The Loner by Josephine Cox

did y’say?’
    ‘I said, would you like another cup o’ tea?’ Beth asked, throwing off her anxious mood.
    ‘Aye, go on then…and don’t forget the sugar this time.’

    Upstairs, Judy lay on her bed, her mind in turmoil. She was half-minded to go after Davie, but she knew her parents would be frantic with worry if she did so. And besides, which way would she go? Even Davie hadn’t known where he was headed.
    After a few minutes of trying to get to sleep, she went and sat by the window; she felt comfortable there, as though that great outdoors had the answer to everything. A trillion stars were dancing in the heavens, and from somewhere in the distance a barn owl was calling for its mate. How could everything be so magical, while she felt so sad?
    She wondered if Davie could hear that same owl, or see the same stars in the skies. The idea gave her a small degree of comfort.

    Davie was not as far away as Judy imagined.
    Curled up at the foot of a tree trunk, he was finding it hard to sleep. Judy was strong in his mind, and stronger still was her impetuous kiss. It still burned on his mouth, her soft full lips against his. He wanted to see her again, but he knew it would be best if he didn’t.
    Soon, it would be time for him to leave this place for good. She still had a lot of growing up to do, while he felt a hundred years old. If they never saw each other again it would be a very sorry thing.
    But maybe, in the end, that might be for the best.
    For now though, he desperately needed to sleep. Rolling over, he wrapped the blanket she had given him closer about his shoulders. His bag, now a pillow, was lumpy, but he tried to relax. However, his thoughts were too alive with new feelings. Time and again, he brushed his fingers over his lips, remembering the urgency of her kiss; so unexpected and lovely; her nearness, and the warm, earthy smell of her hair brushing against his face.
    After a while, he drifted into a shallow, troubled rest, haunted by recent events and the unknown road ahead. His mother’s dying face, with its look of love, made him sob in his sleep.
    Opening his eyes, glad to see it was almost dawn, he turned his thoughts to family.
    Before he set out, there was one more thing he had to do. Then he would be gone from here, taking whichever path drew him away.
    Not for the first time since that night, he wondered where his father might be. Had Don gone back to Ireland? Or was he still hereabouts, a mere few miles away? Or was he on a ship destined for foreign parts?
    Davie needed him now more than ever, but he would never admit it out loud. All he wished was that his father should be safe, wherever he was, and wherever in the world his travels might take him.
    He thought of his own situation and yes, the future seemed a frightening prospect. But the past was even more daunting.
    And the sooner he put it behind him, the better.





CHAPTER EIGHT
    T HROUGHOUT THE WEEK following Davie’s disappearance, news of his mother’s untimely demise spread far and wide. ‘That silly tart got what she deserved,’ some declared callously. Others shook their head and found a degree of compassion for a life lost, and other lives ruined.
    ‘I expect we’ll be the only ones at the church.’ Beth had been getting her family prepared for the ordeal of the funeral on the Saturday morning.
    Tom was more philosophical. ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if a few neighbours turned up,’ he commented, as he wound his tie round his neck for the third time. ‘Happen not for Rita’s sake, but for old Joseph. He’s made a heap o’ friends over the years, an’he’s never let’em down when they needed him.’
    He cocked his head to one side, skenning downwards through crossed eyes as he made a fourth attempt at taming his rebellious tie. ‘I reckon they’ll not let him down neither, especially not today of all days.’
    Snatching the tie from round his neck, he threw it over the back of the chair. ‘I’m not wearing