CHAPTER 46
I could see some of Alicia’s face in him, but he was much taller, his hair a shade lighter, what was left of it. He paused immediately in front of me for a few seconds as he scanned the room, looking for his ‘son’, no doubt. I looked over to Alicia, and caught her nudging Heidi. That answered one question, at least, for I had wondered whether he had been sitting in her office for his chats or if she had been keeping the same arms’ length relationship that I tried to. One Dearest Daddy calling at the House had been more than enough.

Heidi turned to Alicia, and I could read her mind as her eyebrows lifted in mute enquiry: are you sure about this?

A sharp nod from the girl, and Heidi raised a hand, staring straight at the man.

“Mister Wallis?”

His head jerked round at her call, then turned slightly to take in Alicia. I caught a very quiet sigh of “Oh, hell” before he took the few steps over to his child and her guardian.

“Hello, Dad. This is Mrs Milton”

Another few seconds, and then he waved at the table. I was close enough to hear them clearly.

“It’s cold out there. I am going to get a cuppa. Can I get you something while I’m up? Cake?”

Alicia dropped her head for a few seconds, and once more I could read minds, and hers was clearly thinking of occupied hands.

“They do a nice ham and cheese toasty here, and tea would be nice”

He nodded, then turned to Heidi, setting his small rucksack on the floor by the table leg.

“Can I get you a refill, or something? A toasty as well? I don’t want… Can I have a little time with my child?”

“Not alone, I am afraid, not given the circumstances”

“Okay, I understand. Another ham and cheese?”

“Cheese and mushroom, if I can be cheeky. And a latte for me”

He walked over to the counter, where Kim smiled at him.

“Could I have two teas, a latte, two ham and cheese toasties and a mushroom and cheese one, please?”

Kim nodded.

“You sitting with the two ladies? I’ll do your teas, then bring the rest over. Unless you want a proper pot? We’ve got different blends, leaf tea, rather than a mug with a bag”

“Er, um, English breakfast, then? For two?”

“No worries. I’ll put it on a tab, in case you fancy anything else”

“I don’t know, really”

“Sir, if I didn’t work here, I would most definitely be fancying everything! Grab a seat and I’ll be over in a bit with the drinks”

Oh, Kim, you smooth little sod: ‘Sitting with the ladies’ must have made a real impact on him. Wallis went back to the table, once more taking a measurable moment to look at my newest girl before drawing back the chair and sitting down opposite the pair.

A few deep breaths, and then, “What do I call you? Michael sounds odd with you, well. Like this”

Once again, she dropped her eyes.

“Alicia, Dad. It’s my name”

“It’s not what we called you”

“It’s what I like, Dad. It’s what everyone else calls me”

She paused a second, before adding, “You could at least try”

Kim scurried across to their table with a tray.

“Which one of you ladies having the latte?”

Heidi held up a hand, and Kim set the glass before her. Teapot and cups, strainer and sugar went between Alicia and her father, and Kim straightened with a grin, before nodding to Alicia.

“Give it a minute to brew before you be Mother, love!”

A glance at Mr Wallis’ shoulders, and I could see him trembling. His cup rattled on the saucer as he set it the right way up, the teaspoon falling to the table. He picked it up, staring at it as if the stainless steel had suddenly become the most fascinating of things.

“You don’t take sugar, do you. Alicia”

A perceptible pause, and a tremor in his voice to match those in his shoulders and hands. He switched his focus to Heidi.

“My child, Mrs Milton. I named him. Her. Not easy, is it? All I want is my child home again. Is there anything wrong in that?”

The girl spoke up, her voice firmer, more determined than it had been. I wondered if she was gaining strength from her father’s frailty.

“Not going back, Dad. Not the way Mam is, not when she wants me tortured, just for being me”

“Your Mam’s moving out, love”

Another pause, as he seemed to process the word he had just used.

“She said I was no good as a father, that if I couldn’t father a son properly, then I was no good. When I say ‘moving out’, well, I mean it’s me at the moment, staying with your Bamps and Nana for now. Not leaving her with the house, though”

Heidi coughed for attention.

“Are you separating on a trial basis, or looking for a permanent divorce, Mr Wallis?”

His head dipped to one side.

“Divorce, I suppose. A few things been said neither of us can take back, isn’t it?”

“What about custody of Alicia? Is her mother seeking to be awarded that?”

He nodded, then shook his head.

