Angels in the Architecture by Sue Fitzmaurice Read Free Book Online

that was not a good thing. She had to be engaged. It made her feel alive, and god knew everyone around her was a lot happier if she was.
     
     
    In a sprawling cottage on the edge of Nocton Fen, Pete Watson had emerged from his garage workshop, the BBC blaring from an old radio-tape player on a shelf in the corner. He was seeing off one of his son’s team of therapists after their morning play session.
    ‘ Thanks, Kaye. How was our wee sunshine today?’
    ‘He said swan .’
    ‘ Swan ? What’d ’e say swan for? Why can’t he say Daddy or Shakespeare or steak ‘n’ chips ? How’d he get swan ?’
    ‘Don’t know. Some picture he liked I guess. Boy, he’s into those chocolate chip biscuits , isn’t he? I had to hide them. He was just about livid with me. It took all my effort to distract him.’
    Pete was wiping grease from his hands on to what was possibly an even greasier old cloth. He wore once-white overalls with the sleeves cut off at the elbows, and bare feet. Two-day-old stubble covered his rugged friendly face. At some point in the morning, he’d wiped sweat from his forehead or rubbed an eye since a sizeable oil mark ran solidly across one brow.
    ‘How was your morning? ’ Kaye asked. ‘Have you got that old crate running yet?’
    Kaye was the chattiest of Tim’s therapists, and Pete enjoyed her company. He was sure her garrulous humour was an enormous boon to Tim’s day as well as his.
    ‘How dare you call my baby a crate? The least you could come up with is jalopy or fender bender or something. After all, this is a work of art you know, a veritable Mona Lisa of mustangs, a...’
    ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get the picture,’ Kaye interrupted. ‘I’d just like to see the bloody thing get its rubber to the road sometime.’
    ‘Ah, but this is not necessarily the goal of course. Should it ever become roadworthy I may have to come forth from my sanctuary and speak to people, and my wife and I may not know what to say to each other after such a long period of man-shed hibernation.’
    ‘You sure she’s not hanging out for you to finish it so she can talk to you?’ Kaye asked.
    ‘Hmm, there’s a thought. But on the other hand , perhaps she prefers it this way. Hard to know.’
    ‘ Uh-huh.’ said Kaye.
    ‘Anyway, how’ s Tim coming along do you think? Are we winning?’
    ‘You know. It’s one step at a time. One day at a time. I haven’t felt much change lately.’
    ‘No,’ agreed Pete.
    ‘Sometimes I think he’s actually just so smart that he’s really bored witless with this training we do with him and he’s waiting for the good stuff to start, whatever that is. I don’t know. What about more socialising, more outings, and more experience with people and the wider world?’
    ‘I’ve wondered that. Maybe I’ll take him up to Lincoln on the weekend. Perhaps we could see the swans at the Pool, since he’s got a new thing for them.’
    ‘Good idea. Let me know what he makes of it,’ said Kaye. ‘There’s no doubt he’s not in any way severely autistic. He’s never been a headbanger, he’s got great eye contact, all kinds of things that take him away from that extreme end of the spectrum. We’ve got to remind ourselves of that.’
    ‘Yeah, he just runs in circles, shakes his arms around, blabbers on about nothing, and laughs at empty space.’
    ‘I know, I know. But honestly it could be worse. You should see some of the kids I work with. Really, I do have high hopes for him. You’ll see. He’s only four. There’s plenty of time. Really.’
    ‘ Thanks, Kaye. I really do appreciate all you do for him. Sometimes it just doesn’t seem to be having any effect. And then other times he’s off in leaps and bounds. Not much different from most kids I s’pose.’
    ‘Well like I say, step by step.’
    ‘Yeah.’
    ‘Okay, well, I’m off. See you Monday.’
    ‘Thanks, see you then.’
    ‘Bye, Timmy,’ Kaye called to the small boy at the front door.
    Timmy did not respond.