and it means that they will come back when whatever danger is threatening them has gone. So it’s really about playing a waiting game.’ Rose nodded. She would wait as long as it took. ‘The thing is this foster placement is meant to be temporary. You know – until they decide what to do with us.’ Rose frowned. Alice and Paul had told them that when they first arrived. This was a short stay. Rose hadn’t taken much notice of the conversation because, for her, this was always going to be a short stay. She was going to go home and be with her mother again. Now they’d been there for ten days. ‘What I’m thinking,’ Joshua went on, ‘is that we should speak to Paul and Alice about allowing us to stay for longer – weeks, maybe even months – until it’s safe for Dad and Kathy to come out of hiding. That way we’re close to school and not far from the house. We could go back there sometimes. Make sure everything’s all right, get our stuff. We could keep it tidy. Maybe I could even paint the upstairs hallway. Your mum was always going on at Dad about it.’ That was true. There had been some strong words about how long it was taking Brendan to get round to painting the hallway. ‘We can just look at it as if we’re staying with friends for a while. And then when the time is right they can come and get us.’
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