Chapter 45
A cruel wind whipped up Freda’s tweed skirt as over two hundred frail and elderly folk milled about on the pavement outside the apartment block. Traffic heated up on Northampton Road as rush hour approached and sensible people dashed home before the roads clogged. “You don’t have to stay,” Freda said, hugging herself and drawing the crinkly emergency blanket around herself. She looked like a thin, silver chocolate bar in sparkly wrapping and the blanket made rustling noises as she moved. It was echoed by the other two hundred crackling around the shoulders of the residents as they waited for the all clear.
Emma shook her head, her eyes puffy from crying. “I’ll take the blame and pay for the fire vehicles. It was my fault.”
Freda squeezed her icy arm and shook her head. “Do yo
