaken.
Raina shrugged. ‘People look. Some are really rude and you can’t do anything about them... But most of the time it’s just people being human.’ She sighed. ‘My best defence is to try to start up a dialogue. Most people are nice. They just don’t know what to say.’
‘Does she notice?’ Anya’s attention was on a pair of swans swimming gracefully along the far side of the lake, and she seemed completely oblivious of anything else.
‘She doesn’t like it if people just stare. I usually smile and people either look away or smile back. She told a woman to go away once.’
‘Yeah? What happened?’
‘Oh, she came up to me, wanting to know what had happened and whether Anya had been born like that. I was really taken aback, and...it wasn’t that good a day and I really didn’t feel like explaining to a stranger how Anya’s parents had been killed and her hand crushed in a road accident.’ Raina turned the sides of her mouth down, and Alistair saw hurt in her eyes.
‘So Anya stuck up for you. Good girl.’
‘Yes, she did. The woman just laughed and I said, “You heard.” She made herself scarce then.’
‘I hope she felt ashamed of herself.’ Alistair wished he’d been there to defend them both.
‘Probably not. I expect she’s got a story that she tells everyone about a horrible woman who encourages her child to be rude...’ Raina broke off as Anya started to tug at her hand. ‘What is it, sweetie?’
‘Can we have some ice cream, Mum?’ Anya had spotted a sign outside the lakeside café.
Raina pretended to consider the request for a moment. ‘Okay. That sounds like a good idea.’
If there was nothing he could do about the everyday cruelty of the world, then at least he could buy the ice cream. ‘I’ll get it. Would you like to come and help choose, Anya?’
Anya nodded, slipping her hand into his, and he started to make for the café before Raina got a chance to pull her purse out of her bag.
* * *