by Linda Huber
He wasn’t going to make big bucks, then. ‘Call me realistic, Tony, not stingy. I’ll take advice about it. Was that what you called to tell me?’
‘I’ve been taking advice too. When I have a regular job, I’ll be applying for shared custody. I’ll come round and talk to you about it tomorrow.’
The connection broke, and Liane stuffed her phone into her bag. No way, but no way was she going to let him have shared custody of Frith. But could she stop him applying for it?
Steve listened while she told him about Tony’s – glory, was it a threat?
‘I can’t imagine he’d get custody of any kind, but you’ll need proper advice. He’d get access, but you give him that already.’
What a mess. ‘Let’s forget him for tonight. I’ll go to Citizens Advice on Monday. Look, it’s this street here.’
They slowed down to turn off Great Western Road. Steve drove round the back of the hotel, where the car park was nearly empty. Liane took his arm as they walked into the hotel. Most people would be taking taxis tonight, to let them have a few drinks.
In the foyer, she recognised Ruby Clark and Kit John, who were standing together, Ruby with both hands clasped in front of her mouth and Kit waving her arms around as she spoke.
Kit pounced on Liane. ‘Did you see Daria Geddes on your way in? She’s disappeared.’
‘No. What do you mean, disappeared?’ Liane frowned. Kit and Ruby were both wearing very odd expressions – how could anyone disappear?
Kit clasped her hands under her chin. ‘She went to the loo but she’s not there – she seems to have left. This has been too much for her and it’s my fault for encouraging her to come. I thought it might help her to see everyone at once and get it over with.’
Liane stood still. What was the woman talking about? ‘Get what over with?’
‘Meeting people for the first time after Evie. She’s not answering her phone, either. I wish we’d never come!’ Kit strode off to the cloakroom, and Liane put out a hand to stop Ruby from following her.
‘Ruby – who’s Evie?’
Ruby dabbed her eyes with a tissue. ‘Daria’s little girl – she was killed in a car crash about a month ago. Naturally, Daria’s finding things difficult.’
‘What?’ Liane grabbed Steve’s arm. ‘You’re kidding – we saw her last week and she didn’t say a word.’
Steve’s mouth was a thin slash. ‘That’s horrendous. How old was Evie?’
‘She was four a few weeks ago.’ Ruby wrung her hands. ‘Daria was—’ She broke off as Kit came back, her phone pressed to her ear.
‘It’s quite all right, my love. As long as you’re okay. I’ll see you in a bit.’ She ended the call and heaved a sigh. ‘She went home. Says she’s okay, just needs some space. I’ll give her half an hour then go back and make sure.’ She nodded to Liane and Steve, and wandered off with Ruby.
Liane stood rigid with shock beside Steve. Why hadn’t Daria told her about Evie? She had visited Liane at home, been perfectly chummy, and lovely with Frith, she’d babysat – what had been going on in her head all that time?
‘Steve, this is – I left Frithy with her, twice, and she must have been – hell’s teeth, she wasn’t in a fit state to look after a kid, was she?’
Steve hugged her. ‘No, she wasn’t, but what happened with Frith was as much Tony’s fault as Daria’s. Poor soul.’
Liane took a shaky breath. ‘What should we do? I’m not sure I want to stay here after this.’
‘Let’s go in and you can say hello to some of them, or they’ll be out looking for you in a while. We can get our breath back and see what we want to do later.’
This wasn’t how she’d imagined the evening would start, but Liane soon spotted her old clique in the ballroom. In less than ten minutes she was standing with a glass in one hand, catching up with everyone. This was better – they’d have time to think about Daria tomorrow.
The moon was casting ghostly shadows along the street when Steve pulled up in front of home later that evening – or was it tomorrow morning? The moment he switched off the engine, Liane reached out to grab him for a kiss.
He leaned towards her, then froze. ‘Um, Liane, I hate to be a party pooper, but Tony’s sitting on your doorstep.’
‘You’re kidding.’ Liane twisted round to see. Not only was Tony on the doorstep, he was out for the count, so he must be drunk.
Steve was laughing. ‘One day, we’ll be able to do things like normal people.’
Liane wrenched the passenger door open. ‘We’ll be able to do things like normal people in five seconds flat. Call him a taxi.’