“She is, but I think it’s spite. Wants to show me, everyone, how to bring up a boy. Her way”

“Are you contesting the application?”

“Bloody hell, aye! After what she wanted done to Michael! I mean Alicia. Sorry. Not easy, this. Yes; I will be fighting her”

“Be aware, Mr Wallis, that it isn’t as simple as that. My own people will have a say in this, not just you and your wife. Alicia will be going nowhere unless we can be certain that it is in the best of her interests. For the moment, she is in a safe place”

“What, a kids’ home? Heard about those places, I have!”

“Dad!”

“Yes… love?”

“Can you look at me, please? Just look, then tell me if I look as if I’m frightened?”

He stared for a few minutes, then spoke again, his voice soft.

“You’re nervous, aren’t you? About me?”

“Yes, Dad. About you. The place I am in is wonderful. Everyone there is nice to me, and the lady who runs it is lovely. Really cares. And… and it is all girls there”

She indicated her face and clothing.

“We went out, the other girls and me, and we did some shopping. The other girls and me. And they go to school properly, and two of them are at University now, and nobody talks about giving me electric shocks or makes me kneel for hours with a bible”

She reached across for his hand, and he let her take it.

“Got my own room at the moment, cause the girl who was there is one of those at University. Think I’ll probably end up sharing, if someone else comes, but that’s OK, because I trust the other girls. My old room, at home: not much of me there, was there? Football posters were from Mam, weren’t they?”

“There was this, love”

He reached down for the little rucksack, bringing it onto his lap before unzipping it. Out came a medium-sized and very well-worn brown teddy bear. Alicia’s eyes lit up.

“Benjy!”

“I knew where he was going to be, love. I mean, I suggested it, after all. I just wondered, you know, if he might remind you of home. Found this with it”

The next thing he brought out was a folded piece of cloth, pale blue, with something printed on it.

“Want to tell me?”

Alicia smiled, and it was a soft one, then turned to Heidi.

“Had some cash, years ago. Went into town, and bought it. That’s Eeyore on the front. Sleep shirt, a lot bigger than my size. Told the girl I was getting it for Mam’s birthday. Used to get up really early, change out of it in case she wanted to wake me up on school mornings. It’ll be smelly, Dad; I couldn’t put it in the wash unless Mam was out”

His shoulders were now shaking rapidly, and I realised he was doing his best not to sob out loud. My girl was out of her seat, wrapping herself around him and using a serviette to wipe his face, until he could bring the shakes under control. Alicia pushed the rucksack from his lap, turning herself to sit in its place before burying her head in his shoulders as his arms went around her, hugging her tightly. She sat their for at least a minute, before Wallis reached across to take Heidi’s hand in his.

“Thank you. Thank you for keeping my… my girl here safe. I have no idea at all how I could have been so blind. Thank you”

He took his hand back to hold his daughter again, then softly asked if he could see where she was saying. Heidi shot that one down.

“Not possible, Mr Wallis. The facility remains a place of safety, and we maintain that by not advertising its location. What we can do is let you and Alicia meet, under supervision, until all parties can be satisfied that we have a safe way forward. Thank you, though, for doing your best. We always prefer that a child is with their family, if that is appropriate, and recognise that estrangement can often be ameliorated when all sides are willing to compromise. Will that be acceptable for now? I will emphasise that my offer isn’t actually an offer, but a statement. Until we are satisfied, she will remain in our care”

“But I can see her?”

“Absolutely, but for now, it will be under supervision. Now, I am very well aware of what this place offers in temptations, so if I leave you for a minute, it will be to collect the list of today’s cakes”

She rose, made her way to the counter and picked up the slate which listed the day’s offers, quietly slipping a hand over to squeeze Kim’s in obvious thanks. A little bit of anodyne conversation, obviously for the benefit of one man, and she walked back to the other two with the slate.

“Right, my treat, this one. I am having what is described here as ‘mass murder by chocolate’. Alicia? Mr Wallis?”

Kim turned to look over her father’s shoulder.

“Could I please have the carrot cake, Mrs Milton? Dad?”

“Um? Er, coffee and walnut?”

The meeting got better and better after that, and in the end, Heidi and Alicia walked him back to his car, and as I dd my best to look like some random woman pausing in the street to zip up her fleece, they hugged their goodbyes. Alicia reached in to kiss his cheek; after a couple of seconds, he bent down, kissed hers, and climbed into his car before driving away sharply. I could see the dampness on his cheeks as he passed.