For The Sake Of His Child

pulled her downstairs. Once outside, he couldn’t resist displaying his quirky sense of humour by heading for Gina’s little car.

Carson touched him on the shoulder and spoke. Now that he addressed Joey more often, the little boy was growing skilled at reading his lips. ‘This way.’

But aren’t we going in the peanut?

A vision of three people and four suitcases being squashed into the tiny vehicle made Carson grin and Gina chuckle. Joey hiccuped with laughter as she ruffled his hair.

‘You shouldn’t call it a peanut,’ Carson told him. ‘It isn’t polite.’

You did.

‘Well, I’ll be- Who told you that?’

Gina. She said you called it a peanut on wheels.

‘Oh, did she? Well, you’re a cheeky little wretch!’

It was delightful to see Carson sharing the joke with his son.

And what is Gina?

‘What is Gina? Well, Gina is-’

She waited, her heart beating unreasonably fast.

‘I don’t know,’ Carson said at last. ‘What shall we call Gina? You say.’

For answer Joey raised one hand, the fingers together, the thumb apart. He rested the thumb briefly against the side of his face, drew it away, returned it, then away again.

Gina felt as though something was choking her. Joey had made the sign for ‘mother’.

‘We should be going,’ she said hastily. ‘Or we’ll get caught up in traffic.’

It was three hundred miles to the little coastal resort of Kenningham. Once it had been packed every summer, then its popularity had declined. But it had fought back with a funfair, and a first-class aquarium, and now it was flourishing again.

‘You did book us in somewhere, didn’t you?’ Carson asked as they drove along the crowded seafront.

‘At the Grand, with rooms overlooking the sea.’

She’d booked two rooms-one for Carson and one for herself and Joey. As they unpacked Joey was in a fever of excitement, like any child at the seaside.

When can we go to the aquarium?

‘Soon.’

Now?

‘Not now. Your father has driven a long way. He’s tired and he needs a meal.’

After that?

‘As soon as we can.’

But today, today, today!

She looked at her watch. ‘I don’t know when the aquarium closes.’

Then can’t we go now?

And so they came back to the beginning of the argument.

It was a first-class hotel with an haute cuisine restaurant, but Carson, who was learning fast about his son, declined this in favour of a nearby burger place.

‘I think I deserve a medal for getting it right this time,’ he joked, watching Joey stuff himself with burger and chips.

‘Yes,’ she agreed. ‘And it’s quicker eating here, so maybe we’ll get into the aquarium before it closes.’

‘We will. I’ve checked closing time, and we have another three hours.’ He saw her admiringly raised eyebrows, and said self-consciously, ‘Organisation. That’s the key to a successful enterprise.’

‘I’m impressed. Why don’t you tell Joey?’

Joey was eating with one hand and holding a brightly coloured pamphlet in the other. He showed it to them, pointing to something in the small print. They looked at each other and laughed.

The pamphlet was about the aquarium and Joey had found the opening times.

‘He’s not your son for nothing,’ she said. ‘He must have picked that up in the hotel foyer. Now that’s real organisation.’

‘Yes, it is.’ Carson regarded his offspring fondly.

‘Why don’t you ask him now to tell you about wrasse?’ she suggested, adding quickly, ‘You haven’t cheated, have you?’

‘No, I don’t even know how the word is spelled.’

She spelled it for him and Carson turned to Joey.

‘What can you tell me about wrasse?’

Joey looked quizzical, as though unsure how seriously to take this request.

‘Go on. Tell me.’

Joey needed no more encouragement. He began signing and spelling so vigorously that Carson had to stop him.

‘Steady,’ he said, speaking. ‘You go too fast for me.’

Joey nodded and went back to the beginning. Carson watched his fingers, his brow furrowed with concentration.

‘Wait,’ he said at last. ‘Do it again. I couldn’t understand-I thought you said-no, that must be wrong.’

Joey shook his head. Not misunderstand.

‘Go on,’ Gina urged. ‘Make it easy for your father.’

‘Thanks,’ Carson said with a grin.

Joey did it all again while Carson watched his fingers and his frown grew deeper.

‘You’re kidding me!’ he said explosively at last, forgetting to sign or speak slowly. But Joey understood and grinned.

‘Did I get that right?’ Carson demanded of Gina.

‘It is pretty incredible, isn’t it?’

‘He says wrasse is a fish. And they’re all female-that is, they’re all born female.’

‘Good. Go on.’

‘They live in groups of about twenty females to one male, and when the male dies one of the females changes sex, and becomes the resident male? You expect me to believe that?’

‘Don’t ask me. Joey’s the expert.’

He turned to his son, looking harassed. ‘That can’t be true.’

Joey nodded, then finger-spelled, Aquarium-wait.

After that Carson was as eager as his son to get going, because he wanted to find out if he was being taken for a ride.

As soon as they were inside the aquarium it was obvious that Joey was different from other children. Instead of lingering over the more colourful or outrageous creatures, he bypassed them, to spend long periods studying small fish and shells which to the untrained eye looked drab and uninteresting.

‘He’s like a little professor,’ Carson said.

‘Yes, he is. When he’s on his own subject he’s older than his years.’

Joey passed from one esoteric item to another, deeply absorbed, leaving the other two to pass the time with the more accessible exhibits.

‘I feel like I’m the child and he’s the adult,’ Carson complained, although not too seriously. ‘Joey.’ He tapped the boy on the shoulder but Joey, instead of turning, held up a hand, flapping it slightly in a gesture that clearly said, Not now. I’m busy.

‘Did you see that?’ Carson demanded.

‘Don’t get mad at him.’

‘I’m not mad. I’m just wondering what’s happening here.’

‘It’s simple. You’re in the presence of a superior intellect.’

‘I’m beginning to believe you.’ He sounded dazed.

Joey came out of his happy trance, smiling at them.

‘Wrasse,’ Carson said firmly.