Read Operation Eiffel Tower Online
Authors: Elen Caldecott
Operation Eiffel Tower (16 page)
‘Good,’ Lauren said, adding Mrs Khalid’s name to the roll. ‘Music? Wine?’
‘We can’t buy wine, but maybe Mrs Khalid could bring some for Mum and Dad if we explain.’
‘Lovely. Tablecloth?’
‘How about the Christmas one? It’s got pictures of holly on but that doesn’t matter and Mum won’t notice it’s gone missing in the middle of summer.’
‘Excellent.’ Lauren scribbled another note on the sheet.
‘So,’ Jack said, ‘we just need music. We could take a radio down. Or your CD player.’
Lauren wrinkled up her nose in disgust. ‘It’s not very romantic. There should be a string quartet, or a grand piano.’ She sighed. ‘But I suppose it will have to do. You’ll have to get some batteries from Mrs Khalid so it can work.’
Lauren added the word ‘batteries’ to the bottom of her list. ‘There’s a table inside William’s hut, isn’t there?’
Jack nodded. ‘Yes. He plays solitaire on it a lot in winter. In summer, he’s too busy so it just gets piled up with stuff. I hope he’ll let us do this; I should go and talk to him.’
‘Of course he will. You’re his championship player!’ Lauren grinned. ‘I never thought golf would ever come in useful. Especially not crazy golf.’
‘Adventure golf,’ Jack corrected.
‘But
crazy
golf might even get Mum and Dad talking again.’
‘That’s not my objective,’ Jack said. ‘I’m doing this so they get back together. There’s a chance of that, isn’t there?’
Lauren bit her lip.
Jack felt a little shiver of disappointment. She didn’t think there was. He knew she didn’t.
Lauren shrugged. ‘There might be. I don’t know. There might.’
‘A romantic dinner? Here?’ William asked. ‘Are you sure?’
Jack looked over at the Eiffel Tower. A family was playing there: a toddler sat on the ground crying, an older girl dripped ice cream from a melting cone on to her club, the mum and dad glared at each other in the heat.
‘Only . . .’ William said, ‘only it’s not quite Paris, is it?’
The toddler’s sobs turned into screams. His mum snapped something at the man and lifted the toddler into her arms.
‘Maybe not,’ Jack sighed.
‘Still,
Vive la différence,
as they say. Why shouldn’t your mum and dad have a nice meal here if that’s what they want?’
‘Well, I’m not sure it’s what
they
want. It’s more me and Ruby.’
William nodded. ‘Fair enough. But you should get what you want too. When do you want to do it?’
Jack grinned. ‘I’m not sure. Soon. When Ruby gets out of hospital.’
‘Fine. Just let me know. I can sort you out a table, chairs, some lights too. Maybe a baguette, or a mime artist.’ William chuckled to himself.
‘Thanks.’
Jack looked at the Eiffel Tower. It was just made of wooden planks, painted with fence paint every autumn. It was about three metres high, with anti-climb paint round the bottom. Could they make it look like the real thing? Would it be enough to get Mum and Dad talking? Would they kiss as the sun set behind the tower?
Yes
, Jack thought.
Yes, they would
.
Mrs Khalid clapped her hands together. ‘Lamb and garlic potatoes? Or chicken jalfrezi? Or maybe a vegetable tart?’
Jack shrugged.
Mrs Khalid came out from behind the till and wandered up one of the aisles. She picked up a tin, looked at it, then slipped it back into place. ‘Ooh, no. Not curry. It should be something French. I don’t think I’ve got any French food though. Fries, maybe? It’s not romantic,’ she argued with herself, checking out a few more tins. ‘I’ve got it!’ she said suddenly. ‘Polish! I’ve got loads of stock, and it’s European, close enough to French, no? Pierogi, klopsiki, maybe baranina?’
‘Does it taste nice?’ Jack asked.
‘Of course it tastes nice! I wouldn’t cook something nasty. It will be a feast. Fit for a king. I promise.’
‘Thank you.’
Mrs Khalid patted Jack’s shoulder gently. ‘It’s nice what you’re doing. You’re a good boy. I hope it works out for you all.’
Jack looked down at the tiled floor of the shop. ‘It will,’ he whispered.
Lauren was busy crossing things off on her huge piece of paper – food, candles, tablecloth. Jack nibbled at a sandwich, leaving the crusts on his plate. He put the plate down on the floor.
