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I swear,’ I said, looking him in the eyes, pleading with
him. I am not going mad , I thought. This happened .
    He nodded
slowly, looking back at me. ‘All right,’ he said softly. ‘If you say it did
then fine, we’ll get a plumber in. Did it scare you, or make you hurt your knee,
or...What was it, love?’ he shook his head, searching for answers. I couldn’t
give him any. I’d just felt so horribly cold and alone that I couldn’t stand it
anymore, that was all. And it had been so dark.
    I shrugged,
helpless. His eyes softened. ‘It’s early. Perhaps you didn’t get enough sleep.’
    ‘I’m not
lying!’ I cried.
    ‘Shh, shh. I
know you didn’t, my little pet. It’s just I think you’ve had a hard couple of
days and not enough sleep. It probably shook you up a bit. It’s just a problem
with the plumbing, that’s all.’
    I glanced down
at the ugly tub, resenting it sitting there in the gloom when moments ago I’d
felt so warm and peaceful. I was about to ask to go to my room when something
caught my eye, though I had to squint hard to see it.
    ‘They ought to
put a bigger window in here, eh El’? It’s too bloody dark—’
    ‘Dad, look,’ I
said, nodding at the thing I was staring at, way down in the depths of the tub.
    ‘What?’ he
asked, his eyes scanning it up and down.
    I unfolded my
arm from the towel and pointed a long finger at the dark shape at the base of
the tub. ‘The plug,’ I said, my voice quavering.
    We both stared
in silence at the wide round plug, still nestled solidly in the plug hole.
     
    Once I was
dried and warm again I cheered dad up by using the manky old stair lift, even
though the hall was dark as the bathroom and it was difficult getting myself in
for fear of tripping on the steps.
    Dad sighed.
‘It was bright sunshine early this morning, and now look. Just look out that
front window.’ He pointed to the window beside the front door, taking the
stairs one at a time alongside me, at the dreary sight outside.
    ‘Rain,’ I
said. ‘Typical summer weather.’
    ‘It does
nothing for the light in this house, it really doesn’t. We’ll be using the
lights twenty–four–seven if it keeps this up. It’s grim. We mustn’t let it
dampen our spirits though must we, flower?’
    The stair lift
clunked to a halt at the bottom. I lifted the stick from my lap and used it to
get up, while dad ushered me towards the little kitchen. He’d unpacked
everything, and now the cramped little place was starting to look like a home.
I took a seat at the little round table and poured myself some cornflakes,
while dad set about making me a cup of tea.
    It was dark
and gloomy, sure, but it wasn’t so cold anymore. I was beginning to feel less
shaken by the event upstairs, even if I still wasn’t quite sure what I’d
experienced.
    All I knew was
that the whole time all I could think about was Peter Denton, and I couldn’t
tell my dad about it. He would get too upset. He was always upset when I
mentioned Peter.
    ‘I’m sorry
about earlier,’ I said, picking at my cornflakes with my spoon. ‘I was probably
just tired, like you said.’
    Dad poured the
kettle and smiled at me while he stirred the teabag. ‘No, no, we’ll still get
that plumber out. If you say the water drained away, then the water drained
away.’
    I had to think
about that one. Had it happened, or had I been half asleep? My mind was fogging
up. I shook my head and stuffed a spoonful into my mouth to stifle the confusion
and just focused on chewing.
    Dad brought
the tea to the table and took a seat next to me, having no breakfast of his
own. ‘I nipped out for a paper at about six this morning and saw a young lad
getting on a fishing boat with a bunch of other blokes. I’m sure I recognised
him. Didn’t you have another little friend around here?’
    I knew
instantly who he was talking about. ‘David Peirce,’ I said.
    Dad shrugged.
‘He looked up at me like he knew me, and I certainly recognised him. He’s