Chapter 31

“Oh shit, nobody rings me, it’s got to be something important, can you grab it please, it’s on the sofa.”

I pulled out carefully and slipped off the bed, her phone was still ringing, no voicemail divert setup, I tossed onto the pillow next to Belle and she took the call.

“Hello? It’s Belle, what’s the matter?” She asked, I could only hear Belle’s half of the call, “ahh, ok, well we’re kind of not dressed, if you’re ok with that come on up, I’ll ask dad to wrap a towel round himself, he’s a little excited right now ... Ok, see you in a minute.”

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“I’ll let Amber explain, she’ll be here in a sec, go put a towel on or something and answer the door.”

“What’s she coming here for?”

“Seem’s she lives next to the park and saw us. She’s been debating with herself for an hour over whether to come and join in.”

“Ahh, ok. Now I know we can sleep with each other and Jenny’s fine, but I’m not sure she’ll be fine with people outside our group.”

“Ok, you sit and watch then, I’ll have all the fun, because I definitely want to see her naked.”

There was a soft knock at the door, I went to open it, “towel!” Belle shouted.

“Ahh yes,” I popped into the bathroom, grabbed a big towel and wrapped it round my waist as I opened the door.

“I’m so sorry about this,” Amber apologised as she slipped in through the door and walked into the main bedroom ahead of me “but err, well, oh gosh, I don’t even know why I’m here, I guess I saw what was going on, and then I realised it was you two, admittedly after I’d left the flat and walked almost all the way up to your bench.

“At first I was appalled, she’s your daughter, but then I thought, she isn’t really, and oh my god, you’re so fucking pretty Belle, I just had to come and talk to you.”

Belle sat up on the bed and patted by her side, “join me, we’ll have a chat, mmm, first, if you don’t mind I’ll just ask dad to slip this out, it’s getting uncomfortable.”

“Oh my god, that’s the cutest butt plug I’ve ever seen, it’s ok, I’ll pull it out.”

Amber knelt on the bed as Belle lifted her legs and proudly displayed all her womanly charms. Before she pulled the plug out Amber ran her hands over Belle’s bum cheeks, “so soft and smooth, and such a tiny bum, you’re so adorable Belle.”

“Thank you, but can you pull it out please!”

I grabbed some tissue, as Amber slowly pulled the plug out I held out the tissue and she dropped the plug in my hand, I laid it to one side as Amber pulled Belle’s cheeks apart and licked around her bum hole, forcing her tongue inside.

“Oh god, what are you doing Amber? Whatever it is, don’t stop.”

As she rimmed Belle, Amber slid a couple of fingers in her pussy, eliciting a cry from Belle as she came once more.

Belle collapsed after her latest orgasm, Amber slid off the bed and grabbed my towel, “let me get a better look at you Alex, oh fuck, that’s amazing,” she cried as she dropped to her knees and took me in her mouth.

Belle came to and rolled over a little so she could watch as Amber gave me a very nice blowjob, “you’re good,” Belle told her as she came up for air.

“I’ve not had a lot of practice recently.”

“We were wondering if you were gay or straight, because, well it sounded like Amber was your girlfriend, and you were very friendly with me, but then I could tell you fancied Alex.”

“Ahh, well I was thinking the same about you. You told me about Poppy and Katie, so I was surprised when I saw you giving your dad a lapdance in the park.”

“Ahh well, I am gay, 100%, totally not interested in boys. I had to do stuff when I was on the streets, and I do actually enjoy giving blowjobs when the boy is clean, but until Alex I was a virgin and totally only interested in girl sex in my spare time. I was so confused, so Aunty Helen explained that some lesbians do enjoy a good solid fuck every so often, that’s Helen’s butt plug, she gave it me.”

“That’s nice of her, so yeah, I’m mostly gay. I sometimes decide to pick up a boy and date them for a while, but they’re so tiresome, they just want to fuck me then fart and fall asleep, I like to chat for a while after sex, talk about what we’ve done and what worked and stuff. Girls can do that, boys don’t seem capable.”

“Can I see you naked please,” Belle asked.

“Of course, it’s rude of me to be the only person with clothes on.”

She quickly removed her coat, jumper and t-shirt, Belle squealed and clapped her hands when she saw Amber wasn’t wearing a bra, “oh wow, your boobs are perfect, a nice size and they look so firm, are they real?”

“They are, and I’m so lucky I don’t need a bra, I hate them.”

