‘What a load of crap,’ Nathan said. ‘We cut a little hole in the fence and—’
‘Shhh.’ We all shushed him, wanting to hear the rest of what Lance had to say.
‘Mrs Jones claims that her husband has been influenced by a punk girl he began an affair with when she started commuting to work in London.’
‘I’m Goth, not punk.’ This time I got shushed.
‘Mrs Jones says she’d been shocked and hurt to learn about her husband’s infidelity and feels betrayed that he’d do something like that while she’d been simply trying to earn extra money to provide a better future for her family.’
‘What a pack of lies,’ Millie said quietly. Nobody shushed her.
Lance summed up. ‘So, although Laura Jones is at this time too upset to say anything further, I’m appealing on her behalf to Nathan, her husband. For the sake of your children and your beautiful wife, please come home.’
I flipped the TV off.
Nobody spoke for a few minutes, then I said, ‘Well, I think that’s round two to Mummy.’ It broke the tension and everybody, even Daisy, smiled.
*
Given the publicity Laura had generated, we were looking forward to arriving in the sparsely populated Scottish Highlands. We set off soon after breakfast and, apart from stocking up in a local supermarket just north of Glasgow, we drove non-stop. As the scenery became more and more beautiful and towns and traffic less and less, I started to relax. We were now in the middle of nowhere and it felt wonderful.
I alternated between sitting with Nathan and playing games with the girls. They were all strapped in seats facing the TV but after the third Disney DVD and fourth bag of Maltesers they were beginning to grow restless and hyper. Daisy announced, ‘I need a pee pee.’
‘Nathan, you need to slow down or stop, even. Daisy needs to go to the toilet.’
He shouted back to me, ‘I can see a wide bit coming up; I’ll pull over.’ The motorhome slowed as he steered it onto the grass verge. I squinted out of the windscreen and noticed what Nathan hadn’t. The verge wasn’t just a widening of the road but a junction, although that might be too grand a description. The road that led from the main A86 could be described as a dirt track in comparison. I got up to unstrap Daisy, then fell over onto my bum as the vehicle went into reverse and then lurched forward.
‘Nathan!’ I yelled.
‘Sorry, I’m still getting used to the controls. I thought I’d look up here to see what’s what.’
I got up rubbing my coccyx (the bit where my tail used to be when I was a monkey – if you’re an evolutionist) and walked towards the front again. We were bumping along a rutted tree-lined road and tree branches bounced off the side of the vehicle as we edged along. ‘Where are we going, Nathan?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘That’s comforting. Why are we off-road? This isn’t exactly a Range Rover.’
‘I just saw this little track, and something told me to check it out.’
‘Uh-huh, so we’re running on intuition?’
‘If you like.’
‘I don’t “like”, actually, I—’ My breath caught in my throat as the road ended and widened out to reveal a small secluded glade just wide enough to allow Nathan to turn the van completely around should he wish. We were enclosed on three sides by small hills dressed in purple heather and yellow gorse. At the end of the space a tiny stream dropped down a few metres in a gentle waterfall. Nathan brought the vehicle to a halt and switched off the engine. I stepped out into the most peaceful and beautiful space I’d ever seen. I looked back to the way we’d come in and I could hardly see the old dirt road hidden by trees and bushes – our very own Brigadoon.
Beside the stream about ten feet from the waterfall I noticed the remains of a ruined cottage. Only the gable ends and a section of the back wall remained. The rest had either fallen or been removed. The three girls emerged behind Nathan and stood transfixed by the beauty of the spot.
‘Wow! Someone used to live here, Nathan,’ I observed. ‘Imagine, someone used to own this little piece of heaven.’
‘In the height of summer maybe, but I can’t imagine the winters were much fun.’
‘Oh, I don’t know, a roaring fire, some blankets, red wine and I’m sure we’d be fine
while it snowed and snowed and snowed. Can we stay here tonight?’
Nathan appraised the glade. ‘Don’t see why not. We’ve got plenty of food, it’s nice and quiet and we need a rest.’
‘I still need a pee pee,’ Daisy piped up just as my phone started ringing.
Nathan grinned. ‘And what do you know? We’ve got network coverage. I’m definitely not switching my phone on.’
I wandered over towards the old cottage, pressing the phone to my ear while Nathan took Daisy to the toilet.
‘Hi, Kat, it’s Hayley.’
‘Hi, sweetie, I’m pretty busy right now. What is it?’
‘Just calling to say I love you.’
‘You’ve got a man now, Hayley, so you don’t need me.’
‘Whatever happened to girl power and we’ll be friends forever? Do you want me to send you one of those little “Friends Forever” teddies to prove it?’
‘Nah, you’re all right, I believe you.’
‘You’re famous.’
‘Infamous more like – as the bitch from hell.’
‘You did see it, then? I think Mrs Jones has the whole nation on her side.’
‘Well, the bit of the nation that watches early morning Channel 5 chat shows. Besides, that’s not what’s happening, Hayley. She’s the one that stopped Nathan seeing his daughters.’
‘I know that, but the world at large just sees a poor heartbroken mother who’s had her children stolen and her husband’s run off with a punk.’
