A Fluffy Tale 2: Warm & Fuzzy Read online

  “I’m sorry, DeeDee. Did you have supper?”

  “Sort of. He was too upset to eat, and he didn’t want the ‘stupid cake’ I made for him.” The lip wobbled again. “Go!”

  Daniel went, because there was only one of him to go around two upset siblings.

  Alex was lying on his bed on his stomach, petting Veen. He didn’t look at Daniel as he came in. “Go away. I don’t want to talk to you.”

  “I know. Happy birthday anyway.”

  “Don’t be stupid. It sucked. You suck. This job sucks.” He rolled over and glared at Daniel with red eyes. “You don’t even need to work. Dee says there’s plenty of money in the bank.”

  Daniel sat on the end of the bed. “That’s got to cover a lot of things, Alex. You and Dee going to university, our bills, house repairs, emergencies—that kind of thing. It’s not that much, and there’s no more to come. Not for a while, anyway,” he amended, thinking of the protracted legal battles, and the obduracy of companies denying liability. “If I can’t look after you, then social services will have to take over. I have to prove I can manage.”

  “They won’t take us away. Not when you’re around.”

  “They might. I can’t risk that. Look, I’m really, really sorry. I let you down, and I knew you’d be mad at me. But we’ve been through worse, right? Got through it?” He reached out and stroked his brother’s carroty curls. “It’s just the three of us, kiddo. We can’t fight with each other.”

  “Can’t you find another job? You never said you’d have to work late all the time.”

  “I didn’t know. Give me a little while longer. Once I have a bit more experience, I can apply for other jobs.”

  “I wish I was older, then I could get a job instead.”

  Daniel ruffled his hair and tried to smile. “I wish you were too. You’d be better than me, I bet. Um...Dee has a cake.”

  “Don’t want anything. Not hungry.”

  “Alex, she’s crying. I know it’s my fault, but I don’t know what to do. It would mean a lot to me if you came downstairs and helped me cheer her up.”

  “You spoiled my birthday.”

  “It’s not over, though. And I’m home now. Can we have some cake and see if that helps? I’ve got a birthday present for you somewhere.”

  Alex’s mouth moved as if he was about to say he didn’t want any stupid present, but he didn’t actually say it.

  “Please?”

  “Okay. But I still hate your job.”

  “I don’t like it much either. We just have to hang on a little longer. We can do it, if we do it together.”

  Alex screwed up his face. “You sound like a TV commercial.”

  Daniel grinned. “Sorry. Come on. I’m starving.” Kani squeaked. “So is he.” He reached over to hug his brother. To his relief, Alex let him. “We’ll get through this, Alex. Just hold on.”

  “It’s so hard. I miss Mum and Dad.”

  “Me too. All the time.” He kissed his brother’s head. “But at least I have you and Dee.” Kani chirped and leapt up onto Alex’s shoulder to lick one side of his face, while Veen nibbled Alex’s ear on the other side. “And you too, fuzzballs.”

  Chapter 6

  Spen kept a close eye on the security logs for the next two weeks, and enjoyed a little burst of satisfaction every time he saw Daniel’s ID register his departure by six every evening—sometimes even as early as five. He wondered how Noble explained the sudden drop off in overtime requests to Daniel. Maybe he hadn’t bothered, expecting his PA to accept management oddities as part of the job.

  Spen didn’t really care so long as Daniel wasn’t being pressured into working long hours and being perved over by a creepy boss. The other change in behaviour he did care about, since it meant Daniel no longer came down to IT, limiting his communications to email and rare phone calls. Spen didn’t know if it was by Noball’s orders, or whether Daniel was angry about his intervention. He figured eventually he’d find out, since the Cross-Channel project was still on-going, and likely to be rolled out across all their offices after the national conference. Unless Noble handed it off to someone else—which, Spen judged, an egotist like him would never do—he would have to keep working with IT, and since Noble was still technologically inept, he would need Daniel’s help. Spen gave it another week before Noble stopped sulking, and he doubted Daniel’s gentle personality could sustain rage for anything like that long. The emails and calls were polite enough, so no change there. Maybe he’d make another attempt to entice Daniel out to the Friday pub night soon, now he couldn’t use the overtime as an excuse.

