The Enclave (NewCon Press Novellas Set 1 Book 3) by Anne Charnock

Author:Anne Charnock [Charnock, Anne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: NewCon Press
Published: 2017-02-10T00:00:00+00:00

My mother slapped me often enough. It’s not the end of the world. But Caleb’s been sulking for the past half hour and won’t look at me. I sent Skylark to fetch him some sweets, but he hasn’t touched them. Pushed them in his pocket. I’m festering now with the worst doubts. Did he try to run away but chickened out? I don’t know what to think. Did he take his chance and then realise he didn’t have a plan? Will he spend the next months working out how to get away? I don’t want to be suspicious; I want to believe he lost sight of Skylark and panicked, as he claimed.

We go on like this until late morning: there’s me, acting as though nothing has happened, chatting with the customers, pretending Caleb isn’t even there; and there’s Caleb, standing at the back pretending he’s invisible. One of my regulars turns up and we have a laugh. I want Caleb to see that people like me.

A guy I haven’t seen before strides up to the stall, points and asks about the shirt. What kind of fur is it? I tell him it’s mock. And he asks, mock-what? I make something up – mock arctic fox, I tell him. He says he’s doing a music gig, and he’ll take it; it’s different. I tell Caleb to wrap it nicely. He’s watched me wrapping other items, and I reckon he’ll enjoy his first sale, if he can get over himself, stop his sulking. He hands over the wrapped shirt and smiles, just about. As the guy heads off, Caleb takes out his sweets and starts to suck on one.

By two o’clock the market is thinning, and I tell Caleb to start packing away. I tell him we’ve had a good day, thanks to his creative flair. He takes the compliment and once again tries to smile. It’s more like a twitch. I wonder if his face is stinging.

I take a deep breath. “Caleb. Listen to me. I won’t hit you again. I was worried and… you know, I don’t want you to disappear like that. Gave me a fright.” I add, “You’re important to the business. So from now on, you’ll have a wage instead of pocket money.”

He nods his head.

I think we’re over the worst.

I say, “We’ll go home via the family premises. But first, go back to the fruit market and fetch three pomegranates – a treat for you boys. Go to the woman with the rose tattoo on her throat. Tell her Ma Lexie sent you. And while you’re doing that, I’ll finish the packing.”

I watch him flip-flop down the street. I must be mad, testing him again. But I want him to make good his wrong.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.