A Debt of Honour – Episode 32
A Debt Of Honour
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- 1. A Debt of Honour – Episode 32
“I miss Mum,” Ellie said.
Calum waited as Ellie absentmindedly examined her nails.
They were in his new flat. Since he was no longer a student, he had had to give up his job as warden of the student residences and his room there, too.
His new home was on the minimalist side of Spartan, with threadbare carpets and recycled furniture.
Ellie snuggled closer to Calum on the sofa.
“I’m worried about her,” she finally said. “Charlie says she has barely come to life yet, and scarcely speaks a word.
“And she has no interest in his latest idea for squeezing a few yards of extra speed out of their rally car.” Ellie snorted. “I’m with Mum there.”
Calum gave a neutral nod.
His mind was often preoccupied with computers and classical music.
Ellie hoped that there was space for her, too, these days.
After a long silence, she sighed.
“What do you make of it, Calum?” she asked.
“Make of what?” he replied guardedly.
“My mum? The whole thing?”
“What whole thing?”
“You know,” she said. “What happened over here?”
“Oh,” Calum said.
“I’m waiting,” Ellie prompted.
Calum shrugged.
“Tell me,” Ellie ordered.
“If you insist. Your mum went running off to Australia after your dad.
“She worked hard to make the marriage work, to hold the family together.
“But now your dad has been dead for years, and you guys are old enough to look after yourselves.
“So she doesn’t feel needed any more. She doesn’t know what she feels.
“So she comes back to repay Neil for the money he sent, then discovers that she still likes him . . .”
“And?” Ellie prompted.
“She should move on from the past. Look after herself again. If she likes the guy, and he likes her, then – go for it.”
Ellie stared at him.
“Your analysis is too fact-heavy. Not a word about feelings. Guilt.
“Lack of confidence in her own thinking, because she got it so badly wrong before.
“Or her fear that if they finally tried to get together, she could blight his life by changing it.
“Or her worries about how we will feel, me and Charlie, if she goes off with somebody else.”
“Oh,” Calum said. “The fact remains – they’d be happier together.”
A new silence developed.
“How’s your new job going?” he asked, edging on to safer ground.
Ellie stirred at his side.
“Brilliant! I love every minute of it. I have a great team leader, and she’s let me start three weeks before the contract date.
“She says she’ll fix up some time off later, as a holiday.
“We’re working together on scoping the different research and trying to identify the studies which link up best to what we’re planning.
“That will help Neil to decide what our team should focus on once the project really starts.”
“Ah,” Calum said. “Neil. Do you see much of him?”
“In bits. He’s great to work for – my team leader says he’s the best she has ever known. But he’s heading off again for a couple of months.”
“Back to the South Pole?” he asked, smiling.
“No. I don’t think so.” Ellie frowned. “The amount of interest the academic world has shown in our foundation has been amazing.
“Lots of other universities want to pitch in and do joint research.
“They like the idea of a central programme, linking research work from different people in different disciplines and different countries.
“My team leader thinks he’s off to talk over possible co-operation with some universities in South Africa and New Zealand – although most of the polar work has used those places as a jumping-off point for decades.”
“From Scott onwards,” Calum murmured.
“Exactly.” Ellie looked up. “What are we going to eat tonight?”