wall with our faces turned to the sky. I knew Sam couldn’t see what I could see but I wondered if he could tell how far away things were. Maybe in his darkness he knew all about infinity. The sky was just dark enough to show the twinkling eye of the brightest star. “Are you up there?” I whispered in my mind. “Can you see me?”
Long black shadows stretched across the grass towards us. I nudged Sam, breathed in deep because my heart was thumping so hard. Homeless came padding out of the shadows. Two figures walked behind him. Mum and Jed.
They all stopped a little way away. I couldn’t tell if Jed could see her, if he knew she was there. Mum reached into her pocket. I thought I saw her lips moving, I thought she might be saying something to Jed, but he didn’t look at her. And then she was gone, just as if someone had blown out the birthday candles.
Jed and Homeless came close.
Sam slid off the wall and Jed let him feel round his face. Jed’s eyes were bright as Sam turned his palms up and bounced his hands up and down as if he was throwing something. Jed laughed, a soft laugh.
“Hello,” said Mrs Cooper, coming out with two mugs of hot chocolate. “I know you. Seen you in town often enough. You tried to teach Sam and me to juggle a couple of times.”
The corners of Jed’s eyes crinkled so you knew he was smiling. “Hello,” he said softly.
Mrs Cooper put the mugs down and tapped on Sam’s hands. He nodded madly. He already knew who Jed was.
Mrs Cooper looked at Homeless lying on his back with his belly in the air, his pink tongue curled, his ears fallen back.
“Is it your dog?” she said to Jed. “It came here the other day. We thought it was a stray.”
“I look after him,” he said, and he kept smiling. “Sometimes I have to leave him on his own for a bit.”
“Is there anything we can do for you, food or blankets? I can call the RSPCA or someone if you’re having difficulties?”
Jed ruffled Homeless and shook his head. “Just hungry,” he said.
Mrs Cooper went in and came out with some fruit cake and a mug of tea for Jed. She gave Homeless some corned beef straight from the tin, asked Jed if he had everything he needed.
He looked at me; his eyes were warm and friendly. He nodded and whispered, “I think so.”
We all sat on a blanket and leaned against the wall and watched the night sky stealing the light. Mrs Cooper chatted away to Jed about how much it had been raining considering it was the start of summer. Then we were quiet as we blew on our hot drinks. I saw the steam rising, disappearing.
Then Sam suddenly said something, the clearest I ever heard him speak.
“Whose dog is it?”
“It’s Jed’s dog, Sam,” said Mrs Cooper, tapping. Sam shook his head. Jed was shaking his head too.
“Whose dog?” said Sam louder, pulling at Jed’s arm.
The stars seemed to have fallen from the sky and were in Jed’s eyes and I just knew he was going to say something beautiful. I saw Mrs Cooper spell what Jed said to me on Sam’s hand.
“I’m his guardian, if you like,” he said, looking into my eyes. “But he belongs with you.”
27.
DAD WAS WAITING FOR ME AFTER SCHOOL THE next day. I had to stand outside the classroom while he talked to Miss Steadman and Mrs Brooks. Miss Steadman kept looking through the doorway and in the end came out to give me a crossword puzzle. She smiled and closed the door behind her. I couldn’t do the puzzle.
Dad was in there for ages. And even then we didn’t go home. We had another appointment.
The doctor pressed my tongue down with a spatula, prodded around my neck, measured my temperature. He said he couldn’t find anything wrong with me and that Dad was doing the right thing by talking to the people at school. He was going to send a report to the school and they would contact an expert called Dr Colborn, a psycho or something like that.
Dad looked more worried when we left than when we went in. And it made me feel scared of Dr Colborn. I started to think that she was going to make me tell her that I saw my dead mum and then tell me it wasn’t true and make me say it wasn’t true. And worse, if I said it wasn’t true, it might make Mum go away forever and then I might never see Homeless again. Already I hated Dr Colborn.
We still didn’t go home. Dad said he needed to go back into work to catch up on what happened at a meeting. The bus dropped us outside H. Packaging. Five men were waiting outside, the top half of their blue overalls tied by the arms round their waists. They hardly lifted their heads as Dad passed.
“How did it go?” Dad said.
“You’re too late,” one of them said. “We’re out. All of us.”
Dad told me to wait. He slammed the door behind him and started shouting. Rain drummed on the metal roof. It sounded like a war had started. I covered my ears, but there was pounding and hammering coming from inside too.
Luke was waiting to speak to Dad when we got home, his voice was shaky, his eyes wide and glassy.
“A couple of blokes from your work came round. They said they wanted to speak to you. Has something bad happened?”
Dad hid behind his hands, rubbed round his face and took his time before he spoke. “They’ve all lost their jobs.”
Luke’s voice cracked. “Does that mean you too? Are we going to have to move again?”
“It’s not that …” Dad moved quickly, hooked his elbow round Luke’s neck, pulled him in.
“It’s OK, I’ve still got my job. It’s just I promised I’d look after them.”
28.
DAD WAS HANGING OVER A CUP OF COFFEE IN the kitchen, resealing a white envelope. He said he needed to go and talk to a few people. His voice was frosty; he looked more crumpled than ever.
“There’s some money on the table. Luke, get anything you need from the shop. Mrs Cooper said you could both spend the day with them.”
“My friend Rachel is coming over,” said Luke.
Dad muttered he was sure Mrs Cooper wouldn’t mind, and something about her taking in any waifs and strays.
Luke waited by the front door for Rachel. I banged twice on the drum and Mrs Cooper called out to come on in. Sam’s blue bag was on the floor by the door as usual. I looked inside it. It was Sam’s swimming stuff: swimming shorts, a towel and goggles. It made me think Sam was the kind of person who’d never give up.
We knew when Rachel had arrived because of the sound coming from the door. Me and Sam leaned against the back of the door and felt the drumming through the wood, the rhythm thumping something bright and strong, like a dance, against
