“Let’s hope the owners remember you,” said Neef.
“I called them yesterday,” said Eve.
Neef reflected that he should have known Eve would have done that.
“Who’s hungry?” asked Eve.
Neil and Neef put up a discordant chorus of, “Me!” that made Eve laugh. It was the first time Neef had heard her laugh out loud. He liked the sound.
Eve had gone overboard with the food with the emphasis heavily on what small boys would like. This didn’t stop Neef participating with great enthusiasm. When he and Neil had eaten all they could, Neef lay back on the ground holding his stomach as if it were about to burst. Neil decided to do the same and both of them rolled around on the ground as if unable to get off their backs, making groaning noises. Eve pretended to be annoyed which only incited them to greater heights and eventually, gales of laughter.
“I think we should all have a snooze in the sunshine,” suggested Eve. “Give our digestion time to recover?”
“Good idea,” agreed Neef. He lay flat with his head touching Neil’s who did the same, seeing it as a game. Eve joined in and all three lay flat on the ground like a three pointed star. The sky above them was cloudless and the sun warm on their faces. The initial chat faded away until a long silence ensued. Neef was the one facing directly into the sun so he had to keep his eyes shut. This sharpened his other senses. He was aware of the sound of buzzing insects as they passed nearby and he could smell that the grass surrounding the mill had been cut recently.
“Neil,” whispered Eve.
There was no reply.
“Neil, are you awake?”
No reply.
“He’s fast asleep,” said Eve. “He is all right, isn’t he?”
Neef rolled over on to his front and propped himself up on his elbows to look at Neil. “He’s fine,” he assured Eve. “He just ate too much, like me. That was an excellent picnic.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it. I’m particularly glad you decided to come along today. It’s just perfect, isn’t it?”
“Absolutely,” said Neef.
“So what’s troubling you?” asked Eve.
Neef looked surprised. “Nothing,” he said. “What made you say that?”
“Your eyes,” replied Eve. “They’re a dead give-away.”
Neef looked at Eve, preparing to rubbish the notion but her steady gaze made him change his mind. “Do you remember the day we went to lunch at Frank MacSween’s? There was a baby there, Nigel, Frank’s grandson?”
“Of course,” said Eve.
“He died last night.”
“My God, what happened?” asked Eve.
“They don’t know yet.”
“Frank and Betty had gone up to Yorkshire for the week-end to stay with Clare and Nigel. I spoke to Betty last night. The boy was rushed to hospital yesterday afternoon; it sounded like he died within hours of admission.”
“What an awful thing to happen,” said Eve. “His parents must be devastated.”
Neef nodded. “Frank will be taking it really hard too. He doted on his grandson. He’d already built him a gang-hut in his garden.”
“Poor Frank,” said Eve. “Poor Betty, too. She’s lovely.”
Neef nodded.
“So what kind of illness kills a baby that quickly?” asked Eve.
“I wouldn’t like to hazard a guess,” said Neef. “But young children can sometimes succumb very quickly to infection. I suppose this must have been one of these times.”
“Will they carry out a post mortem?”
“Yes, they’ll have to establish the cause of death for the death certificate.”
Eve shuddered and said, “I’d hate anyone to cut open my baby like that. The idea seems so awful.”
Neil woke up and Eve made a fuss of him, teasing him about eating so much. She pretended she could feel each individual item of food in his stomach. “A sausage roll there,” she said. “And another one... and another one! How many sausage rolls did you have?”
“Neil giggled as he tried to defend himself from Eve’s probing fingers. “Help me!” he appealed to Neef.
“I think you’ll have to make a run for it, Neil. Quick!” Neef held out his hand and Neil grabbed it and pulled himself away from Eve. He started to run towards the river, still holding Neef’s hand as Eve pretended she was about to give chase. “I’m coming to get you,” she growled.
Neil and Neef ran right down to the water’s edge and fell down on their stomachs to look down into the slow-flowing current where they lay for a minute without speaking.
“What can you see?” asked Neef.
Neil looked carefully then pointed with his finger excitedly, saying, “Fish!”
Neef saw that he was right. There were three or four sticklebacks darting in and out of the shadows. “Well spotted,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with your eyes.” He looked sideways at Neil while the boy was intent on looking for more fish and concentrated on examining the growth on his face. There was something about it that disturbed him. It was different somehow. He hoped to God it was imagination but it seemed to have gotten a little bigger. Neil became aware that Neef was staring at him. He looked up at him questioningly.
“I think we should have a boat race. What do you say?” said Neef, anxious that nothing should ruin the day.
Neil’s eyes lit up with approval.
“Right then. First we have to select our boats.” Neef reached out and broke off a long reed from the water’s edge. He trimmed it down until it was about six inched long. “Right, I’ve got mine,” he said. “How about you?”
Neil broke off a reed just as Neef had done and prepared it the same way. He nodded.
“Right then, when I give the word we both throw them in and follow them down to the bridge. First to the bridge is the champion. All right?”
Neil nodded enthusiastically.
“Ready, steady... Go!”
Both reeds hit the surface of the water and started to drift slowly downstream, accompanied by yells of encouragement from both Neef and Neil. Eve came down to see what the noise was about. “I’ll judge the winner,” she said and hurried on ahead to the footbridge where she took up stance in the middle of the span, leaning over the parapet, chin on her hands as she concentrated on the imminent approach of the reeds.
“And the winner is... Neil!”
Neef feigned disappointment while Eve cheered and Neil danced up and down in delight.
As they walked back to the rug and the picnic basket, Neil scampered on ahead and Eve said to Neef. “I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed myself so much.”
“Me neither,” agreed Neef, putting his arm round her shoulders. It seemed entirely the natural thing to do. The moment would have been perfect had it not been for an awful doubt he now had about whether Neil’s remission had come to an end.
By the following Tuesday, Neef had confirmation of his worst fears over the status of Neil’s tumour; it had started growing again. Lawrence Fielding had carried out an extensive range of tests on the boy after Neef had told him of his suspicions and now there was no doubt; Neil’s remission was over. There probably wouldn’t be another. Neef of course, had known all along that this had been bound to happen sooner or later but he still felt a great sadness come over him as he realised that now all he could do for Neil was to keep him as comfortable as possible as the inevitable approached. He wasn’t looking forward to telling Eve; she would take it badly. She had become very attached to Neil despite the warnings but with a charismatic child like Neil, it had been almost inevitable that she would. He wondered for a moment if had been wise to allow Eve to start visiting Neil in the first place but the doubt was quickly dispelled by the memory of the two of them playing together on the picnic. It had been the right thing to do. He was absolutely sure of it.
During the course of the morning, Neef heard that Frank MacSween was back on duty. He went down to Pathology just after lunch time to offer his condolences. He found MacSween sitting in his office next to the PM suite. Being in the basement, the room had no windows and was lit by the same daylight fluorescent lights as the PM suite itself. MacSween appeared particularly pallid and a shadow of grey-white stubble covered his cheeks and jowls. He seemed distant and preoccupied.