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made me promise to tell you that Kalpana
was alive. That Kalpana was alive and that she wanted to see you …
and that she was sorry. Sorry for lying to you.’
    Aaron felt his blood begin to boil again.
    ‘Why didn’t you tell me this as soon as I got home?’
he hissed through gritted teeth, trying hard to maintain his
composure.
    Arthur lowered his head.
    ‘Because … because I still didn’t believe her.’
     

 
FIVE
     
    ‘HERE you go mate, get that down you.’
    ‘Thanks,’ mumbled Aaron sleepily.
    It was the fourth night in a row that he had slept
on Jez’s sofa, and the fourth morning in a row that Jez had woken
him with an over-stewed cup of tea. Ordinarily he might have
complained, but since his friend had put him up without asking any
questions, Aaron felt obliged to politely accept the lukewarm
drinks without comment. Following Arthur’s shameful confession in
the kitchen, Aaron had stormed out and headed straight for Jez’s
house. He was furious at his father’s deliberate disregard for his
mother’s dying wishes, a trait that, ironically, it seemed he’d
picked up from Catherine herself. He couldn’t stand the thought of
spending another moment in Arthur’s company and he knew that the
old man would never think to look for him there. He wasn’t sure
that Arthur even knew where Jez lived.
    The two boys were old friends who had schooled
together until Jez had eschewed the idea of A levels and swapped
degree prospects for DJ’ing and drug taking. It was a decision that
had seen him promptly cast out of the village’s elitist social
circles and rendered his mother the subject of idle gossip and
pitying looks. Aaron’s parents had tried to discourage their
friendship, fearful of the influence that Jez might have on their
son, but Aaron had always admired Jez’s determination to carve out
his own path in life and as a consequence they had remained good
friends.
    ‘So?’ said Jez, lighting up a cigarette as he joined
Aaron on the sofa.
    ‘What?’
    ‘Are you gonna tell me what's going on?’
    ‘I was hoping we could just skip over that,’ replied
Aaron glumly, drawing a deep sigh. He pulled himself into a sitting
position and curled the duvet around his shoulders for warmth,
‘it’s kind of difficult to explain.’
    ‘Look, mate,’ said Jez, clouds of smoke billowing
from his nostrils, ‘I’m not being funny, ‘cause I know that you’re
going through a bit of a rough time with your mum and stuff, but
you’ve been acting proper weird these last few days.’
    Aaron instantly stiffened at Jez’s words,
momentarily astonished to discover that he knew about Kalpana,
before realising that she wasn’t the mother he was referring
to.
    ‘You don’t have to tell me anything. In fact, I’d
just as soon as not know what’s wrong, but my mum will be back
tomorrow and you know what she’s like. She’ll be asking all sorts
of questions; can’t even get her to stay out of my own bloody
business, never mind keeping her nose out of yours.’
    Despite himself, Aaron felt his lips form a faint
smile. It was the first time he’d smiled in days and it felt
good.
    ‘It’s my mum,’ he said finally.
    ‘Yeah, I guessed as much.’
    ‘No, I mean my birth mum. She’s alive.’
    ‘Flipping hell, are you being serious?’ exclaimed
Jez, springing from the sofa with such energy that he knocked over
the now cold cup of tea.
    Aaron was silently grateful.
    ‘I wish I was joking.’
    ‘How do you know?’
    ‘She’s been writing letters to my mum for years and
Mum’s been writing back. I found the letters when I was clearing
out her study. Turns out that she didn’t die after I was born at
all.’
    ‘That is messed up, mate.’
    ‘It’s more than messed up,’ replied Aaron
bitterly.
    ‘Why the hell did they tell you she was dead then? I
don’t get it.’
    ‘Not a clue. Apparently Arthur didn’t know that she
was alive either. He says that Mum only told him the day that she
died; claims