And You Can Win a Goldfish

“And she never came down.”

It began well, the day, which surprised him. He expected the usual Saturday morning grief. The snipe of the ex-wife to his part time fatherhood. But she was smiling as she handed little Hannah over at the front door. Perhaps it was the sunshine or maybe the promise of six hours freedom. Either way, it was a rare relief to him, the non-existence of the weekly pain, blame and regret.

On the journey to the coast Hannah showed him things from her jacket pockets. A plastic spider, a chewed pencil and a love letter from a boy in her class who she thought was a right ‘minger’. They both laughed, sang along to ‘This is America’ by Childish Gambino. They were so happy, and both wished that it could be like this all the time.

They walked along the promenade holding hands talking about grandma and how she always made a fuss of the things that weren’t important: a scarf until April, a thank you phone call for birthday presents, clean underwear. The sun high, the sea green and the waves as “big as giraffes Daddy!”

They got their tokens and made plans. There was going to be candy floss, the dodgems, the Waltzer and if lucky a prize in the ‘And You Can Win a Goldfish’ arcade. But first, as ever. The Helter Skelter. Hannah made a fuss of getting the right coconut mat, she waved at him, went inside and climbed the stairs.