by Linda Huber
‘Listen to me, Hailey. Miss McLure told me she doesn’t like the way you behave at school. Not at all. She wants you to talk more. Laugh. Be like all the other children. And Hailey - ’
She squeezed the child’s arm again, feeling muscles give way beneath her fingers, and Hailey screamed. Furious now, Jennifer entwined her other hand in the thin hair and twisted, pulling Hailey to her feet.
‘Don’t be such a stupid baby! Listen. This is very important. You know I don’t want you talking about anything before we moved here. Do you understand? Talk about this house, and school, but nothing else. I’ll act immediately if you talk about the wrong things, you know, and you won’t like it. Not one bit.’
Hailey rolled tear-filled eyes towards Jennifer.
‘Tell me what you have to do. I want to be sure you understand.’
The voice came out in a whisper, and Jennifer strained to hear.
‘Laugh and play at school and not talk about the last house.’
‘Perfect,’ said Jennifer, giving the child’s arm another vicious squeeze before releasing her. ‘Off you go to bed, now, it’s high time you were asleep. Oh, and another thing Hailey, this idiotic running to the bathroom every five minutes must stop. Immediately. Is that quite clear? You know what will happen if you disobey me.’
Hailey stared at her, unmoving, and then to Jennifer’s fury she gave a sudden gulp and then retched.
Jennifer seized Hailey’s shoulders with both hands and pushed her towards the door. The little girl’s head collided with the door frame, and she dropped like a stone and lay still.
It was Jennifer’s turn to stare.
‘Come on, Hailey. Stop being stupid. Get up this minute.’
But Hailey lay motionless. Jennifer bent over her. The child was unconscious.
Chapter Fourteen
‘Bad, was it?’ said Mark, when they had ordered wine to go with their meal.
‘Oh, it was just such a cold house. Hailey has everything she could wish for, except jeans, but there was no warmth at all between her and her mother. I was there for nearly an hour, and in all that time Hailey didn’t utter a single word to her mum. Not one single word. And they didn’t touch each other, either, except when Mrs Marshall was arranging Hailey’s clothes. I mean, can you believe it?’
Katie went on to tell him what Jennifer Marshall had said about Hailey’s problems.
‘I couldn’t make her change her mind. And I couldn’t even begin to talk about how Hailey ran off at the beach the other morning and came back crying. So I went upstairs and hung the gull from the ceiling. Her bedroom’s wonderful, but she told me that they’d lost her favourite old teddy when they moved. She just sounded so sad.’
‘Strange,’ said Mark. ‘Favourite teddies are usually right at the top of most parents’ list of “things that absolutely mustn’t get lost while moving”. Mrs Marshall doesn’t seem to be a very nurturing kind of parent, does she?’
‘Yet it’s “Hailey darling” all the time,’ said Katie. ‘I’ll need to think about what to do next.’
‘Carry on what you are doing,’ said Mark. ‘Hailey spends seven hours a day, five days a week at school. Use that time, help her. She’s obviously one of those poor little rich kids -swimming in possessions and emotionally deprived.’
‘You’re right. And what will happen when those babies arrive is anyone’s guess. It makes me glad I grew up in a two bedroom terrace in Leeds.’
Their food arrived then, and Katie realised that she was hungry. Mark’s ‘chippie’ was really a tiny restaurant, just seven or eight tables squeezed into a narrow room between the Christian Bookshop and a laundrette. There were people here too, real people talking to each other and laughing. Katie looked down at her plate and took a deep breath of wholesome, fish-scented air.
‘Good, isn’t it?’ said Mark, and Katie nodded, grateful when he went on to chat about food while they were eating. But in spite of – or maybe because of – the warmth and sheer normality of the restaurant, her mind returned to Hailey in that comfortable, cold house.
‘I think I’ll do Families instead of Farming as my next theme,’ she said suddenly. ‘I could start after the October holiday.’
‘Don’t rush into anything,’ said Mark. ‘Remember, Mrs Marshall gave you a very definite “hands-off” warning.’