“I don’t really, mine are like little apples, it’s Poppy that makes me wear one, I guess because she has to, she’s a D cup and I love them, they’re just the best pillows.”

Amber laughed as Belle spoke, she kicked off her shoes and slipped out of her jeans until she stood before us in just her panties.

“You’re gorgeous, I’m going all quivery just looking at you,” Belle said in an awed whisper.

“Why thank you, and in return I’ll say that you are simply perfect.”

“Before we go any further,” Belle said as Amber climbed back on the bed, “I think I need to check with my mum.”

“Well nobody ever said that to me before,” Amber laughed.

“Well, we’re an open family, but only amongst ourselves, the five of us and our aunties. Mum told me that we shouldn’t include people outside our group, but you’re not really outside, you’re part of the Liam situation in a way, and you’re so pretty. If I don’t get to watch you fucking dad I think I’ll pop.”

She grabbed her phone and dialed Poppy on speaker.

“Hey Belle, how’s it going sweetie?”

“Oh man, it’s going amazing.”

“Did you use the plug?”

“I did, and it was fantastic. Listen, I’m in a bit of a pickle, is mum about?”

“She is, she’s busy between Katie’s legs at the moment.”

“Ahh, sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt anything but I need to ask mum something.”

“It’s ok honey, I can hear you, what’s the matter?”

“Mmm, well, you know how we met this girl who was involved with Liam?”

“Yes sweetie, she’s not talked to the police yet.”

“No, and I don’t think she needs to. Anyway, she’s here and she’s pretty and I really want to have sex with her.”

“Ok, so why ask me, you should be asking Poppy and Katie.”

“Well, what I really want is to watch her have sex with dad, and maybe join in a little. Dad already did me a little before Amber arrived, and that was enough for now.”

“Ok, I’m happy with that, you said she’s pretty, what’s she look like?”

Belle turned to me and Amber, “are you ok if Alex takes your photo and sends it to my mum?”

“Yeah, fne,” Amber replied, still amused by the situation.

“Send it to Katie’s phone so they can see how pretty Amber is.”

Amber posed for a few photos, I sent the best couple to Katie.

“Oh yes,” Jenny said once the photos arrived a moment or two later, “can she hear me?”

“Yes, we’re on speaker, sorry, I should have said.”

“It’s ok sweetie. Hi Amber, I’m Jenny, Belle’s mum and Alex’s partner. I fully understand if you’re a bit weirded out by this, we’re a weird family, but we’re a weird family built on openness, honesty and respect.”

“Hi Jenny, I kind of guessed about the unusual family dynamic when I saw Belle giving her dad a very erotic lapdance in the park.”

“Is that right, in the park, that’s pretty dangerous Belle. If someone else caught you, dad would be in serious trouble.”

“I’m really sorry,” Belle replied, panicking a little, thinking Jenny was angry with her, “it was really dark, and there was nobody around, and I kind of got carried away.”

“Clearly there was someone around. Getting carried away seems to be a common trait for you and Poppy.”

“I kept all my clothes on, and I really don’t think anyone could see me blowing dad to stop him cumming in his pants.”

“Oh gosh no, I didn’t see that at all,” Amber said, “I’m impressed you managed to blow that monster.”

“Anyway, have fun, and Amber, please don’t hurt my baby.”

“Just your baby? What about your boyfriend?”

“Do what you like with him, he’s a big boy, he’ll be fine.”

“Goodbye mum, I love you.”

“I love you too Belle, I’ve got to go now, you’re girlfriends are waiting for me to finish them off.”

Belle cut the call and put her phone back on the table.

“Ok, sorry about that Amber, I’d have felt awful if we’d had sex with you behind mum’s back.”

“I understand, I think. Anyway, where were we?”

“I think you were going to ride my dad, and I think I’ll ride his face while we kiss, how does that sound?”

“It sounds like a plan, but before I sit on that massive cock I need you to get me ready.”

“I’ll enjoy that a lot,” Belle replied, pulling Amber close for a kiss.

“Oh wow, you sure know how to kiss,” Amber gasped as they separated a couple of minutes later.

“We never used to kiss when we were on the streets, there’s a few reasons why we didn’t, now I’m allowed to kiss my friends I’m making up for lost time.”

“Any time you want to kiss me, feel free,” Amber told her as she slipped out of her panties and settled in the middle of the bed, “I like this bed, I’ve not been in these rooms before, it’s a lot comfier than the ones in the regular rooms.”