  The chance to have a drink and a chat came sooner than Spen expected. He left a little later than planned on Tuesday and almost knocked Daniel over as he came around the corner from the stairs. “There he is. Hello stranger.” Daniel’s big green eyes stared wildly, not really seeing him at all. “Daniel? What’s wrong?”

  “I can’t...just leave me....” He pushed past Spen and bolted for the men’s toilet. Sensing it wasn’t a sudden bout of nausea which had sent him running, Spen gave chase.

  He found Daniel sitting on the floor at the far end of the room, next to a urinal. “Hey, kid, you can’t sit there. It’s dirty.”

  “Don’t care.” He looked up at Spen, his face glistening with tears. “Leave me alone.”

  “No, don’t think so.” Spen crouched down and hoped like hell no one else would come in. “Did something happen? Something at home? Tony get mad about something?”

  “I can’t...you wouldn’t understand. I just have to...but I can’t.”

  Spen frowned at him, then stood, pulled some paper off the roll and wet it. He crouched again and handed the wetted towel to Daniel. “Wipe your face, then stand up. You need to get out of here. Well away from here.”

  Daniel obeyed, accepted Spen’s help to stand up, and threw the screwed up towel at the bin with unnecessary force. “I’m okay now,” he said, voice as flat as a computer simulation.

  “Yeah, right. Look, do you have time for a quick drink? We can talk.”

  Daniel’s eyes darted about in panic. “I can’t...I have to get home.”

  “Half an hour? Give them a call? Daniel, I’m worried about you.”

  “Half an hour?”

  “An hour max. Just call who you need to.”

  He shook his head. “It’s okay. They don’t count on me being home early any more.”

  Spen didn’t comment on that, though he could strangle bloody Tony Noble. “Come on, it’s only around the corner.”

  Wednesdays were quiet in their local. It was usually quiet anyway, being more of a lunchtime crowd type of place. “Do you drink? Want a beer? My shout.”

  Daniel looked about to protest, then his shoulders slumped in defeat. “Half of bitter, please.”

  Spen ordered the same, and some crisps to soak it up. He guided Daniel over to a corner and made him sit. “Where’s Kani?”

  “Kani? Oh...here.” A grey head suddenly popped out of the middle of Daniel’s chest, and gave an interrogative chirp. “It’s okay, you can come out now.” Kani jumped out and onto the table, taking a sniff at Daniel’s beer glass. Daniel stroked him gently, though rather distractedly.

  “What’s going on? Why are you keeping Kani out of sight? And drink that. You look like you need it.”

  Daniel took a sip, then a longer slurp. “Tony told me to keep Kani inside at work. Says it’s unprofessional.” He said it as if it was of no importance, but his eyes went red again. Kani gave an indignant squeak, even stamping his little feet to make the point.

  “He’s the only person in the whole damn office who thinks that. That’s unreasonable, and unfair on Kani.”

  “Yeah. But he’s my boss. I can’t lose my job over that. Only I’m going to lose it anyway.”

  Spen opened the crisps and set the bag in front of Daniel. “Eat those, and drink that beer. No way is Tony going to fire you. You’re too good at your job.”

  Daniel picked at the c
risps but didn’t eat one. Kani snuffled about in the packet, then stuck his nose in Daniel’s beer. Daniel waved him off and took another long slurp. “He’s going to fire me because I can’t go to the national conference. He says I have to go to it or it’s my job.”

  Spen blinked. “Wait a bloody minute. He can’t say things like that. You told him why? Is it your family? Does he know about that?”

  “He knows. I thought he understood.”

  “Understood what, exactly?”

  “I’m...sole guardian for my brother and sister. She’s sixteen. He just turned eleven. Mum and Dad...died. Last year, in an accident.”

  “I’m sorry. That’s a lot to handle.”

  “Yeah.” Daniel’s voice still held no passion or anger, just a dull misery that made Spen ache to hear. “I can’t leave them on their own for a week. There’s no one I can ask to look after them. No one I would trust. Dee might cope on her own, but not with Alex, and it would be a shitty thing to do to them anyway. They get so lonely.” He looked up, and added quietly, “We all do.”