‘Oh, you have no idea how subtle I can be,’ said Katie grimly. ‘And I have to help that child, Mark. There’s something going badly wrong for her, she’s crying out for help.’
‘Just don’t help her so much that her mother removes her from school,’ said Mark, signalling for the waiter.
‘My treat,’ said Katie. ‘Remember? Shall we have coffee at my place? A quick coffee?’
He went home well before ten o’clock, but Katie’s mind was churning much too hard to think about sleep. This had been her worst day by far since taking over the infant class, and she knew she should tell the Head, Jeanette, what had happened, in case Mrs Marshall complained.
Katie’s cat, Mr Chips, jumped up for a cuddle, and she was glad of his warm heaviness on her lap. Idly stroking his soft fur, Katie thought about the situation. She knew she shouldn’t get too close, and she was aware that she had done nothing but worry about Hailey all evening. That wasn’t good; she had to keep things professional.
Tomorrow she would book a talk with Jeanette and see what she thought. But right this minute tomorrow was hours away; her pupils would certainly all be asleep by this time and she should be too. Time for bed.
Chapter Fifteen
She would phone that nice Doctor Evans. He’d given Hailey her certificate for school, surely he would come and help them now.
Her knees shaking, Jennifer stepped over Hailey’s still form and grasped the phone. Dark, terrifying thoughts were swirling in the back of her mind. She couldn’t lose her darling Hailey, not now. Not again.
It wasn’t Doctor Evans but his answering machine that took her call, calmly informing her that at this time of night she had the choice of calling 999, or the NHS number for non-emergencies. Jennifer broke the connection and went to look at Hailey again. The child hadn’t moved, and Jennifer felt a practice contraction pull at her belly. She lifted the phone again and heard her own distraught voice describe her daughter’s fall. After a short conversation the NHS service promised to send a doctor within the next few minutes.
Jennifer replaced the phone and rubbed her middle. She glanced at the child on the floor. Hailey had come downstairs for something... the doll?... and then she had tripped and fallen, hadn’t she... yes... of course it was all Hailey’s fault. Jennifer had been so angry, she couldn’t remember exactly what had happened, but she was sure this was the case. What a silly little girl.
Hailey’s eyelids were fluttering, she was moving her head. Jennifer knelt beside her.
‘Hailey darling? Wake up, that’s a good girl. Wake up now.’
Hailey gave a hiccup and rolled to her side. Relief washed over Jennifer.
‘You silly little thing. You fell and banged your head. Do you remember?’
‘No,’ said Hailey hoarsely, and Jennifer nodded.
‘You tripped. I think you tripped over your doll.’
She pulled herself to her feet and fetched the doll from the corner. Hailey sat up, her face pale, and Jennifer examined the child’s head. No blood, thank goodness, but a very respectable bump had appeared on the left side.
The doctor arrived and was sympathetic.
‘All part and parcel of childhood,’ he said, flashing his torch into Hailey’s eyes. ‘Kids dash about the place and sometimes they fall over, it’s a fact of life. Don’t beat yourself up about it, Mrs Marshall. Right, young lady, watch my finger... good. How do you feel?’
‘I bumped my head,’ whispered Hailey.
‘We’ll get Mummy to put a nice cold cloth on it in a moment,’ said the doctor. ‘Or one of those cold-packs, if you have one. No medicine needed.’
He smiled at Hailey, then t
o Jennifer’s relief he began to pack his things into his bag.
‘She seems to have got away with it. Kids are tough, don’t worry. If she feels sick in the night, if her headache worsens, or if she complains of blurred vision - don’t waste any time, call an ambulance. You should wake her every two hours and make sure she’s orientated. Again, if she’s not, call an ambulance. And take her to your own doctor tomorrow morning and get her checked again.’
Jennifer saw him out, conversing graciously, her panic now gone. She fetched a cold washcloth from the bathroom and placed it on Hailey’s head. The child looked up at her without speaking.
‘You’ll be better tomorrow,’ said Jennifer. ‘On you go up to bed now. Look at the time!’