Belle settled between Amber’s thighs, she looked at her pussy, “it’s so pretty, oh, your clit’s pierced, did that hurt?”

“A little, but the extra sensation during sex was worth the initial discomfort.”

“What do I do, do I flick the little ball thing with my tongue?”

“If you like, just do whatever you normally would, every time you move the little ball I’ll feel it in the best way.”

“Oooh, that sounds exciting, does it feel nice when you run or dance?”

“Sometimes, mostly my panties stop it from moving, but if I’m not wearing any, then yeah, it’s amazing.”

“Dad?”

“Not my area,” I replied quickly, “ask your mum if you want one.”

“Boo, anyway, down to business.”

“Oh yes, that’s what I wanted, if you move lower with your tongue your nose will do the work on the clit ball, oh fuck yes!!!”

Belle held on as she rode Amber’s orgasm, her hands gripping the tall redhead’s cheeks, they were both panting as our new friend came down, relaxing her back, which had arched alarmingly with the power of her orgasm.

“Fuck girl, I don’t know what you just did, but it worked.”

“I don’t know what I did, but it was fun whatever it was.”

Belle slipped two fingers inside Amber’s pussy, her back arched again as Belle triggered an aftershock. Once Amber’s breathing settled Belle leaned forwards and tentatively flicked her tongue against Amber’s clit, which had the expected result.

“Oh god Belle,” she panted, “I don’t know why you were worried, you know exactly what to do. I know what you want to do next, go ahead, it’s fine.”

“Really, I can finger your bum?”

“Of course, Mi cuerpo es tu cuerpo.”

“I don’t know what that means, sorry,” Belle replied shyly.

“My body is your body, I know you won’t hurt me, so do anything you want with me, get me nice and wet so I can take your dad’s big cock in every hole.”

“I so want him up my bum, but Poppy won’t let me yet, she says i’m not ready.”

“Listen to Poppy, your bum is definitely not ready, Let me turn over and you can have some fun while I get your dad hard again.”

With Amber on hands and knees she motioned for me to come closer, taking me in her mouth, and fuck she was good, taking me as deep as Poppy, and using some of the same tricks as Belle, licking, flicking and gently blowing on my head between deep dives.

At one point she bit down on me almost painfully as Belle slipped a third finger into her arsehole, “oh god Belle,” Amber gasped, “is that three?”

“Yes, is it ok, I’ve only got small hands?”

“See if you can get a whole hand in each hole, be careful though,” Amber looked up at me, “probably best if you sit down, I nearly bit your cock off just then.”

“I noticed,” I laughed, “I know Jenny said you could do what you like with me, but I really think she wants me back in one piece.”

“Come here dad, my mouth is free, but first, I’d love it if you took a few photos of this scene, I think Poppy would be very excited to try this.”

I took a few photos of Belle with a hand fully buried in Amber’s pussy and anus, each time Belle moved a little Amber moaned deeply, “oh shit Belle, this is so nice, but I can’t stand it any more, pull out slowly then let your dad fuck me.”

“Is it ok if he films me for a moment as I fuck you and pull them out?”

“Oh yes, but please, no face, I trust you, but I’d hate it if someone stole your phone or something.”

I filmed about 30 seconds of Belle moving her hands carefully, then as she slowly withdrew from Amber’s pussy, I didn’t film her anus withdrawal in case it was messy, instead I ran to get a pile of tissues, which I wrapped around her hand as it came free with an audible pop, and a loud sigh from Amber.

“Go wash your hands,” I whispered.

“But Amber...”

“She can wait a moment, she probably needs to wait a moment, I’ll come with you and scrub you clean.”

We came back five minutes later and Amber was fast asleep, as I expected her to be, what Belle had just done to her was bound to wipe her out. I cleaned her up with damp tissues, then lifted her as Belle pulled the duvet back. I laid her in the middle of the bed and we crawled into bed either side, Belle as little spoon, me as big spoon.

“I’m sorry dad, you didn’t get to have sex with Amber.”

“It’s OK, we’ve got plenty of time.”

“Does that mean we’ll come back and see her again?”

“Of course, you’ll be wanting to see your grandad again.”

I was awoken in the early hours by a low moaning sound, as my ears tuned in I recognised the noises as Belle.

“If I turn around I can kiss you and you can finger my bum,” she whispered.

“Ok, and when your dad wakes he can put something in mine,” Amber whispered back.

“I’m awake,” I told them quietly.