‘You are not leaving that there,’ Lauren said.
‘But we’re still in the middle of planning!’
‘I don’t care. Take it to the kitchen. I’ll get mice in here if you leave crumbs all over the place.’
Jack sighed but picked up the plate and opened Lauren’s door.
Mum was in the hallway below.
She was on the phone.
And she was . . . whispering.
Jack stood still. Like statues again, but this time straining to hear what Mum said.
‘Fine,’ Mum said. ‘And he’s a divorce lawyer? Solicitor, then? Good. Day after tomorrow? Is that the soonest? OK. Yes. Ten o’clock. I’ll be there.’
She lowered the receiver slowly, then walked towards the kitchen.
Jack realised that his heart was pounding hard, as though he had just run down the stairs and snatched the phone and smashed it down hard. But he hadn’t moved.
He stepped back into Lauren’s room.
‘You’ve still got that plate,’ she said crossly.
‘Mum’s seeing a divorce lawyer,’ Jack whispered.
‘When?’ Lauren’s eyes opened wide.
‘Day after tomorrow.’
Lauren paused, then nodded slowly. ‘Fine. Then we have to take them to Paris tomorrow. As soon as the crazy golf closes.’
‘Adventure golf,’ Jack corrected in a voice that didn’t sound like his own. He sat down heavily on the bed. A crust slipped off the plate and landed on the carpet. He half-noticed Lauren wince. ‘Sorry.’ He bent down to pick it up.
‘Doesn’t matter really,’ Lauren said. She came and sat down next to him. ‘This doesn’t change anything, you know. The objectives stay the same. But now we just have to do it sooner rather than later.’
She put her hand in the middle of Jack’s back and gave him a quick rub, as though she was drying him with a towel. It made him grin, despite himself.
Then he thought of something.
‘What about Ruby? We can’t do it if she’s still in hospital. She’ll go mental if we do it without her!’
Lauren stood up and looked at the plan on the wall. ‘You’re right.’ She took the lid off the pen and wrote in big letters: ‘Bust Ruby Out Of Hospital Tomorrow’.
‘You’re joking! We can’t do that.’
‘Of course we can. The doctor said she’s on the mend.’
‘Yes,
on the mend
, not actually mended.’ Jack thought about burst stitches, about infection, about Ruby’s insides suddenly being on the outside in the middle of William’s World of Wonders. ‘We can’t bust her out of hospital.’
Lauren sighed. ‘OK, maybe you’re right. Let’s just go along at visiting hours and find out, shall we?’
‘What about the divorce lawyer?’
Lauren grinned. ‘Don’t worry. This is going to be the most romantic dinner ever seen on a crazy golf course. And it all happens tomorrow.’
She underlined the word ‘tomorrow’.
Twice.
Ruby ran towards them when they arrived on the ward. Lauren caught Jack’s eye and raised an eyebrow.
‘Wait till we hear what the doctor says,’ Jack hissed.
Mum scooped Ruby into a hug. ‘Hey, sweetheart. Looks like you’re feeling better.’
‘Gracie and me had a wheelchair race in the corridor and the nurses shouted a bit. Gracie won, but her wheelchair is a proper racing one – I had to borrow a hospital one. Her hair is prickly where it’s growing back.’
‘Poor Gracie,’ Mum said.
Ruby looked a bit confused. ‘Why? She won the race. And everyone wants to touch her head where the doctors shaved it.’
‘Oh, of course.’ Mum grinned.
‘Mrs Dempsey?’ A nurse stepped out from behind the big desk in the middle of the ward. ‘The doctor was hoping for a word with you. As you can see, Ruby’s doing much better now and he feels it might be a good idea for her to continue her recuperation at home.’ The nurse grinned. ‘I think it was the wheelchair race that convinced him.’
‘Oh, that’s wonderful.’ Mum kissed the top of Ruby’s head. ‘Can she come back with us now?’
‘Not now, but I think he said tomorrow. Wait here and I’ll page the doctor.’
‘Oh, Ruby!’ Mum almost squealed. ‘I hope you can. I’ll come here straight after work to get you.’
Lauren winked at Jack and leaned in to whisper in his ear. ‘We’ll beat Mum to it. We’ll get Ruby and get everyone to William’s. Operation Eiffel Tower is go.’