  “No, you can’t leave them. Tony can’t force you to either. It’s totally against company regulations, and you should tell him that. Tell HR too.”

  “No, no, I can’t.” For the first time, he became a little animated, his cheeks flushing. “I can’t lose this job. I’m still on probation. He can fire me at will, no need for a reason, though I’m sure he has plenty of reasons he can come up with. He could even use what happened with Kani and Julian.”

  “If he tries that, Julian’s boss will eat him alive.”

  “Maybe, but I’ll still be gone. I need this job, Spen. If I push back, I’ll still end up losing it, only with a worse reference than what he’ll give me anyway. I’m so fucked.” He finished his beer in a long swallow. Spen silently pushed over his untouched glass. “Thanks. Look, I appreciate the concern, but I don’t have a choice in this. You can’t help. I’ll have to tell him no, and then I’ll have to leave. My family are everything to me. I’m all they have.” He rubbed his eyes. “God, Mum and Dad would be ashamed of me not coping with this.”

  “I think they’d be proud as hell of you, and furious with Tony, who’s an A-grade prick. He can’t give you a bad reference because you complained to HR.”

  “Want to bet? I don’t have any work experience outside this. I mean, usable experience. All he has to do is write a bland, unenthusiastic reference and the message will get through. I don’t have an employment record to set against it.”

  “You’ve got amazing IT skills, though.”

  “But no degree. That’s why it took forever to get this job. I’m still amazed I got it, considering. Now I’m going to lose it anyway.”

  “There’s really no one you can ask to help? No relatives? Friends?”

  “No.” Daniel started on Spen’s glass, staring down at the table and Kani patting a crisp without really seeing either. “Mum was an only child, and Dad’s sister lives overseas. Aunt Lisa offered to have us move out to her but I thought it would be too much for us to deal with. Our grandparents live on the other side of the country, and they’re both frail. Grandma had a minor heart attack when she heard the news about the accident, and then Granddad was diagnosed with cancer two months later. They want to help but....”

  “You don’t want to put any pressure on them.”

  “Yes, exactly. Besides, Dee’s about to sit exams. I can’t uproot her to send her to stay with them. No one else lives close, and people...well, let’s just say we weren’t exactly deluged with offers to help,” he said bitterly. “Maybe I could hire a nanny or something? Do they have people like that for older kids? But it would have to be someone Dee and Alex liked, or it would be worse than nothing. There’s no time to organise it.”

  “I’d offer to help, but I’m going to that stupid conference too...hang on.”

  “What?”

  “Where do you live?”

  Daniel named a suburb not that far from Spen’s parents’ house—a fifteen-minute bus ride at most, less in a car. “Why do you want to know?”

  “Because my mum’s a teacher—”

  “Aren’t you lucky.”

  Spen ignored the uncharacteristic sarcasm. “No, you’re lucky, I hope. Were you serious that Dee and Alex don’t expect you home early?”

  Daniel frowned in confusion. “Mostly, though I should call them soon. Why?”

  “Because I think you need to meet my parents. They might be the answer to your problem.”

  “Spen, that’s nice of you but I can’t—”

  Spen held up his hand. “Yes, you can. Unless you really want to start job hunting again?”

  “No, but—”