“Oh good, this plan is nearly as good as my original one,” Belle said, “Amber is going to finger me while you do her bum, is that ok?”

“Seeing as I’ve had Belle’s hand in there, I guess you’ll fit ok.”

I was already pretty hard just from the situation, so I parted Amber’s cheeks and dipped my cock in her sopping pussy, collecting enough juice to ease my way into her arsehole.

Once I was pretty sure I’d got enough juice I pushed my cock against Amber’s anus, she’d recovered from Belle’s fisting and her hole was tightly closed once more.

“It’s ok Alex, shove it in, we’ll be fine.”

And we were, Amber’s arse was quite different to Poppy’s, tighter, but she didn’t have Poppy’s muscle control, so the effect, whilst pleasurable, wasn’t quite as mind blowing. What I didn’t have with Poppy was the soundtrack of Belle being anally fingered by a beautiful girl.

I’ve not had much practice at this position, so it took a little while to work out the best way to move inside Amber, after a couple of minutes though we were moving together, me thrusting deep into Amber’s ass.

Belle’s bum grew sore from Amber’s fingering, so she crawled around and cuddled up to me, she got into a position where she could grind against my body and play with my balls.

The combined effect of Amber pushing back hard and Belle grinding on me was mind blowing, and I couldn’t last much longer.

“I’m going to come soon,” I cried.

“Come inside me, please...” Amber moaned.

Belle held me tightly, reaching her orgasm as I came inside Amber. My climax was so powerful I almost blacked out, coming to as Amber wriggled free.

“Oh fuck,” she gasped, “that was amazing, but I fear I won’t be walking very well in the morning.”

“Poppy does a lot of stretching exercises after hard sex,” Belle told her, “and she always does really noisy farts after anal.”

“She’s not the only one, I think I’ll use your loo.”

“I really enjoyed that dad,” Belle said as she rolled on top of me for a cuddle, “the fingering was fun for a bit, but I got sore, I guess Poppy’s right, I’m going to need a lot of practice.”

Belle kissed me gently for a moment or two as she drifted off to sleep, Amber giggled as she came back into the bedroom.

“She looks so cute like that.”

“I know, which is why I hate to move her.”

“No need to move her, this way I can cuddle you both,” she said as she moved in close and put an arm over Belle, “ahh, I’ve set my alarm for 7:30, I need to sneak out before the housekeeping staff come in. I really should have brought my uniform in so I didn’t need to pop home before I start work.”

“I think we’ll need to leave pretty early anyway, so we’ll get up at the same time.”

Belle was still asleep and clinging to me as Amber’s alarm sounded, “she’s still there,” Amber whispered as she silenced her alarm.

“She likes to sleep with me like this, but she sleeps normally with her sisters.”

“If I was as tiny as she is I’d probably do the same, she’s like a puppy, I love her.”

Belle lifted her head slightly, looking up at me sleepily, “surely it’s not time to get up already?”

“I’m afraid it is, we need to get going as soon as we can, that way we can spend a couple of hours with your grandad before he has his lunch.”

“Ok, I guess that’s a good plan. Do I have time to have a bath, because I’m a bit sore downstairs, I think you’re still too big for me, and my bum is itchy.”

“Of course we’ve got time for you to have a bath,” I replied.

“I’ll help you,” Amber said, “After all it’s partly my fault you’re sore.”

“And I’ll kiss your bum-hole better,” Belle said as she followed Amber into the bathroom.

While they enjoyed their bath I took my wash bag into the second bedroom en-suite, yes, our hotel suite had two bathrooms.

As I expected, I was out first, so I made the bed, put Belle’s fresh clothes out and packed her bag, her bra was still damp, so I wrapped it in a dry towel and packed it with the rest of her clothes.

“Oh, thanks for laying my clothes out dad, ahh, no bra, is it still wet?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“Ahh well, I guess I’m going commando today, lucky I’ve got little boobs, if I was Poppy I’d be wobbling all over the place.”

“At least you don’t have to slut walk home in last night’s clothes,” Amber said with a grin, “but slut walking is fun, it’s a sign of a good night.”

“About last night...” I started.

“It was amazing, but it doesn’t have to mean anything if you don’t want it to.”

“I was going to ask, how do you feel, but as you bring it up, it means a lot, we’d both like it to happen again, maybe next time Poppy and Katie could stand in my stead.”