‘Don’t you start.’
‘Sorry.’
‘She’s a first-class cow.’
‘That’s not how it’s coming across. You need some help to get your point of view over and aren’t you lucky? Because that’s exactly why I’m phoning you.’
‘You’ve lost me. Help me do what?’
‘I’m going to help you with the media.’
‘Hayley, I love you and you’re a great lawyer … I think … but dealing with—’
‘James is here.’
‘That’s nice. Is he surgically attached to you now?’
Hayley giggled. ‘Not exactly, though it does feel like it sometimes. He wants a word.’
‘I don’t really have time to speak to him, Hayley. We’ve just stopped in the most beautiful little glade and then—’
‘You need to hear what he’s got to say. Hold on.’
I listened to some muffled voices in the background followed by my friend saying, ‘I’m going to hand my phone over to him, okay?’
‘Kat?’ The male voice on the line instantly transported me back to my high-school days. Not the best of memories.
‘James, it’s been a long time. I hope you’re treating my friend better than you did all those years ago.’
‘Thanks for reminding me. If you remember, though, your friend’s revenge meant I had to leave school before I wanted to. I couldn’t come back and face everyone after that.’
‘Welcome to our world. You had one night of it, we had a lifetime’s worth.’
James sighed. ‘I’ve already had all this from Hayley. I should have got you both together and you could have both unloaded both barrels at me. I’ve apologised to Hayley, and now I’m doing the same to you, and if you can put your anger to one side I think I can help you.’
‘Help me?’
‘Well, you and your boyfriend.’
‘How could you possibly do that?’ I asked sceptically.
‘I work for the BBC news team.’
Now, I’d been vaguely aware from Hayley’s numerous ramblings that he worked for them, but I hadn’t known it had anything to do with the news. ‘I’ve never seen you on the TV.’
‘Not everyone
can be in front of the camera. There’s a whole bunch of us beavering away behind the scenes, editing, choosing the items to run, scheduling and various other things that are too dull to talk about. Anyway, the point is I’ve been following the very one-sided coverage of this situation and, as Hayley’s explained, legally there’s nothing Laura can do about Nathan taking the kids, at least until they start missing school. So, what she’s doing now is playing the “helpless mother” card and painting you as the dark bitch from hell – a real-life Cruella De Vil – and punk temptress who’s also lured away her husband.’
‘Goth, not punk.’
‘Yeah, whatever, but punk plays better with the media as they associate them with deviant and violent behaviour. She’s doing a great job of playing up to prejudice and scaremongering. What I’d like to do is give the other side of the picture, show what it’s like for a father to be denied access to his children and how they’re totally powerless when this happens so that you are forced into taking drastic action. The issue I’ve got is that your angle is very weak now.’
‘Angle?’
‘Yeah, sorry, news-speak – what I mean is there’s very little going in your favour. All the world can see is this road movie going on, which appears to be a dark version of Thelma and Louise where the baddies have kidnapped some children and the distraught mother is pictured in interview after interview crying and pleading for you to bring them home.’
‘Thelma and Louise? Didn’t they die in the end?’
‘Yeah, they drove off the edge of the Grand Canyon.’
‘I don’t fancy that much.’
‘Well, there are alternatives. I think the biggest reason this has captured so much attention, apart from it’s been a slow news week, is that the girls are all angelic little things and their mother, well, she’s an absolute knockout. Flowing dark hair, green soulful eyes, I mean, shit, I bet half the country has fallen in love with her by now. She’s the ultimate Yummy Mummy—’
James’s voice got cut off as Hayley punched him somewhere painful. He returned somewhat chastened. ‘Yeah, okay, maybe a bit over the top; sorry, but you did see her this morning? I mean, anyone devious enough to get old “silver spoon” Donaldson flustered must be doing something right. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone sit and cry on prime-time TV for five minutes. They couldn’t get a word out of her, very effective. You see what you’re up against? To burst her bubble, you need something really strong.’
‘I could get Nathan to cry on camera … I think.’
‘Nice idea, but the world would just view him as a wuss, where nothing pulls on the heartstrings like a beautiful woman crying. I do have an idea or two, and I’ve got a certain amount of expertise I could bring. Also, I’ve been in touch with an organisation called “Dads for Daughters”, which is a group, as the name suggests, that fights fathers’ causes where and whenever it can. They think they might be able to help you present your side of this so far very one-sided story.’
‘James, neither of us know anything about Dads for Daughters or dealing with the media.’
‘Exactly, that’s why you need some help.’
‘Why do you want to get involved in this, James? It can’t be in your best interests.’
He paused before saying, ‘Well, Hayley asked me to, and maybe I could use it as some sort of atonement for being such a complete twat to the both of you at school? Also, if I’m being totally honest, as I do try to be with Hayley nowadays, it might benefit me in the long run. I’ve been working as a content assistant in the BBC Scotland news and current affairs team for three years now and I really want to move on, get myself noticed, and because I kind of know you guys this gives me an edge I might be able to use.’
‘Not a completely selfless act after all.’
‘No, but if you think about it that can only be a good thing. If it’s a win-win situation then there’s a real incentive in it for everyone.’
