Chapter Text
Enzo entered the bike shop like a child entering Disneyland, his eyes almost popping out of his small face in amazement. The store had bikes of different sizes and designs, all looking too expensive for Lily’s hands to even touch so she kept a safe distance and just followed Enzo to the till.
“How may I help you, sir?” The friendly salesman ducked to meet Enzo’s eyes.
To this, an overly excited Enzo showed a picture in his iPad. “This. I want this.” Pointing at the picture with so much enthusiasm his finger could dig holes on it.
The salesman looked confused, straightening his back to look at Lily. “This… is quite expensive…” Then looking down to meet Enzo’s eyes again, “young boy.”
To this, Enzo turned around and put his hands together, begging Lily. “Please please please, pretty please Lily! Please!!!” His voice made the other customers turn their heads.
“Wait, Enzo. Let me check with your dad, ok?” She pulled her phone from her back pocket, ready to call Mr Howlett just to be sure.
“He sent you £500.”
“He what?!” It was Lily’s turn to raise her voice and the customers’ heads turned the second time.
“Yeah, the pedals cost…”
Enzo looked at the salesman for an answer, to which he replied, “£459.99”
“So we have £40.01 for snacks. Is that right?”
Lily’s eyes turned to the salesman, her face in shock. “£459.99? Are you sure that’s just pedals? Not the whole bike?”
“They’re top of the range, ma’am. Used for competitions and stuff.”
“Wow. Well, I guess…”, her fingers ticking on her chin, pretending to think. She turned to Enzo again who was waiting with relentless excitement. “I guess we’ll take it.”
Enzo jumped up and down and then ran to the corner of the shop with the salesman who opened the locked display cabinet to take the precious pedals out.
The little kid was skipping in joy on their way to the parking lot. No matter how much Lily offered to carry the shopping bag, he insisted he could manage, holding it close to his chest. Lily had never seen him so happy.
“Where do you want to eat? Mcdonald’s? KFC? Do you want pizza? I don’t suppose children like curry, right?” The little town didn’t have much to offer so the choices were very little.
“Hmm… how about… dessert?”
“Dessert? Like, you mean sundae in Mcdonald’s? Chocolate chip cookie in KFC?”
“Uhh, no… there’s a dessert place my classmates always talk about, just outside town, and they have crepes, waffles, sundaes. I think it’s called Creams. Wait, I’ll google it.” After just a few seconds, Enzo held his iPad for Lily to see. “Here. 20 minutes’ drive.”
“Hmm…” She pretended to think again, her fingers ticking on her chin, but Enzo missed the way her eyes gleamed at the word ‘crepe’. “You got me at crepe, kid.”
Enzo was clapping his hands as he entered the yellow Beetle. And the two headed out of Edenhill in search of crepes, waffles and sundaes.
“This. Is. The. Best. Day. Ever!” Enzo was dancing on his seat, the huge serving of rocky road sundae inhaled in just a few minutes. His face was quite a spectacle, half covered in chocolate. “Dad will be home soon, right?”
Lily checks the time. 18:23. “Yep, he should be home shortly so we better get going.”
To this, Enzo licked his spoon and stood on his feet. “I can’t wait to show him the pedals! Do you think we can go to the park? If we leave soon, it won’t be so dark yet. Oh! I can take it with us to Lake District! Do you think dad will let me?”
“I think he’ll love that.” She remembered the way Mr Howlett sounded that morning. She’s sure he missed Enzo just as much as Enzo did.
Her car was parked across the road so they waited by the zebra crossing as Enzo pressed the button for the traffic lights and waited eagerly for the image of the green man and the beeping sound.
He went before Lily who paused for a second to check her phone. His little voice called, “Come on, Lily!”
She looked up at him, the golden light of the sunset lighting up his innocent face. He was beaming, all smiles from the joy of his new bike accessories and sugar rush. Lily smiled and yelled back, “Go ahead. Wait for me on the other side!”
She was reading a text message as she crossed the road, the beeping sound of the traffic lights still loud in the air.
From: Hugh Howlett
18:32
Just landed. Will be home in 30 mins.
“Enzo! Your father has just landed. He’s on-” She looked up to call the kid, but the scene froze her in place.
A screeching noise came approaching from the right side. Enzo stopped to look. In a split of a second, a red car sped across the pedestrian crossing, throwing Enzo unto the air.