She strode up the path and shook Tony’s shoulder, pulling a face when he turned towards her. He smelled like a brewery. ‘Tony! What do you think you’re doing? Get up!’
His head lolled back, and he half-opened his eyes. ‘Wha— Oh, it’s you. I came to see my girl.’
‘You’re not seeing anyone in this state. I mean it, Tony. Go home and we’ll talk tomorrow.’
Steve helped her hoist Tony to his feet, and together they marched him back down the path.
‘You can’t stop me seeing her. I’ll have the police on you.’ He swayed away from Liane, then spun round and shoved his face in hers. ‘Fathers have rights too, you know. And you had no right to speak to me like you did earlier.’
‘Drunk fathers have no rights, Tony. You can call me tomorrow if you want to organise a time for a reasonable discussion.’
Tony glared, but he got into the taxi when it pulled up. Steve handed over a note, and gave the driver Tony’s address.
Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Liane wiped sweating hands down her trousers as the taxi drove off. Was the evening even salvageable now?
Steve offered her his arm. ‘Let’s try take two, shall we? How about a glass of that nice Prosecco I put in the fridge earlier – or have you had enough already?’
She had, but there was room for a small one without getting legless. Liane blew him a kiss. ‘Lead me to it.’
Day Thirty – Saturday 16th May
Chapter 34
It was breakfast time, but Tabitha was nowhere to be found. Evie searched in all the cupboards, and under boxes and behind the chairs in the living room too, but apart from Socks and Daisy, the cats were all in the garden. She opened the back door to see if Tabitha was outside too and straightaway, everyone came running, wanting their breakfast. Everyone except Tabitha.
Evie filled up the bowls with cat food and went to look upstairs. Her room – no Tabitha, and no Tabitha in the bathroom. Evie wrinkled her nose. Mammy had let her have a bath again last night, but the water hadn’t drained away properly. It had gone a bit smelly. No Tabitha in the tiny room – she must have gone in with Mammy.
Evie pushed Mammy’s door open with one finger and peeked in. Mammy was still asleep, with her mouth open, and she was snoring harder than usual. Evie checked behind the door, and crouched down to see under the bed, but Tabitha wasn’t there – and anyway, if Tabby-puss had been in the house at all, she’d have heard the other cats and run to get her share of breakfast. Evie trailed back downstairs. Had Tabitha got lost? She had a quick look in the cupboard under the stairs, just in case, but Tabitha wasn’t there either. She’d have let them know if she’d got shut in somewhere, in any case. Tabitha was a yowler, Mammy said.
There was no milk left, so she’d need to have water with her breakfast today. Should she make toast? The toaster was scary, because sometimes the toast didn’t pop up right and then you had to dig it out with a knife and Mammy said that was dangerous. Bread and jam was fine, and afterwards she’d go and see if Frith was out to play yet.
Evie stood on tiptoe to look out of the window. It was a nice sunny day and the way the trees were dancing about was funny. Windy days were lovely – remember when Daddy’d had a kite and they’d gone up the big hill and made it fly? Evie rubbed her eyes. It would be nice when she could go home. But then, they didn’t have cats at home. And now she had to
look for Tabitha. She might be in the den. They had boxes there, and Tabitha loved boxes.
Evie pushed her way through the jungle, calling for Frith. No answer came, so she squeezed through the bushes to her den. The tiny purple flowers were waving in the wind, but the only cat there was Marmaduke. He miaowed a warning when Evie went in, but she sat down anyway. No Tabitha and no Frith. She could go and ask if Frith was coming out – they could look for Tabitha together.
Eve hurried to squeeze through the back fence. Frith definitely wasn’t in her garden, but music from Frith’s mummy’s radio was coming out of the kitchen window when Evie arrived at the back door. Mummy and Daddy used to put the radio on at breakfast time too. Evie knocked, and Frith’s mummy opened the door.
‘Hello, Bridie! Have you come for Frith? She’s not here this morning, but she’ll be home later. I expect she’ll be out to play then.’
Oh, no. Evie blinked up at Frith’s mummy. She would have to look for Tabitha without Frith.