“Ahh, ok, sorry I’m so used to casual pickups I sometimes forget there’s thoroughly decent people around. Yes, I’d love to get together again, and I’m fine, a little sore, Belle kissed me better, and I kissed her better, neither of us is in danger of being unladylike this morning.”

“That’s good to know.”

“Ahh, I just remembered something, you’re not officially in this room.”

“We know,” Belle replied brightly, “Aunty Helen said she just got us a normal room. Thanks so much, it was really exciting when I first saw the room.”

“My pleasure, what I mean is, I made you a key for this room, but I didn’t book you in here, you’re still meant to be in 205, so we can’t let housekeeping see you leave this room.”

“So I guess we leave now, take our bags down to the car, then check out after breakfast,” I suggested.

“That would be best,” Amber replied.

“Do you want to join us for breakfast?” Belle asked.

“Honestly, I’d love to, but I really need to get home so I can feed Charlie, empty his litter tray and get dressed for work.”

“What time do you start work?”

“I start at 10 sweetie, so after you finish a leisurely breakfast I’ll be on reception when you check out.”

Amber slipped out of the room before us and used her staff pass to unlock the service stairs which she said would take her out of the back door.

I picked up my bag, Belle shouldered her teddy bear backpack and we left our suite after Belle used my phone to take several photos of the room for her sisters.

We took the lift all the way down to the carpark level and deposited our bags in the Bentley, then used the stairs up to the reception where we checked which restaurant we needed to use for breakfast. We were shown to the same table as last night.

Breakfast was a buffet, just help yourself to whatever you want from the hotplates or the selection of cereals, cold meats, bread and cheese.

I was totally unsurprised to see Belle pile her plate high with sausages, bacon, scrambled egg and mushrooms, with a drizzle of baked beans anywhere they’d fit.

“This is great, I can eat as much as I like. The lady said I could go back for more if I want, although she was a bit doubtful that I’d finish this lot. I think I’ll go back even if I just get more egg just to show her I finished my first helping.”

I smiled as I drank my coffee, she really was such an amazing kid.

She held her fork in the air, “is this black pudding really made of blood?”

“Yes, amongst other stuff like oatmeal, onions and fat. It’s actually called blood sausage in some countries.”

“Mmm, that sounds so gross, but it’s really tasty. The lady said it’s best with mustard, but she didn’t have any mustard to give me. Maybe next time.”

We ate slowly as we had over an hour to kill before we could check out. Belle wiped her plate clean with a piece of bread and took it back to the buffet. She returned with a couple more sausages, a fried egg and another piece of bread to mop up the yolk.

Once this plate was emptied she picked up my coffee and finished that as well, before sitting back and rubbing her tummy.

“Man, that was great, worth every penny of Helen’s money,” she said with a satisfied sigh as she pulled out her phone, “I’m texting her to thank her for the hotel. I had a great time last night, did you enjoy it?”

“I did, Amber is a wonderful girl, and I definitely did not expect her to enjoy that double fisting.”

“God! Neither did I! Even Poppy hasn’t done that, or at least I don’t think she has. I shall enjoy showing her the photos and video.”

“Oh yes, remind me to Airdrop them to your iPad, I’d rather they weren’t on my phone.”

“You know, that was so much fun though, and nowhere near as gross as I expected, I was so horny while I was doing it. I’ll tell you what was also awesome, holding onto you whilst you came inside Amber, I had such an amazing orgasm just holding onto you with all that sex going on under the duvet. That’s what I was telling you about, I get so hot just watching people have sex, just being in the same room does it for me. Does that make me weird?”

“Absolutely not, if people didn’t get off just watching sex there’d be no market for porn.”

“Ha, yes of course, at least I’m in the room, not watching it on telly. Thank you, I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

I checked my phone and saw it was past 10, so we made our way to the reception. Amber smiled brightly as she saw us, and dashed around the counter when she’d finished with the customer in front.

She gave Belle a big hug, “it’s been so good to see you again cousin,” she said out loud before whispering, “ignore me, I’m not supposed to hug guests.”

I got a hug as her uncle before we got down to the business of checking out. Helen had paid for the room, meals and Belle’s massage, so I just had the bar bill to pay, which at 5* hotel prices was a substantial sum.

“Half of this is my wine and gin,” Amber said, “I can’t have you paying this much, let’s see what offers I can find. Ahh yes, here we go, a two for one voucher code for the bar, it was for a conference last week, I bet it still works, and yes, it does, there we go, your bar bill halved in a stroke.”

