Isaac smiled. ‘Stay with me. I know my way around.’
‘Okay. But perhaps we’ll take some juice. And one of those fruit and nut bars your mum bought.’
‘Mmm. Good idea.’
They rambled together through a small wooded area, picking up fallen branches to swish on the path in front of them. Edward turned over stones with his foot, and they both inspected the creatures which lived in the damp darkness below them.
‘Look. A piece of flint.’ He held out the broken pebble for Isaac to see.
‘What’s that?’
‘Flint’s a type of stone. A long time ago cavemen used to make axes and arrowheads out of flint. It’s very hard.’
Isaac inspected the stone carefully. ‘Can we make an axe out of this?’
‘Maybe. It’s a little small. Let’s find a bigger piece and perhaps we can take it home and give it a try.’
They searched together and found a bigger piece of flint. Edward put it into his pocket, and then saw a couple of flat, circular stones on the ground. ‘Hey, look at these. Do you know how to skim stones?’
‘No.’
Edward grinned. ‘We’ll collect some of these up, then, and I’ll show you.’
* * *
The house was quiet when Charlotte got back home. The meeting with Edward’s father had been longer than she’d thought it would be, and she was tired. She didn’t much feel like cooking straight away, but she was going to have to.
‘Hey? Guys...?’ She called into the silence and only silence answered her. Perhaps they were out in the garden, playing football. She walked through to the kitchen and opened the back door.
No one there. Edward’s car was parked in front of the house, and his suit jacket was slung over the bannisters. He must have walked down to the school.
Even if he had they should be back by now. He’d been due to collect Isaac more than two hours ago. Charlotte pulled out her phone and checked it. No calls or texts from the school. That meant that everything had gone to plan. Flipping through her address book, she found the entry for Edward’s mobile and called it. Tapping her foot while the call connected, she then let out a huff of exasperation when the tones of his mobile chimed out from the hall table.
‘Edward. Where are you?’
She wasn’t sure whether to be cross or worried. She dropped her bag onto the hall table, slung her jacket over the bannister, and wandered into the sitting room, sinking down onto the sofa.
‘Where are you, Isaac?’
* * *
‘Yeaaah!’ Isaac jumped up and down, cheering. ‘Six!’
Edward straightened, smiling with satisfaction. ‘I think the smooth ones do better, don’t
you?’
Isaac nodded. ‘Those big flat ones are the best, though.’
‘Hmm. Less air resistance. Larger surface area.’
Isaac nodded sagely, although it was doubtful that he understood the finer points of it. Actually, for once, Edward wasn’t much interested in the finer points. Just in counting the number of times their stones skipped across the water out loud with Isaac.
‘I’m hungry.’
‘Are you? We’ve had our drinks and...’ Edward looked at his watch, his heart sinking when he saw the time. He felt in his pocket for his mobile and realised that he must have left it at home when he changed his jacket. ‘Isaac, we’ve got to get going, mate. Your mum will be waiting for us.’
* * *