‘I can’t find Tabitha – she’s the stripy one with kitties in her tummy. Can you send her home if you see her?
Frith’s mummy smiled. It was a nice smile. ‘Of course I will. I’m sure she’s fine, though. Cats are good at looking after themselves. Look – have a biscuit, Bridie, love.’
She handed over a chocolate biscuit in a shiny wrapping, and Evie took it. Ooh, she hadn’t had one of these for a long time. She smiled at Frith’s mummy and ran back to her den to eat it. She was licking chocolatey fingers when Mammy called her.
‘Bridie! Where are you?’
Mammy’s face was blotchy red and white, and she was holding onto the back door with both hands.
Evie ran across the grass. ‘I can’t find Tabitha.’
‘Tsk. She’ll be fine. Come inside, child, that wind from the sea would take your nose off. No beach for us today, if it carries on like this.’
Evie brightened. Were they going to the beach? That would be fun. ‘I like the wind at the seaside.’
‘Aye, well, we’ll need to see when your daddy and the boys and Maeve are back. Maybe you can go then. Some fish for tea would be nice.’
Mammy closed the door, then walked in a wavy line through to the living room and plonked herself down on the sofa. Evie went to sit beside her. Mammy’s hand was hot when it took hers.
‘Dearie me, this is like being on a boat, isn’t it? Everything swaying around like a force-nine gale.’
Evie leaned back. ‘When will Daddy be here? Where was he?’
‘Cork, maid. Best town in Ireland, bar Bantry, and you can’t really compare them, can you?’
Mammy coughed hard then, and Evie waited until she’d finished. It was good news Daddy was coming, but why hadn’t he been in Spain with Mummy?
‘Wasn’t Daddy in Spain, too?’
‘Spain? Away with you, what would he be doing in Spain? He wouldn’t be back for tea if he was in Spain, you know.’
A moment later, Mammy was snoring again. Evie crept back out. Daddy was coming for tea! And surely he’d bring Mummy with him. Would they let her stay to see Tabitha’s kitties?
Evie went back to the kitchen. There were still two slices of bread left, so Mammy hadn’t had any breakfast yet. She’d make some bread and jam for Mammy too. And water.
It was hard to wake Mammy up for her breakfast. Evie shook hard at Mammy’s shoulder, but she still didn’t wake up. Oh, well, she would leave the bread and jam here and try again in a minute. On the way out she went past the cupboard under the stairs, and – good idea! She hadn’t checked in the cupboard on the upstairs landing. Tabitha might have fallen asleep in the warm in there.
The cupboard was empty of cats but full of old, old things. Evie pulled at a brown cardboard box. This would be good for the den if there was space under the bushes. It was big enough for her and Frith to get in together. Evie almost fell on her way downstairs with the box but it woke Mammy up, so that was good. She sneaked the box out to the den before Mammy stopped her, then went back to the living room. Good. Mammy was eating her breakfast.
‘Ah, that’s better. Thank you, maid. Strawberry jam, eh? My favourite.’
‘There isn’t any milk left.’
‘We’ll get some later. A sup of pink medicine will set me right.’
Evie fetched the bottle and a spoon, and was about to go outside to play when a knock came at the front door. Mammy stood very still with one finger on her lips. They waited. Another knock came before footsteps walked away again. Evie ran to the living room window. It was the same man she’d seen before, and he was getting into a car. Good, it was driving away. She skipped back to Mammy.
‘I’m going to play in the garden.’
She opened the back door to a shriek from across the garden. Frith was back! Evie sped through the jungle to the back fence.
‘Bridie! Mummy said I can get a trampoline for my birthday! A great big one for in the garden – you can come and jump on it too!’
‘Ooh, yes!’ Evie jumped up and down at the fence. But – Daddy was coming for tea. ‘Is your birthday soon? My daddy might be back today.’
‘Are you going home with him then?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘You’re funny.’
‘I’m not. I’ve got a huge box in my den, come and see!’
Tabitha still wasn’t anywhere, so they played in the den without her. It was fun in the box, eating the raisins Frith’s mummy gave them.
‘I hope Tabitha comes home soon.’ Evie finished her last raisin and licked her fingers. ‘I want a kitty to take home with me when Mummy comes.’