“Thank you, I hope this doesn’t get you into trouble,” I said as I gave Amber my card.

“If they didn’t want us to use these vouchers to help our friends they’d cancel them quicker.”

“We’ll be back soon,” Belle told her as we prepared to leave, “and I’ll bring my sisters next time.”

“I look forward to meeting them.”

“I don’t have any social media because I’ve only got this old phone,” Belle said, showing Amber her trusty Nokia, “it was a lifesaver when Poppy sent it to me, so I’m keeping it. Poppy and Katie have them all, I’ll get them to send you links and we can keep in touch properly.”

“You have my phone number, they can use it to add me on their WhatsApp, then we can chat there.”

“Amazing, I’m glad you said that as I don’t really know anything about that stuff. I’m sure I’ll find out all about it when I get back to school.”

“Didn’t you have facebook or anything before?” Amber asked.

“No, my dad wasn’t a fan of technology, we didn’t have computers or mobile phones at home.”

“Oh dear, you’d really struggle at school without a computer to do research and write your homework. My cousin Jayne does everything online, even emails all her homework to her teachers, she loves it.”

“I’m learning, dad bought me a fancy Apple laptop and iPad. Katie and Poppy are showing me how to use them.”

Amber came back round the counter, she gave Belle one last hug before we left, “see you soon cutie.”

The one-way system helped us on our way back to the nursing home, when we got there 10 minutes later Clive was waiting for us in the lounge.

Belle brought the photo album with her and they spent an hour chatting about the memories raised by the book. Belle enjoyed looking at the photos of her parents and their friends. Neither her mum nor dad had siblings, her Uncle Liam was a second cousin at best, apart from Clive she had no blood relatives.

“What happened to Belle’s parents’ house,” I asked Clive.

“Oh, of course, you won’t have had the paperwork, you need to speak to Lana’s solicitor.”

“Who’s mum’s solicitor,” Belle asked.

“Ahh, I forget the name, their office is in the row of shops near the garage.”

“Oh yes, I know the place. I can direct you dad, we’ll drive past the house on the way.”

We left when the nurse came for Clive at lunch time. Belle hugged him as he stood, and helped him into his wheelchair.

“I’ll be back soon, and I’ll bring my sisters.”

“I look forward to meeting them, they sound lovely.”

“They’re the best, absolute goddesses, so strong and so caring. I’ve never felt this comfortable with anyone before.”

“And I’ve never seen you so happy,” Clive said, he kissed Belle’s hand quickly before the nurse wheeled him to the dining room.

Belle directed me out of the city centre and into one of the suburbs. It looked like a pretty nice area, all the front gardens were neat and tidy, mid-market cars in the driveways.

“Take the next left,” Belle said, leaning forwards in her seat, excited to see her old house. “It’s number 15, in the middle of the row.”

I checked the numbers as I drove, 9, 11, 13, I parked outside 15.

“Ahh, home, I didn’t think I’d see it again,” Belle said quietly as she slipped out of the car to look at it properly.

I stepped out to join her on the pavement, the house looked ok, a larger than average semi-detached property, built about 15 years ago I imagine, plastic double-glazing and front door, grimy but there was no peeling paintwork to show the house had been neglected for a year or more.

The front garden was a little overgrown, but not untidy, someone must have been looking after it.

The door to the house on the left opened, a man emerged, elderly but he looked fit, Belle noticed him and ran over.

“Mr Sykes, it’s so good to see you.”

“Amelia, is that you? It is, oh my, don’t you look good.”

“Dad, this is Mr Sykes, he’s so kind. He drove me to Gramps the night my parents died.”

We shook hands, “this is my new dad, Mr Sykes.”

“Come in, it’s too chilly to chat outside,” Mr Sykes said, ushering us into a neat, spartan sitting room.

Belle outlined the last 18 months while Mr Sykes made a pot of tea.

I took a cup, “thank you Mr Sykes,” I said as I helped myself from the plate of biscuits.

“Please, call my Albert,” he replied before sipping his hot tea, “I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve been taking care of your front garden as best as I could. I didn’t want the house making the street look untidy. I’ve washed the windows every month or so as well. Only downstairs mind, I don’t have a ladder to do the upstairs windows.”

“Oh my, that’s great, I was kind of expecting a jungle.”

“There was at first, but when we saw the story in the paper about your disappearance I thought the house would be empty for a good while, so I thought I’d try to keep it tidy.”