canals, was only a short distance from his apartment and the Tube station. The perfect place to pick up a couple of tourists already waiting on the bridge for him. They were watching the boats below, oblivious to his arrival, and Matt took a moment to drink in the sight.
Quinn, dressed in a daisy-covered strappy yellow sundress and showing off her toned, tanned limbs, was the embodiment of the beautiful sunny morning. Simply stunning. Simon, too, was in his summer wear, every bit as colourful in his red shirt and green shorts. Quinn knelt to slather on sun cream to Simon’s exposed skin and plonked a legionnaire-style cap on his head. As per instructions, she wasn’t taking any chances of the sun aggravating his already tender skin.
‘Look, Quinn. It’s Matt!’ Simon spotted him over the top of his foster mother’s head and was suddenly running at him full pelt.
‘Oof!’ A five-year-old hug missile knocked out what was left of his breath after seeing Quinn.
‘Hi,’ she said, brushing her hair from her eyes as he walked towards her.
Matt held out his hand to help her back to her feet, with Simon still attached one-handed to his waist. ‘It’s nice to see you too.’
‘Sorry, he’s very excited.’ With a warning to calm down before Matt changed his mind, Quinn untangled the little person from him. The threat wasn’t the least bit likely but it did the job.
‘Me too.’ Matt’s grin reflected that of his co-chaperone for the day and sealed a non-verbal agreement that they’d put their indiscretion behind them and start over.
‘Where are the animals?’ Simon piped up, understandably anxious when he’d been promised monkeys, giraffes and all kinds of exotic new friends, only to find water and barges as far as the eye could see.
It was all part of Matt’s plan to build the excitement a while longer and capture Simon’s attention for the main event.
‘They’re at the zoo, which we’re going to, but a tourist trip around London isn’t complete without taking in a show.’ He could see Quinn frowning at him out of the corner of his eye but the surprise was just as much for her.
Simon skipped between the two adults as they walked down towards the red-and-yellow barge covered with a huge stripy canvas top. They must’ve looked like any other young family from a distance and he was surprisingly comfortable with that thought…as long as it was short-lived. Today all Matt wanted was for Simon to feel comfortable and the beaming faces beside him said the lie was worth telling.
‘A puppet show?’ Quinn’s eyes were wider than those of the other children trooping past them on the gangplank into the quirky theatre barge.
‘I’ve heard the kids love it and it’ll get Simon used to being on board before we take a water taxi on up to the zoo.’ Apart from being the perfect excuse for him to see it for himself, the dimly lit area would also serve as a gentle icebreaker into the general public. He didn’t want Simon to become too overwhelmed by the hordes of people who’d undoubtedly be at the zoo on a day such as this.
‘You really do think of everything.’
It was a compliment, not a criticism, but it was truer than Quinn would ever know. He hadn’t left anything to chance, having planned every tiny detail of this trip in those moments he’d lain awake since agreeing to it.
Matt escorted them to their tiered seats looking down on the small stage, away from prying eyes. The one concern he’d had was that Simon might find the small space too claustrophobic. On his initial admission his notes had mentioned he’d been trapped in one of the classrooms and Quinn had mentioned his nightmares regarding his entrapment and not being able to find his way out. He needn’t have worried. Simon was as enthralled with the old-fashioned marionettes adorning the walls as any of the other children. Matt was the only one experiencing difficulties with the low ceiling and small walkways and that was purely down to his height.
‘I’ve never seen a real puppet show before.’ Quinn leaned in to whisper in the darkness, her thighs touching his on the small bench where they sat, her excitement inadvertently increasing his.
‘Well, they say it’s recommended for small kids from five to ninety-five and I think we fall right in the middle of that age bracket.’ He reached across to whisper back, the soft waves of her hair brushing his cheek, and it was all he could do not to nuzzle closer and breathe in her sweet scent. This was supposed to be a PG-rated show and he didn’t want to run the risk of being asked to walk the gangplank of shame because he couldn’t control himself around her.
‘In that case, we’re the perfect audience.’ Her eyes glittered in the darkness as she hugged Simon close.
‘Perfect.’ Matt ignored the rising curtain, mesmerised by Quinn’s childlike wonder instead.
Quinn was in her very own fairy tale. So far she and Simon had been enchanted by their favourite childhood tales brought to life by puppets and had a good old singalong to some very familiar nursery rhymes. Simon had really thrown himself into the audience participation, as had Matt.
Perhaps it was the relative safety of dimmed lighting which brought her boy out of his shell, or maybe he was simply following the exuberance of Matt’s tuneless singing, but in that hour no one could tell he was different from any other boisterous child.
Matt had whisked them straight onto another barge when the show ended and they’d trundled along the tranquil waterways towards the zoo. It was the best route they could’ve taken, so peaceful, and a world away from the crowded streets beyond the green banks.
She’d been on boats before but never the barges. The hand-painted green-and-red beauty they were travelling on transported them to another era, a parallel universe where everything was well in her world.
How was it Matt could take such a simple idea and turn it into something special?
That was the talent which charmed adults as much as the children.
He was sitting with Simon now, spending the journey time pointing out the sights through the tiny side windows. He had a love and knowledge of the world around him that he was keen to share. Then there was that fun side to him as he encouraged his sidekick to wave at passers-by and make silly noises every time they went under a bridge. A distraction, she guessed, from the odd curious stare and a fear of the dark.
It was probably the first time in his young life he had two adults working together to put his needs above their own. She hoped one day he would have this for real even if she wouldn’t. There would be a family for Simon someday but she doubted she’d ever find another Matt who’d take her and her planned foster brood on for anything other than an afternoon. She wasn’t lucky that way.
Their gentle journey came to an end in a leafy area which still seemed miles from civilisation. As if sensing her confusion, Matt reached his arm across the seat and rested his hand on her shoulder.
‘The waterbus tours have their own entrance into the zoo so there’s no need for us to join the queues at the main entrance.’
A warmth started in the pit of Quinn’s stomach and gradually spread its way through her system and it wasn’t purely because they couldn’t seem to help themselves from making body contact when and where they could. On this occasion it was Matt’s thoughtfulness which had really captured her
