“Because she’s happy to help and I’d rather not rush back.”
Arthur folded his arms.
“That’s a diplomatic answer.”
“It’s the best I’ve got.”
He looked toward Leo, who was sitting in his high chair dismantling a piece of toast.
“Are we going to the park later?”
Hannah glanced at the weather.
“Maybe if it stays dry.”
Arthur nodded.
He had been planning something.
The bakery near the park sold soft, round milk rolls that Leo loved. Arthur wanted to buy one as a treat. He had promised the boy a small outing earlier in the week, then forgotten. Now he was determined to make good on it.
By eleven, MMrsPatel had arrived.
Hannah kissed Leo, reminded him to be good, and left.
Arthur made tea.
MrMrsatel helped Leo with his toys.
Everything seemed ordinary.
Then Arthur remembered the bread rolls.
He stood.
“I’m just popping to the bakery.”
Mrs Mrstel looked up.
“Shall I come with you?”
“No need.”
“Hannah asked me to stay with Leo. We could all go together.”
Arthur shook his head.
“It’s only around the corner.”
He took his coat.
Mrs Mrsel hesitated.
“Arthur, perhaps it’s best if we wait until Hannah gets back.”
He looked at her.
“I’m not under house arrest, Mrs Mrsl.”
She flushed.
“Of course not.”
Arthur softened.
“I’ll be back shortly.”
He stepped into the hallway.
His black notebook was lying on the table near the front door.
He picked it up.
Then Leo shouted from the sitting room.
“Gandad!”
Arthur turned.
The boy was holding up the wooden bear from his puzzle.
“Bear!”
Arthur smiled.
“Keep him safe for me.”
“Okay!”
He set the notebook down to button his coat.
He meant to pick it up again.
He forgot.
A minute later, the front door closed.
At first, there was no reason for concern.
Arthur knew the neighbourhood. He had lived there for twenty-six years. He had walked to the bakery hundreds of times.
He reached the shop, bought two rolls, and placed them in a paper bag.
Then he stepped outside.
A delivery van was parked across the pavement, blocking his usual view of the corner.
Arthur turned to avoid it.
He walked in the wrong direction.
At the next junction, he hesitated.
The houses looked familiar, but he could not place them.
He turned again.
A bus went past.
Arthur watched it disappear.
He tried to remember where he had come from.
The bakery.
Yes.
He had bought bread.
For whom?
He opened the bag.
Two rolls.
He knew there was a reason.
Something important.
A little boy.
He pictured a child with dark curls, sitting at a table.
Leo.
The name came to him with a rush of relief.
He needed to get home to Leo.
He looked around.
But the road signs meant little.
The streets seemed to have shifted into the wrong arrangement.
Arthur began walking.
By half past twelve, Mrs Patel was worried.
Arthur had been gone for more than an hour.
She called his mobile phone.
It rang in the hallway.
He had left that behind too.
She called Hannah.
“He’s gone to the bakery,” MMrsPatel explained. “He said he’d be back quickly.”
Hannah’s stomach tightened.
“When?”
“Just after eleven.”
“And he hasn’t returned?”
“No.”
“Have you called the shop?”
“They said he bought something and left.”
Hannah stood beside the reception desk at work.
For a moment, she felt the familiar urge to explain away the problem.
Perhaps he’d met a neighbour.
Perhaps he’d stopped at the park.
Perhaps he’d forgotten the time.
Then she remembered the specialist’s warning about disorientation.
“I’ll come home,” she said.
She asked MrMrsatel to stay with Leo, and immediately began making calls.
Because Arthur was a vulnerable adult with a diagnosed cognitive condition and had been missing unexpectedly, Hannah contacted the police without waiting until evening. She supplied his description, the clothes he was wearing, his medical circumstances, and his likely route.
Then she drove home.
