Day 33 - Fallout

"I've already told you, John. I don't have that many contacts on my phone. Don't worry about it."
     "Then why have I had about twenty messages from people who've seen it, Daisy?  I dread to think how many you've had."
     "I've switched my phone off, so I'm not sure."
      "Go on. Switch it on. I dare you."
     I felt sick. "OK. I will." I tried not to give anything away facially, as the glut of messages flashed up on the screen. "Ah, see," I said, giving him a cursory look at my screen. "Mum and Dad said they absolutely loved it. Told you!"
     Unsurprisingly, the WhatsApp message that annoyed me the most was the one from Olivia:

Hilarious!!!  You really are such a good sport Daisy.  You even sprayed your hair a silly colour to make it funnier!!! xxx

I could just hear her saying the word 'Hilaaaarious' - 'Daisy from work is hilaaaaaaaaarious!' she'd tell her imbecilic friends.😖

"YOU promised me that no one apart from Grandma and Grandpa would see that stupid video!" Cleo ranted.
     "Well, that was my intention. I didn't do it deliberately, Cleo. None of your friends got the video though.  It was just people in my contacts."
     "Well let's hope that if it went to my friends' parents that they have the decency to delete it, OUT OF PITY!"
     "No one'll be interested in our silly video," I said, trying to sound as convincing as I could.
     "And don't think that I've forgotten the deal that we made, either."
     "Ssh.  Keep your voice down.  Let's go into the garden to talk about it."

The things I had to do to get my kids to co-operate!  Marcus and Molly had been well up for making silly videos but I knew that there was only one thing that Cleo would find impossible to resist - Callum.  This was how I found myself on guard duty as Cleo slipped out to the garden for a socially distanced rendezvous.
     "And you're sure that Callum hasn't interacted with anyone outside his family group?"
     "Mum, the poor guy's been locked up with just his parents for weeks now."
     "And they're ok with this arrangement?"
     "Yes, mother."
     " You promise to stay at least two metres apart?"
     "Mum, we always did that before. We don't need you to tell us to be responsible, you know."
     "Ok. But there was that unfortunate incident with his Magnum."
     "He's not gonna try anything. Promise. Now can I go? He's just messaged to say he's in the lane."
     "Ok.  You've got twenty minutes. I can't hold your father off any longer. Good luck!"
     Who'd have known that within thirty seconds of Cleo leaving, John would come looking for her?  He never came looking for Cleo.  She could spend hours at a time in her room and he never seemed to notice. "I think I've worked out the problem with her phone. Where is she?"
     "Cleo? She's around somewhere. Have you tried her room?"
     "Of course. I'll check in the garden."
     "I was just there. She's definitely not out there," I said. "Check upstairs again. Perhaps ….. perhaps she was using the bathroom."
     He shrugged his shoulders and headed into the hallway.  I sped into the garden hissing, "Abort! Abort!"
     Cleo's head popped out from around the side of the shed. "What are you on about?"
     "It's your father.  He's looking for you."
     I'll say this for Cleo, she can move when she has to! We were nearing the patio doors when John turned up. "I thought you said she wasn't in the garden."
    "I was mistaken. She was ….."
    "Looking for something in the shed," Cleo jumped in.
    "The shed? What?" John asked.
    "I er ….. was wondering if there were any plant pots in there. I wanted to grow some seeds."
     John's eyes narrowed. "Seeds?"
     "I heard that if you plant a lemon seed …."
     "Pip," I corrected her.  "Pip, remember?  Just a fun, little experiment."
     "Hmm. Come on then, we'll have a look." Cleo and I exchanged conspiratorial looks as we followed John towards the shed. We would have to plant a few pips now but it could have been a lot worse.  "By the way, I think I've worked out what's wrong with your phone."
     Suddenly, there was an almighty crash from behind the fence and a voice could be heard. "Ow! Shit!"
     "Stand back!" John shouted.  "There's someone in the lane. Some sort of degenerate, for all we know."
     He dashed to the gate, followed closely by myself and Cleo. Callum was on the floor of the lane, next to a bag of our recycling, clutching his knee.
     "I can explain …… " I began.