‘Why don’t I trust you, I wonder?’
‘Nothing is ever black and white, Kat, but what is being portrayed by Laura now is a very one-sided view of the world, which is very black for you. From what I can gather from what Hayley’s told me, there’s been no mention of the truth in her statements so far and no mention of her rich boyfriend, which is something Donaldson will love. I’ve spoken to the producers of his show and they’re up for us doing a bit to show the other side, as long as you’re in the footage.’
‘Why me?’
‘You’re the evil bitch that’s lured her husband away.’
‘Thanks.’
‘Yeah, well, as I said, that’s where we are with it right now.’
‘What do we do?’
‘We’ll need to get some film of you guys and before that we need to do some coaching so that Nathan looks and reacts well on camera.’
‘But we’re hiding in the Highlands.’
‘We could come up to you. Where’s the nearest airport?’
‘Err, no idea. The nearest train station I think is Tulloch; we drove past it a few hours ago.’
‘I’ve no idea where that is.’
‘That makes two of us. We’ve stopped in this idyllic secluded little spot.’ I gazed around me. ‘It would look incredible on film.’
‘Okay, leave it with me. Don’t move on anywhere else until I can work out how to get there.’
‘Okay, James, I don’t think we are in any hurry to move; it’s lovely in the Highlands apart from the midges.’
‘Ouch.’
‘Yeah, well, they don’t bother me much, but although we’ve only been here a few minutes I can see a cloud of them around Nathan.’
‘Maybe your perfume’s keeping them away.’
‘James, you are really cruising for a bruising.’
‘No, I didn’t mean that. Last year when my wife and I were in Spain the mozzies didn’t bother her and we discovered they didn’t like her perfume.’
‘What kind of perfume? I might get some.’
‘I don’t know.’
‘That’s helpful.’
‘Leave it with me, I’ll organise everything.’
‘The perfume?’
‘No, not the perfume, forget about the perfume.’
‘You mentioned it, not me.’
‘Yeah and I regret it already. I need to know where you are.’
‘The Highlands.’
‘That doesn’t narrow it down much.’
‘The West Highlands.’
‘Again, not a huge help.’
‘I’ll get the coordinates or whatever is in the satnav and text Hayley.’
‘Okay, thanks.’
‘Don’t forget the perfume.’
He hung up.
We spent the next half an hour working out how to unfurl the awning attached to the motorhome, then another twenty minutes trying to get the sides to zip up and the front pinned back. Eventually Millie stepped in and pointed out the hidden clasps that pulled the plastic front up out of the way.
For dinner we had a barbecue with sausages, burgers and thin steaks all bought from the supermarket where we’d stocked up. We’d also invested in some beer, red wine, crisps, bread rolls, along with milk and cereal for breakfast. Nathan sipped a beer watching me and the girls munching burnt meat squeezed into crispy rolls with too much tomato sauce. I smiled at him as grease dribbled down my chin. It somehow felt normal, even though I’d never seen myself in any kind of maternal light, least of all with kids that weren’t even mine.
I suppose everything had a kind of unreal quality about it as we were so far from the hustle and bustle of everyday life – and Laura. I watched Nathan visibly relax for the first time since we’d been to the safari park. His recent stress levels must have been off the scale.
I decided to enjoy tonight and worry about tomorrow … well, tomorrow. It might be fun being coached for the camera. We hadn’t mentioned it to the girls yet; the next morning would be soon enough.
I finished shoving all the debris from the barbecue i
nto a black bin bag and lay back onto the rug we’d spread onto the grass and squinted up at the sky. I hadn’t done this for years and I watched all the little white clouds float by. There were some darker ones gathering in the west but for now I enjoyed the warmth of the evening sunshine.
I hadn’t expected the heat. I’d thought the Highlands would be cold and wet, especially in May, but we’d had the air con on in the van since leaving Glasgow. The heat seemed to have subdued the midges for the time being, or perhaps the smoke from the barbecue had kept them at bay. Suddenly a stream of ice-cold water splashed across my face followed by Millie yelling, ‘C’mon, lazy bones, Dad’s got your water pistol. It’s kids versus grown-ups.’
I jumped up and went to join the fun. The girls had started to learn to play properly and I didn’t want to discourage them.
Chapter 23
That evening after we’d got the exhausted trio to bed, Nathan and I sat outside under the extendable awning on folding chairs. The air had turned oppressively muggy, and the rug we’d draped over our knees to ward off any chill as darkness fell had been dumped on the grass. We were working our way nicely through a bottle of Merlot and our third family-size bag of crisps.
I’d become more than a little tipsy. ‘So, tell me about all your old girlfriends.’
‘Where did that come from?’
‘I’m curious, and slightly drunk, again. You’re a bad influence on me.’
‘I’m sure it’s got nothing to do with me. I didn’t force it down your throat.’
I smiled and kept my eyes straight ahead; the wine made me daring. ‘Are we still talking about wine here, Nathan?’
‘You’ve got a very dirty mind.’
‘True, but you’ve not answered my question.’
‘What question? I’ve forgotten.’
‘No, you haven’t, you’re being evasive – old girlfriends.’
The Second Life of Nathan Jones Page 17