Hailey, pressing the washcloth to her head, doll under the other arm, stumbled out to the hallway without a backward glance. Jennifer sat back. She knew she had overreacted about Miss McLure. As Hailey’s teacher, of course she was concerned. But Hailey hadn’t talked about what she shouldn’t, so everything would be just fine. She would make a point of being extremely pleasant to Hailey’s teacher next time they spoke. Just to show that everything was normal.
The phone rang, and Jennifer struggled up to answer it. This would be Phillip again - she had forgotten to call him back. The time difference sometimes made it tricky to organise calls but this was a good time, afternoon in sunny California and evening here in England.
It was Phillip, and Jennifer forced herself into her role of a non-pregnant wife missing her husband.
‘Hi, Jennifer honey, how are things with you?’
‘Phillip, darling! I was just about to call you back. Everything’s fine, but tell me how you are. And darling Gran, of course.’
‘Well, good and bad. She’s still lucid and the pain’s more or less under control. They say she’ll have another six weeks or so, but she wants me to come home, Jennifer. She wants to say goodbye now while things aren’t too bad. She’s proud, you know, and I think she feels guilty about me being away from work so long too. So I’m planning to wait until next week for her birthday, and then catch a flight to Heathrow on the Friday. Why don’t you come to town and meet me? We could spend a couple of days in London, treat ourselves a bit, and then drive back down to Cornwall at the beginning of the week. How about it?’
Jennifer thought swiftly. A weekend in London would have been marvellous before her pregnancy, but the babies...
‘Jennifer?’
Jennifer made her voice warm and loving.
‘Darling, I’d much rather spend the weekend right here in our new home. I can’t wait for you to see it all. Just come straight on down to Newquay and get a taxi home. I’ll be waiting here, and oh, darling, I’ve got such a surprise for you!’
For a brief moment there was silence at the other end of the phone. When Phillip spoke again Jennifer could hear the tension in his voice.
‘Sure, of course I can do that. Jennifer, are you alright? You sounded a bit odd there.’
Jennifer laughed. ‘Now I know you’re coming home I am so alright you wouldn’t believe it. Phillip, you’re going to love the house... and the surprise.’
‘And you’re quite okay? No bad dreams, nothing like that? Are you still taking the pills?’
‘Everything is absolutely fine, I promise. But I have missed you, darling. I’m so glad you’re coming home. It’s been a long time.’
To her relief, the tension left his voice. ‘I know. I’ll see about flights and talk to you soon. Take care.’
‘You too. Love to Gran.’
Smiling, Jennifer put the phone down. How wonderful. Phillip was coming home.
She sat on the sofa, watching as the living room turned bright with happiness. It was like one of those snowstorm ornaments children sometimes had, where you shook a little plastic ball with a winter scene inside, and sparkling snow swirled round. It was dazzling.
But... something had been dark too, something bad had happened... Jennifer found she couldn’t remember exactly, and it was boring trying to think about bad things when everything was so bright and lovely. She focussed on the brightness: Phillip would soon be here. He and Hailey and the babies were all that mattered. Her own little perfect world.
She rose to check that Hailey was asleep. The child was huddled in the corner of her bed, baby doll clutched in her arms. Jennifer removed the doll in case it woke Hailey in the night and stood looking down at her daughter. A bright halo was shining round Hailey in the dimness of the bedroom. She looked just like an angel.
Back in the kitchen, Jennifer made tea to take upstairs. She would sleep well tonight, she was sure. A packet of pills on the shelf beside the sink caught her eye and she lifted it. These were Hailey’s pills, they should be in Hailey’s bathroom.
Humming, she took the pills upstairs along with her tea and dropped them into the shell box Hailey had made at school last week. A lovely box made by her beautiful daughter.
What a splendid day it had been.
Chapter Sixteen
Katie knocked on the door of Jeanette McCallum’s office. It was time to confess about yesterday’s disastrous home visit, and she wasn’t looking forward to it.
The Head listened without speaking as Katie detailed Hailey’s problems and then as much as she could remember of the unsuccessful visit to the little girl’s home.
