took it all in and when Adam fell silent, looking up at him with fear in his eyes, he assured him, ‘If they’re as bad as all that, they’ll not be allowed to come for you.’
Adam then told Phil of his grandparents on his mother’s side. ‘Mum said her parents wanted her to go to Australia with them, but she didn’t want to, and so they fell out and she left home. Then a while ago, some old neighbour told Mum that they’d gone to Australia, but she didn’t know where, and Mum never heard from them again.’
‘I see.’ Phil nodded thoughtfully. ‘By! That’s a sorry situation and no mistake. So, it seems you’ve no close family other than your own parents, eh?’
Because Adam was already in pieces, Phil made no mention of his deep concern with regard to the boy’s care. In the light of what he had just learned, he feared there could be all manner of trouble ahead.
‘Phil?’ Adam grew concerned when the older man lapsed into deep thought. ‘Phil!’
Brought sharply out of his reverie, Phil put on a smile. ‘Sorry, son … I was just dwelling on what you said: no aunts nor uncles, nor family of any kind, except for your parents. By! It doesn’t bear thinking about.’ Fearing that Peggy Carter might not survive, he was deeply anxious for the boy’s welfare.
Adam voiced his own concerns. ‘If Mum has to stay in hospital for a long time, I don’t want to stay in the house all on my own, so will you please stay with me until Mum gets home?’
Taken aback by the request, Phil wisely avoided answering directly. ‘Aw, look, son. It’s not good to get ahead of yourself like that. Let’s just wait and see how things go, and then we’ll decide what’s best to do.’
Adam had another question: ‘If you don’t like to live in my house, can I come and stay with you then?’ Growing tearful, he finished lamely, ‘Please say yes, Phil, ’cause there’s nobody to look after me until Mum comes home.’
Phil glanced about nervously. ‘Ssh!’ He pressed his finger to his lips. ‘It’s best not to discuss these things just yet. Let’s leave it for now, son. Let’s wait and see what the doctor says, then you and me … we’ll sort summat out. Try not to worry, and the less you say just now, the better.’
‘All right, Phil, but if you stay with me at the house, I promise I’ll be good. I’ll do my homework, and if you want, you can fetch your little dog to stay with us.’
Phil’s heart went out to the boy. He knew the situation could never work, and besides, it wasn’t right – not for him and not for Adam. And yet he was made to ponder what alternative there might be.
‘Listen to me, son …’ Sidling closer to Adam, he spoke in a whisper. ‘It seems they think I’m your granddad, but you and I know that is not the case.’
‘We don’t need to tell them, though, do we, Phil? You can still pretend to be my granddad … until Mum comes home.’ His voice shook with emotion. ‘Please, Phil … please!’
Phil felt torn. ‘I’m sorry, son,’ he said, being sensible, ‘I don’t know as I can move into your father’s house. It would be wrong of me, and what if your father comes back? Like as not he’ll have me arrested, and who could blame him?’
‘All right! I’ll come to your house and stay with you.’
‘Aw, son … I don’t know.’ Phil was growing more unsettled by the minute. ‘It’s a bad situation. I don’t want to think on it right now, not until we see how it goes with your mother.’
‘This is all Father’s fault, isn’t it?’
‘I don’t know, son. I’m not altogether party to the facts.’ Wisely, Phil was reluctant to commit himself to such far-reaching accusations.
‘It’s true, Phil!’ Adam spelled it out: ‘He’s always hitting her, and she never tells anyone. And now he’s hurt her so bad, he’s got frightened and run away. He should be locked up for ever!’
Phil didn’t really know what to believe, except what he had seen for himself today. And, talking about his father’s brutal treatment of his mother, Adam seemed genuinely afraid.
Phil now voiced his own concerns. ‘There’s a possibility that you could be wrong about what happened. Maybe they had an argument and there really was a terrible accident, and if that’s the case, your father will be worried sick when he gets home. I know one thing for sure, though, he will not be best pleased to see me and my dog taking up residence in his house. After all, I’m not even a relative. I’m just the driver of the school bus who’s got himself caught up in a shocking accident—’
‘It wasn’t an accident! He did it, I know he did!’
‘Sssh!’ Phil instructed Adam, slightly unnerved. ‘Like I say, just now, it’s best not to talk about it too much. Let’s just wait and see how things go. We’ll have a better picture of the situation once the doctor tells us what’s happening. Until then, however difficult it is, we have to be patient.’ He looked the boy in the eye. ‘Agreed?’
With a reluctant nod of the head, Adam had little choice but to agree. ‘When Mum comes home, everything will be all right, though, won’t it, Phil?’
‘Let’s hope so, eh?’ Phil was well aware of the seriousness of this situation.
‘Adam?’ Phil asked.
‘Yes, Phil?’ Adam looked up.
‘I have an idea to pass the time.’ The child’s small, anxious face made Phil immensely sad. ‘Do you know what I was just thinking?’
‘No.’
‘Well, I was thinking how you and me could say a little prayer for your mum. What d’you think?’
‘Oh, yes, please, Phil, I’d like that.’ The tears brimmed over. ‘Do you think it might help Mum to get better? I so much want her to come home. She will, won’t she, Phil?’ Throwing his arms round Phil’s neck, he hugged him so hard that Phil found it difficult to breathe.
Phil held him at arm’s length. ‘Listen to me, Adam. Even if we say a prayer it doesn’t mean that everything will come right. It doesn’t always work like that. All I’m saying is, at certain bad times in my own life, I’ve always found a deal of comfort in saying a little prayer; hoping that somebody up there in the Heavens might be listening, and that somehow they would try and help. The thing is, sometimes, however much they might want to help, they just can’t do it, and we will never know the reason for that. D’you understand what I’m saying?’
‘If you said a prayer, why did they not help you?’
Phil took a deep breath. ‘Well, it seems they weren’t able to give what I really asked for, but they did help me … a little.’
‘In what way?’
Phil was beginning to wish he had never started this, because the painful memories were flooding back. ‘Well, you see, when my dear wife was very ill, I prayed for the Lord to make her better …’ Composing himself, he went on in subdued tones: ‘Sadly, my prayers were not answered, because that was not to be. Thankfully, though, they did stop her pain and I was grateful for that. Maybe she had to leave