‘Isn’t your daddy coming?’
That was the silly part. It was always Mummy who took her places and came to get her again, except sometimes when she went to Grandma Millie’s. Evie screwed up her face. Mammy might have got it wrong. She’d been talking a bit more funny than usual this morning, hadn’t she? So maybe it wasn’t Daddy who was coming, maybe it was Mummy. Ooh, it would be so nice to have a proper big cuddle with Mummy. She hadn’t had one for ever so long. Or Daddy might be coming tomorrow and not today. Evie pouted. It was horrible when you didn’t know what was happening.
She jumped up. ‘Let’s look for Tabitha again. She might have gone into someone else’s garden.’
Frith clambered out of the box too. ‘Mummy says it’s wrong to go into other people’s gardens.’
Evie led the way to the side fence. The lady here didn’t have a jungle, so you could see almost the whole garden from the fence. They’d only need to look behind the shed.
Frith pulled at her jumper. ‘We can’t go in there! That’s the nasty lady’s garden.’
‘We have to find Tabitha!’ Evie put one hand on the fence, ready to climb over.
‘Bridie! Bridie!’
Oh! Mammy was calling. Was Daddy here?
‘I have to go in. I’ll be out later.’ Evie sped back to the house.
Chapter 35
Frith was like a different child here. Gone was the girl who’d agitated to watch Sunday morning cartoons every week; this new Frith couldn’t wait to get into the garden every day. Today, she had vanished into the jungle, two packets of raisins clutched in her hand, the moment they’d fetched her home – sitting on her new booster seat in Steve’s car – from Jon and Ella’s. Happiness bubbled up in Liane. How wonderful to be four years old and well.
Steve was scrolling through the news on his iPad at the kitchen table, and Liane kissed the top of his head as she switched on the coffee machine. Last night had been fabulous, Frithy’d had a great time at Jon and Ella’s, all was well with the world. Or it would be if Tony would leave them alone.
Steve accepted his usual black with one sugar. ‘I’m on duty this afternoon. Anything you need my muscle-power for before I leave?’
‘You’ve done it all already.’ Liane sat down with her mug.
Steve pushed the iPad over the table. ‘Look, they’ve an electric mower on offer at the garden centre this week. You s
hould get one. I’m off all day on Monday – we could go then and you wouldn’t have to lug it home on the bus.’
A trip to the garden centre would be an entirely new experience now that she actually had a garden. Liane sipped, gazing at Steve as he scrolled and commented his way around the Saturday morning news. This was the life.
They were still at the table when Frith arrived back, her lips pursed. ‘We couldn’t find Tabitha. And Bridie has to go in. Her daddy’s coming. She might be going home soon.’
Liane’s heart sank. Oh, dear, Bridie going home would leave a big hole in poor Frith’s life. Come to think of it, where did the family live? There’d been talk of Dublin, but hadn’t Margie said her daughter would be back? Liane rushed to comfort Frith. ‘If Bridie lives near enough to visit, we can do that, don’t worry. And you’ll still have the cats, won’t you? And Oliver and the others from the library.’
And soon all the other kids at the hospital creche too, but this wasn’t the best time to remind Frith about that.
Steve sat back. ‘Tell you what, ladies. I’m not on duty until three. How about we go to the garden centre today? We can have lunch, and look at lawnmowers, and trampolines too, of course.’
Frith’s face was one big beam again, and Liane mouthed her thanks across the table.
‘Upstairs with you and change out of that T-shirt, you manky thing,’ she said, pointing Frith towards the hallway. ‘We’ll leave in quarter of an hour, okay?’
The garden centre was packed, but they found a table in the café and had hot dogs, and chocolate cake as a treat. Afterwards, with the cut-price mower safely in her trolley, Liane followed Frith across the store to look at trampolines. One was set up outside to try, and the little girl showed off the tricks she’d learned at Jon and Ella’s. Liane made a note of the price tag. She would manage that in plenty of time for Frith’s birthday, now she had a job.
On the way to the cash desk they passed a stand of overalls for kids, and Liane stopped for a look. These were funky – sturdy dungarees with legs you could unzip to turn them into shorts. Garden clothes were a good idea; Frith had already ruined her best jeans.