‘Hailey looked like a sulky teenager most of the time, except for this really weird smile she kept flashing. And Mrs Marshall wants to deal with the whole thing by pretending everything’s fine. She practically threw me out. I should have realised that the direct approach wasn’t the best option there.’
‘Well, it’s easy to be wise after the event,’ said Jeanette. ‘And we should remember too that Mrs Marshall probably isn’t her normal self at the moment. Pregnancy does that to you. I was in floods of tears from start to finish; I must have kept several tissue manufacturers going all by myself. They probably wondered what had happened when Maxine was born and I stopped buying fifteen boxes of the things every week.’
She sighed reminiscently, and Katie laughed. ‘She must get tired, and of course she’s on her own at the moment. Maybe we should offer them a place on the school bus for Hailey. The Newquay bus goes right past the end of their road. That would give Mrs Marshall more time to rest.’
‘Good idea, and Katie, don’t be too hard on yourself. Mrs Marshall is obviously a difficult parent. Let’s wait and see what happens when Hailey’s dad gets back. If things haven’t improved in a few weeks then we can think about getting a psychological assessment done, but from what you’ve said, that wouldn’t go down well with Mrs Marshall and it’s early days for Hailey still.’
Cheered by the support, Katie walked along to the school office to phone Hailey’s mother before she left to pick her daughter up. She still felt guilty about her handling of the home visit, but it was good to know that her boss was on her side.
The secretary tactfully left the room while Katie punched out the number and listened as the phone started to ring.
‘Yes?’
As usual, Mrs Marshall sounded distant and haughty, and Katie struggled to make her own voice warm and pleasant.
‘Hello, Mrs Marshall, this is Katie McLure at Polpayne Castle Primary. I was wondering if you’d like Hailey to come to school by bus for a while? There’s room on the Newquay bus, and it would give you more time to rest.’
The other woman’s voice was surprisingly gracious.
‘What a kind thought, thank you so much. But I would be a little afraid that the other children on the bus would tease Hailey. As you know yourself she might not cope with that.’
‘So you’d prefer just to bring her yourself as usual?’
‘Yes. My husband should be home by next weekend, and things will be easier then.’
They exchanged a few closing pleasantries before Katie put the phone down thankfully.
That had gone alright, she thought. In fact it had gone very well, maybe she had caught the ot
her woman on an off-day yesterday.
Katie returned to the classroom where Nora and Alison were overseeing the children at play. Hailey was sitting by herself in the baby-corner, a doll clutched in her arms. How pale she is today, thought Katie, clapping for silence.
Derek was having a bad day, which meant that several other children were over-excited too. Katie had her hands full, and heaved a sigh of relief when Nora and Alison eventually took the still-squabbling mob outside to wait for buses and parents. She straightened the chairs round the craft table and then went round the corner to the play area. It was the cleaner’s job to tidy up, but it wasn’t fair to leave the place in a state like this. She would just...
Voices were coming from the corridor.
‘... not good enough, Hailey. You really are careless. If anything like this happens again we’ll have to see what... ’
It was Mrs Marshall. Katie hurried round to the classroom area to see Hailey and her mother entering the room. Hailey was even paler than before, and her mother’s face was grim.
‘Miss McLure, I’m so sorry. This silly child has lost her hairband, have you seen it?’
Katie smiled as pleasantly as she could. The graciousness shown by Mrs Marshall on the phone just half an hour ago was now entirely missing.
‘Let’s have a look. I’m not surprised she took it off, it was very warm in here this afternoon, wasn’t it, Hailey?’
The child stared, then glanced up at her mother and said, ‘Yes, Miss McLure’ with the same big smile she’d used the day before.
Troubled, Katie smiled back then started to search around. She soon found the hairband in the baby corner and gave it to Mrs Marshall, who immediately pulled it over Hailey’s head.
‘Thank you. I’m afraid we must rush off now.’
‘Of course. Hailey worked very hard today, Mrs Marshall, that’s probably why she was tired and forgot the band.’