  “Then drink up, go wash your face, and I’ll call Mum.”

  ~~~~~~~~

  An hour later, Daniel could barely remember the utter despair which had swamped him after the terse, unfriendly conversation with his boss just before he’d left work. Like a force of nature, Spen had swept him up and carried Daniel along in his own optimism, depositing him in the warm, friendly kitchen of his warm and friendly parents. Spen’s mother had barely let her son explain Daniel’s dilemma before exclaiming, “Well, that’s easy, child. Why can’t we keep an eye on them while you’re away?”

  “Mrs Reardon, you don’t even know us.”

  “Of course I don’t, but that’s easily fixed. You and Spencer go fetch your brother and sister and we can talk about this. Good heavens, Daniel. You’ve been struggling on your own all this time? You poor children.” She stroked his hair, and a few tears leaked out in sorrow as he remembered his own mother doing the same thing. “Now, don’t cry, dear. Have you had supper? Have they? Then you call them right now and invite them over. Spencer, you and Daniel take the car.”

  “Yes, Mum,” Spen had said, grinning at Daniel. “Go on, call them.”

  Daniel had, and fifteen minutes later, they were at Daniel’s house. Alex threw open the door, and took in the entire length of Spen’s figure. Veen bounced up and down in excitement on his shoulder. “Gosh, you’re....”

  “Black?” Spen said, winking at Daniel who was both horrified and close to laughing out loud.

  “Enormous!” Alex exclaimed. “Dee! You won’t believe this!”

  “Alex, don’t be rude,” Daniel chided. “Dee? Are you ready?”

  She came running down the hall but stopped short when she saw Spen. “Wow. I wish I was that tall.”

  “Spen, this is my sister, Dee,” Daniel said. “Who usually has more manners.” She made a face at him. “Everything locked up?”

  “Yes, and the stove’s off, so don’t worry. Are you all huge in your family?” she asked Spen.

  “I’m a bit of a freak,” Spen said, apparently not bothered at all by the kids’ obsession with his height, “but we’re all pretty tall. Hope you’re hungry. Mum was unloading the freezer when we left and I think she thinks there are ten of you.”

  “I’m starving,” Alex said.

  Daniel ruffled his hair. “You’re always starving.”

  “I’m a growing boy. Oooh, he’s cute.”

  For a startled moment, Daniel thought his brother meant Spen, but then realised that he’d spotted Myko. “Yes, he is, but we can make introductions later. We don’t want to keep the Reardons waiting.”

  “This way,” Spen said, leading Dee and Alex to the car while Daniel locked the front door. Daniel didn’t want to stop and think about all this because then he’d be overcome with embarrassment and find a way of talking himself out of the answer to his problem. He had to resist that because this could be so good for Dee and Alex. Their excitement was a sign of just how limited their lives had become since their parents had died. To be able to share the burden for even a few days...it was selfish to impose on a stranger, but Mrs Reardon had been so instantly likeable, he couldn’t resist. He didn’t want to resist.

  He held his breath as Spen ushered Dee and Alex into his mother’s kitchen. This wouldn’t work if they didn’t lik
e her or trust her. Dee hesitated as she entered the room, taking it all in and looking worried. Mrs Reardon smiled. “Come in, dear. We don’t bite. At least, not since Spen was six, we haven’t.”

  Spen smiled seraphically at the reminder of past misdeeds. Daniel had trouble imagining him ever biting anyone, even at six years old.

  Dee grinned. “Alex bit me when he was eight.”

  “Did not!”

  “You so did. Mum had to put a bandage on my arm.”

  “It was an accident. My teeth slipped.”

  Daniel’s face hurt from hiding his amusement. Spen looked at Dee. Dee looked at Mrs Reardon. They all looked at Alex, turning red. “Well, dear, I hope your teeth are under control now,” Mrs Reardon said, her voice shaking a little from suppressed laughter. “Care to apply them to a steak and kidney pie?”

  Alex glanced sideways at her. “Does it have mushrooms? I don’t like mushrooms.”

  “No mushrooms,” Mr Reardon said. “They’re the work of the devil and make my bowels unhappy.”

  His wife tsked. “Richard, don’t mention your bowels in my kitchen, or you’ll put us all off our food. Alex, there are no mushrooms in it, but if you don’t like the pie, I can find something else.”

  “The pie’ll be fine, Mrs Reardon.” Daniel gently shoved his brother towards the table. “Come on, squirt. I thought you were starving.”

  “I am!”

  Mrs Reardon’s wonderful savoury pie—and Mr Reardon’s fruit salad for dessert—destroyed any lingering hesitation, not that Daniel had seen much from his siblings. Dee was delighted to have a sympathetic adult to talk to about her impending exams, and listened appreciatively to Mrs Reardon’s advice on the subject. Mr Reardon and Alex discovered a mutual love of building model engines, and spent much of the meal off in a world of their own. Daniel and Spen were the only ones who had trouble finding something to talk about. Daniel didn’t want to discuss work or his boss, or Spen’s obvious disapproval of Tony, and Spen was thankfully too tactful to raise it himself in front of the kids.