There was a scream, she was sure. But she couldn’t tell if it was hers, or from the small crowd that came running. There was disorder; chaos; commotion. But Lily stood frozen in place. Her phone slid off her hand.
A man came out from the speeding car, pulling his hair out and shaking. A lady approached him, raging in anger, shaking the man out of his shock. The smell of alcohol rancid in the air.
An old man came to Enzo who was lying on the ground, gasping for breath. Blood flowing from his head, his hand hanging from the sides of his limp body. Lily did not even realise she stopped breathing until she panted, terror kicking in. Tears were falling incessantly down her cheeks. Her lungs giving up. All she wanted was to run to Enzo’s side, but all her knees wanted to do was hit the ground.
She dragged her feet in what felt like forever, the sight of Enzo zooming in with every step she took. Her focus was on his face, the way it trembled, the way his breaths were heavy and his eyes blinked with blood flowing over them, the way his chest heaved up and down in desperation for more breaths.
“Enzo. Enzo listen to me. Enzo, listen.” Her voice was trembling, she couldn’t pretend to be strong even for a second. “Enzo, you need to listen to me. The ambulance is coming. We’re gonna get you healed. You just… Enzo, please. Please Enzo, you need to stay strong. Help is coming. I’m sure help is coming.”
“Lily?” Enzo’s movements were slow as he turned his eyes to meet hers.
She was desperate to keep Enzo awake, fearing his eyes shutting and never seeing them open again. “Yes? Enzo, stay awake, ok? They’re coming. I promise they’re coming. You need to stay strong.”
“For that day?” Enzo coughed, more blood dripping from his lips. “To see mommy?” A smile forming on his innocent face.
“Yes! Yes Enzo! I promise if you stay strong I will do everything I can to make sure you see her!”
She turned to the small crowd that gathered by the side of the road. More cars have stopped to look, all of them in panic and shock. She was screaming like crazy. “What’s taking the ambulance so long?!”
The old man in front of her who looked more than 75 years old answered, “They sent one straightaway.”
“How long?! How long is straightaway?! What- what’s taking them so long?! What-” She was screaming at the old man, at the crowd, at the world. “What’s taking them so long?!” Her cries echoed painfully. She looked agitatedly to her right and to her left, then turned to Enzo again.
Enzo’s head rolled gently to the side, his eyes shutting gently. She moved closer to him and placed his head on her lap. “No! No, no, no, no! No Enzo! No! Enzo, I promise. Stay awake and I promise mommy’s coming!”
The crowd fell into a deadly silence. All that could be heard were Lily’s cries, until the faint sound of siren getting closer filled the air. In just a short while, men dressed in green took Enzo from Lily and into the ambulance. They were asking her questions but she couldn’t take her eyes off him. She couldn’t hear anything but her own voice inside, begging. “Lord, please save him.”
When they reached the hospital, the nurses wouldn’t let her into the emergency room. One of them guided her to the nurses’ station where she was asked about Enzo’s details.
She was answering subconsciously, her eyes staring at the wall as tears fell nonstop into her cheeks, her neck, and into her blood covered shirt.
“Lorenzo Howlett.”
“Ok, date of birth?”
“July 16 2009”
“Are you a relative? His sister?”
“No”
“Ok…” The lady behind the desk was typing on the computer, pausing for a few seconds.
“Where are the parents?”
Lily lifted her gaze from the wall and searched for her phone, suddenly remembering Mr Howlett who should be waiting at home already.
“He should be at home by now. I’ll – I – I need to call him.”
“If you give me his contact number, I can speak to him myself.” The nurse’s voice was sympathetic, experienced in handling difficult situations like Lily’s.
She vaguely remembered her phone dropping in the middle of the road, but she strangely found it in her back pocket. She had pressed Mr Howlett’s name on her phone before the nurse’s offer sank into her brain.
“Lily” Mr Howlett’s voice drained the very little energy Lily was left with, her knees giving way as she slumped to the cold floor of the hospital. Her sobs couldn’t be contained in her chest, no matter how hard she tried. She wanted – needed – to explain to Mr Howlett where they were and why they weren’t home. But the words failed to escape her lips, the sight of Enzo’s eyes shutting filling up the darkness as she closed her eyes.
The nurse was quick to take the phone from Lily’s shaking hands and spoke to Mr Howlett ever so gently.
“Your son was in an accident, Mr Howlett. You need to go to Queen Elizabeth Hospital.”