Page 42 of The Family Remains

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Marco’s mum has been in a weird mood all weekend. Marco’s mum isalwaysin a weird mood, but she’s been even weirder than usual. Uncle Henry has disappeared, and she won’t tell him why or where. Marco assumed he’d gone to Africa to find Phin, Libby’s dad, but apparently Phin’s not in Africa any more and Mum won’t tell him why. She’s been banging around the apartment since Friday, obsessively checking her phone every thirty seconds, snapping at him and Stella for minor infractions, forgetting to walk the dog and letting Uncle Henry’s flat get really messy. Every time Marco tries to ask her about it, she pretends she’s too busy.

On Sunday evening he notices Fitz staring longingly at the door of the apartment and he knocks on his mum’s bedroom door.

‘Mum?’ he says. ‘I think Fitz wants to go out.’

‘Oh,’ comes her reply. ‘Could you take him?’

‘I’m doing my homework.’

He hears her sigh. ‘OK. I’ll take him in a minute.’

‘He’s doing that circling thing though, Mum,’ he says, his eyes on the dog. ‘You know? When he’s about to take a dump.’

She sighs again and then she appears. ‘OK,’ she says. ‘OK.’

Marco gives a yell as he sees Fitz begin to lower himself into a squat. ‘No! Fitz! No!’ and the dog jumps back to standing. He watches his mum clip the lead to his harness. ‘Why do you keep forgetting to take him out?’ he asks.

‘I have a lot on my mind, Marco.’

‘About Henry?’

‘Yes. About Henry.’

‘Mum. Please. Just tell me what’s going on.’

‘I don’t know what’s going on.’

‘Yes. But you must knowsomething? I mean, can’t you just call him?’

His mum stops for a second then and he sees her resolve crack a little.

‘He’s blocked me, Marco.’

‘Uncle Henry?’

‘Yes. Uncle Henry. He’s blocked me.’

That is massive, thinks Marco. That is a really big deal.

‘Well, why don’t we try calling him from my phone?’

A glimmer of understanding passes across her features. ‘Oh,’ she says simply. ‘Yes.’ Then she looks down at the dog and says, ‘Let’s try when I get back.’

Marco awaits her return eagerly, his phone in his hand, his uncle’s number primed and ready. He passes it to his mum when she returns, and she presses call. He can hear the foreign ring tone and exchanges a look with his mum. It rings out into a flatbeep and she hangs up and sends his uncle a message instead. It says:

FFS HENRY. What’s going on???

Then she goes on to WhatsApp and calls him from there. Again, it rings into nothingness. She sends him another message from the app:

Henry. It’s Lucy. PLS CALL.

Almost immediately, Henry has blocked Marco too.

‘Have we done something wrong?’ Marco asks his mum, his voice cracking slightly. ‘I don’t understand.’

His mother smiles at him sadly and says, ‘No. We have not done anything wrong. But listen, Marco. Your uncle. He’s not …’