[...]... 'I watched a programme on TV with my mum once It was all about learning to trust someone They made some people close Will had arranged to go to a pub in Islington with Rachel and Fiona while Marcus was in Cambridge visiting his father They would all have a drink and a talk, then Will would leave and Rachel and Fiona would have another drink and a talk Fiona would feel better about things, and not want... times, with Angie and Suzie and Rachel, but that was for a reason This was different He didn't want to sleep with Fiona, but he did want to make her feel better He learnt a lot of things about her He learnt that she hadn't really wanted to be a mother and that sometimes she hated Marcus; he learnt that she was worried about not having a relationship and that her last birthday had depressed her because 60... threw a great big loaf of bread at a duck's head and killed it,' said Will Suzie and Fiona started laughing 'Is that true, Marcus?' asked his father 'There was something wrong with it,' Marcus said 'I think it was going to die anyway.' Suzie and Fiona laughed even more The three people on the sofa looked shocked Will sat down again Chapter 8 Falling Will met a woman called Rachel at a party on New Year's... same clothes and haircut and glasses as everyone else You can be as weird as you want on the inside Just do something about the outside.' Will took Marcus shopping in Holloway Road and bought him a pair of expensive Adidas trainers Marcus thought they were cool, and Will was pleased He couldn't remember feeling as good as this before He had made an unhappy boy happy, and there hadn't been any advantage... behaved He had heard the same story many times from the women in SPAT At midnight Will and Rachel kissed, and at half-past twelve, just before Rachel left, they arranged for Marcus and Ali to meet and compare computer games and CDs Now Will had a problem He had allowed Rachel to believe that he had a twelve-year-old son because it made him more interesting He was going to have to talk to Marcus, and he... shoulder and he jumped 'Oh, hi Sorry.' Ali stood up and Will immediately saw that Ali and Marcus were very different Ali was cool, with fashionable boots and trousers, long hair and even an earring His face seemed to darken when he saw Marcus's yellow trousers and hairy jumper 'Marcus — Ali, Ali — Marcus,' said Rachel 'Do you guys want to stay up here?' Marcus looked at Will 'Yes,' he said, and for a moment... Will, but he didn't want to think about Fiona just at that moment He couldn't remember ever feeling as happy as he did with Rachel That made Marcus angry He went and sat in his room Why had his dad never had a big think about his life before? And why did he only want to see his son when he'd broken his arm? What about all the hundreds of days when his arm was all right, and Marcus had heard nothing from... frightening thing he'd ever seen, and he knew he'd never forget it When the ambulance arrived and Fiona was taken to hospital, the ambulance men didn't want to take Marcus and Megan too So Suzie went to the hospital with Fiona, and Will drove Marcus and Megan there in Suzie's car When they arrived at the hospital, Fiona had already been taken away 'What's happening?' asked Will He was finding the whole experience... them was doing all right He wondered if his mother had a kind of plan for him In the next few days he began to notice the way she talked to him He was interested in everything she said about what he should watch on TV or listen to or read or eat She had always said it was important to talk about things, and that she wanted him to think for himself They had often discussed what was bad about fashion and... too Give me a good reason why you want to go round to Will's.' Marcus gave her a reason It wasn't the right reason, and he felt bad saying it because it made her cry But it was a good reason and he won the argument 'Because I need a father.' Chapter 6 Ellie Will hadn't seen Marcus for a week and hadn't thought about him much He preferred watching Countdown alone anyway Then Fiona phoned 'Marcus seems . the day.' All the way to the park Suzie talked about Will's ex-wife. She was very angry about Paula's behaviour. Had he called her Paula?. wouldn't happen again, ever, and no one could do that. Will was wishing that he hadn't asked Marcus about Fiona, because it was clear that the boy