He sets it back down and raises his hands in surrender. ‘Just trying to help.’
‘Sorry,’ I say, immediately contrite. ‘I didn’t mean to snap at you. It’s just, it’s deleting everything! I don’t want to make it worse.’ I start scrolling through my phone contacts and call Gary, my IT guy. I feel bad for calling him on a Sunday, but this is an emergency and he can bill me for the overtime. The phone rings and rings. He obviously doesn’t believe in voicemail or something. The loading bar has reached the halfway mark on my laptop. I wonder which of my files have already been deleted. Finally, Gary answers.
‘Hi, Gemma. Everything okay? Hang on, let me take this outside.’ The sound of crying and screaming children is almost deafening down the phone line, so goodness knows how loud it is at Gary’s end.
‘Gary, I’m so sorry to call you at the weekend, but it’s an emergency. My laptop is freaking out and deleting all my files.’
‘Deleting your files? Want me to come round?’
‘Would you?’ I pause to exhale. ‘I can come to you if it’s easier?’
‘No, it’s mayhem here.’ Gary has four children, including three-year-old twins. ‘I’ll come to you at the house, yeah?’
‘Thank you. I really appreciate it.’
‘Be there in ten.’
Although it seems like aeons, Gary is as good as his word, arriving in just under ten minutes. I’m standing at the door to greet him as he revs up the driveway on his motorbike. Robert and the girls wave to him on their way out – my husband has offered to take Eva and Katie to the park to give us some peace and quiet.
‘Thanks for coming, Gary,’ I say as he undoes his helmet and follows me into the lounge.
‘You did me a favour,’ he says with a grin, putting his helmet on the coffee table with a clank. ‘Got me out of the mad house.’
I’m too stressed to smile back. ‘Do you think you’ll be able to retrieve my files?’ I hand him the laptop.
‘I’ll have a look. I’d love a coffee though.’
I nod and go off to make him one, then return to perch on the edge of the sofa next to him while he works on my laptop. He’s typing in a bunch of code and I feel helpless, wondering if I’m going to lose everything.
‘This will take me a while,’ he says. ‘At least an hour I should think. If you want to go and do something to take your mind off this, I’ll call you when I’m done, okay?’
‘Is it looking hopeful?’
‘Too soon to tell. As soon as I find anything, I’ll let you know.’
I take comfort from the fact that Gary is a computer genius. If anyone can sort this out, he can. I go into the kitchen and use Rob’s laptop to continue my search for a tutor. I may as well take Gary’s advice and do something to take my mind off this latest catastrophe. It takes me about half an hour to send five enquiries to various tutors who have advertised their success rates for coaching students through the grammar-school tests. I wish I could get a tutor sorted out today but I guess I’ll just have to wait and see if anyone replies. I’m not the world’s most patient person. All the while, I’m trying to remember how many of my files haven’t been backed up. All the Cosgrove stuff for starters – not that I need it forthatbastard. But the pitch could have been recycled for other potential clients.
Finally, after an hour or so, Gary calls me back into the lounge.
‘Good news,’ he says. ‘I’ve restored your files.’
‘Are you serious?’ I press my palms to my eyes and let out a huge breath. ‘You absolute star. I walk over to the sofa and sit next to him, gazing at the laptop screen, at all the icons in their correct place. ‘Did you manage to restoreallof them?’
‘Yep.’
‘Thank yousomuch, Gary. You’ve just saved me hours of work.’
‘Glad I could help.’
‘I do feel guilty dragging you away from your family though.’
‘Don’t.’ He raises his eyebrows.
‘Poor Louise, though. It’s my fault she’s on her own with the children on a Sunday.’
‘Don’t feel bad. Her mother’s over for lunch. She’s very hands on. Louise is fine.’
‘Okay, well that makes me feel better. Thank you so much again for saving everything. What on earth caused it to happen? Some kind of virus, do you think?’