She couldn’t ask him to stay. Caro knew all about moving on, and next to nothing about staying.
There were still a few more moments to turn this around. He called Phoenix and clipped her lead onto her collar. Put his jacket on, taking his time to zip it up. But there was nothing he could possibly say to stop the tide that was carrying them irrevocably away from each other.
Goodbye would hurt too much. I’ll see you would be a lie. Drew didn’t even dare take a last look at her, because he knew she’d be crying, and he doubted he’d be able to stem his own tears. He closed the front door behind him, and this time he wasn?
??t going back.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CARO WAS EXPECTING LUCAS. She’d also expected to be up and dressed by the time he arrived, but last night she’d been up late, working. She hadn’t made any progress, but it had been better than lying awake, missing Drew, the way she had every night for the last two weeks. Somehow work didn’t seem to ease the pain the way it always had before.
The doorbell rang, and she grabbed her oversized cardigan, pulling it on before she went to answer it. Ellie was looking fresh faced and fabulous on the doorstep, a cardboard box tucked under one arm. That was the last thing she needed.
‘Ellie... Sorry. Bit of a late night last night.’
Ellie nodded. ‘Yeah, I was in my pyjamas until about half an hour ago.’
She was being nice. Extra nice, in fact, because Drew was Ellie’s friend, and Caro was on the outside now. She stood back from the doorway, and Ellie grabbed Mav’s hand, leading him inside.
‘Where did you get those?’ Ellie gestured towards her blue-and-green pyjama bottoms. ‘I love them, I have to have a pair.’
‘Uh...in America. I’ll look up the web link, maybe they have an online shop.’ And then what was she going to do? Write to Ellie as if she was her friend, with a shopping link? Ellie was hiding it well, probably for Mav’s sake, but she’d be justified in wanting to scratch Caro’s eyes out.
‘I brought your prototype back. Lucas and the review committee’s response is in here as well.’ Ellie handed Caro the box.
‘Thanks.’ Ellie perched the box on top of the packing cases in the hall.
‘I’m afraid they’ve suggested a few changes.’ Ellie grimaced apologetically.
‘That’s fine. It’s exactly what I wanted them to do. This is the first step in a long process, and it’ll be a while before I get it exactly right.’
Mav was looking up at her expectantly, and Caro remembered the promise she’d made to Lucas. She bent down, plastering a smile onto her face. ‘Would you like to see what I’ve got for you?’
‘Yes!’
‘Please.’ Ellie provided the missing word. Caro hurried into her workshop, bringing out the box she’d saved for him.
The little tortoises were now little crabs. And there were some programming modifications, which meant that their movements weren’t controlled just by proximity to anything else in their path. These had an additional interaction with each other.
‘Here you go.’ She put the box down on the floor next to the coffee table. Mav reached in, taking out a crab and finding the on switch without being told. That was one of the reasons why Caro had offered the crabs to Lucas for Mav to play with. Kids weren’t fazed by the complexities of technology, they just tried things out.
‘If you’re busy, Caro...’ Ellie watched as Mav took the crabs out of the box, one by one, switching them on and setting them onto the table.
‘That’s okay.’ Caro shrugged. ‘Actually, it would be very interesting to see how Mav interacts with them. I’ve introduced social and group behaviours into their programming.’
Ellie looked at her blankly and then grinned, walking over to Mav and pulling his coat off, while her son ignored her completely, already fascinated by the movement of the crabs. ‘I don’t entirely understand what you just said. But thanks.’
‘Would you like some coffee?’
‘Love some. You see to Mav, I’ll make it.’ Ellie slung her coat onto the back of a chair and marched into the kitchen, disregarding the plates in the sink and the breadcrumbs on the worktop, and switching the coffee machine on.
She could almost see Mav’s mind working, the way he was trying things out with the crabs and learning their behaviour. It was a project in itself, and Caro wondered if she might borrow him for a couple of hours, just to observe. Probably not. Ellie wouldn’t want her around him too much, and if Mav knew that she’d hurt his beloved Uncle Drew he’d be throwing the crabs at her instead of playing with them.
‘Milk and sugar?’ Ellie’s voice interrupted her reverie.
‘Um... Just a little milk, please.’ Caro walked over to the breakfast bar as Ellie sploshed the milk into the cups.
She had to say something. ‘Ellie, I appreciate your coming.’