‘Mummy!’
Vince sat bolt upright, dragged from a dream.
‘Where are you, Mummy?’
are‘Coming, Susie. Oh. s**t. Melanie.’ He rolled out of bed, reaching for a dressing gown which didn’t want to be worn. His arm went through the wrong hole, and he had to start over.
‘Mummy! Daddy!’
Melanie was standing on her bed, tears streaming down her face. Vince put on the light. Arm outstretched, she pointed at him and shouted, ‘I want to go home. I want them back.’
‘Melly…’
Her face crumbled into despair, and she plonked onto her bottom. He sat beside her, at a loss. Nothing he could do or say made this better.
‘I don’t want them dead,’ she said with a whimper.
‘I know, sweetie. I don’t want them dead either.’
She threw herself into his arms and for the longest time he let her cry, rocking them
