by S J Crabb
With a heavy heart, I follow her to the school. Tears burn behind my eyes as I think about what I am going to say to Harry. I will have to tell him something because he will surely notice that his father is MIA. Maybe I can make up some sort of story that he is on a secret mission and can't live with us for security reasons. I know, he could be infiltrating a crime ring and can only come back on the odd occasion when the coast is clear. Various scenarios race around my petrified brain, anything to keep from telling him the actual truth, how can I tell him that Daddy doesn't love Mummy anymore?
The playground is packed as usual and I just smile and nod at various other mums as we weave our way through the masses.
I try to ignore the cries of Mr Tumnus who I have tethered to the railings as I venture into the furthest corner of the playground. The trouble is I attract the eye of the last person I want to see - Annabelle Buckley.
A Donatella Versace look-alike who dresses in leopard print and sports the largest black designer sunglasses known to man. She has long bleached blonde hair and a stick thin figure that borders on anorexic. Most of her days are spent at the gym or in the latest fitness class after which she has her nails done or a spray tan. She is married to a record producer and drives the biggest Range Rover that they make. She is the definite queen bee of the playground and everyone aspires to be included in her closed circle. She has a daughter Daisy who is in Harry's class and an older child Sebastian who is in senior school. I feel her eagle eyes zoning in on me and can only wonder if she knows already. I feel Simone stiffen beside me as she anticipates the attack.
Annabelle prowls over to us and fixes us with a probing look. ‘Ladies, you are both looking gorgeous as usual.’
We smile at her nervously and she smiles at us. I say smile but all the happens is that she raises her mouth and shows us her perfect set of veneers, however her eyes remain as cold as ice.
‘I'm glad I've seen you both I was hoping to ask you a favour.’
Now, this is unusual. I can't imagine what on earth we can help her with? She carries on.
‘I am having a little get together at mine tomorrow morning, just a few of my country club friends and I was wondering if either of you were free.’
I can feel the shock radiating from Simone as we look at her with stunned expressions.
Simone recovers first and smiles. ‘I think we're free why how can we help you?’ Donatella smiles. ‘Oh good. I knew that I would be able to count on you both. You see, I need some people to serve the guests with their refreshments. I will obviously be far too busy and your duties would involve handing out drinks and nibbles. You're both absolute lifesavers and I won't forget it. Shall we say 10 am? You know where I live.’
Before we can reply we hear the noise of chattering females subside and know that the moment we have been waiting for all day is about to happen. The school door opens and all eyes turn to take in the divine sight of Mr Rainford.
Everything else is forgotten as we behold the God in front of us. The children race past him which is almost an inconvenience because it distracts the masses from what they really want. He smiles around him and calls out to a few unruly boys who are play fighting, and it is hard for the mums to take their eyes off him.
Edward comes rushing up and pulls on Simone's hand. ‘I'm hungry mummy, can I have some sweets?’
Without taking her eyes off the gorgeous teacher Simone puts her hand into her coat pocket and hands her son a packet of starburst.
Edward runs off in delight as Simone savours every minute of the time she has left before the school doors close. It takes me a while to realise that Harry hasn't come out and I look around me in surprise. ‘Where's Harry, have you seen him?’
Dragging her gaze away Simone looks around us. ‘No, let me ask Edward.’ She calls him over. ‘Eddie darling where's Harry?’
Edward shrugs. ‘He went home.’
Suddenly I feel as if a hand is gripping my heart and squeezing it tightly. Simone catches my eye and looks at me with a frozen look. I manage to stutter out, ‘What do you mean Edward; he should be in school with you?’ Edward looks at me as if I'm stupid. ‘His daddy came and took him.’
Simone reaches over and grabs me, propping me up against the fence before anyone can see. She whispers urgently, ‘Now take your time, put a smile on your face and move towards Mr Rainford slowly and surely. Don't let anyone see that there is anything wrong. I'll cover you, now go, go, go!’
As if on autopilot I cross the playground and head towards the teacher. A puzzled, look flashes across his face as he sees me coming, and as I reach him he smiles. ‘Good afternoon Mrs. Bailey. Did you need to see me about something?’ I look around me furtively and manage to squeak out, ‘Where's Harry?’
A puzzled look comes over Mr Rainford's face and he draws me over to the side and says quietly, ‘Your husband came for him just after lunch. He said that he had a dentist's appointment. There's nothing wrong is there?’ I can feel my world spinning out of control as I try every trick in the book not to react to his words. Lysander has taken Harry, my baby boy, what am I going to do?
Mr Rainford obviously sees my distress and looks at me with concern. He then says loudly, ‘Thanks for meeting me Mrs. Bailey, if you'll come this way please.’ I can feel the playground eyes searing into my back as I follow him inside. He shuts the door and then we are alone.
Chapter Six
Mr Rainford leads me into the classroom and pulls out a chair for me to sit on. Unfortunately, I forget that the chairs are for elves and almost fall over as I wobble precariously on the edge. Fleetingly I wonder if I will ever dislodge myself from it, maybe I will have to wear it like a snail does its home on its back forever more.
Mr Rainford looks at me with a worried expression. ‘I'm sorry Mrs. Bailey but has something happened?’ I look into his gentle brown eyes that are swimming with concern and I well and truly lose it.
Suddenly I am sobbing, great stomach wrenching cries that make me sound like a wild animal. The tears run down my face which must now be quite red and ugly because I have been told on many occasions that I have an ugly cry.
Mr Rainford now looks alarmed for want of a better word and springs forward offering me a tissue from the box on his desk. ‘It's ok Mrs. Bailey, let it all out.’ I feel my body shaking with the effects of my crying and try desperately to regain some sort of control. I just about manage to hiccup, ‘I'm sorry but my husband left me yesterday for another woman and now he has taken Harry.’
To his credit, Mr Rainford keeps calm even though he allowed my son to be kidnapped from underneath his nose. He must now be worrying about the impending scandal and press intervention but I must say that he appears to be dealing with it rather well.
Instead, he brings his little chair over next to me and I notice that like me it appears to be wedged on his back. He puts his arm around my shoulders and I feel him squeezing my shoulder. ‘There, there, it's alright. Harry will be perfectly safe; he is with his father after all. They are probably both at home right now waiting for you and it will all have been a misunderstanding.’
As I feel his arm around me I wonder if it is wrong of me to be perversely enjoying myself at this my darkest hour.
This is every playground mother's dream and I am living it right here and now. He is probably right and I am over reacting, Harry will be perfectly safe with Lysander. Knowing him he is just getting me back for bin bag gate.
Not wanting to shatter the moment I emit a few more sobs and am rewarded by more shoulder squeezing action. I wonder if it will be in bad taste to take a selfie of this moment. The sight of this on my snap chat and I would be viral within seconds.
Mr Rainford hands me another tissue and says softly. ‘Would you like me to get you a cup of tea to help with the shock?’ I sniff and look at him gratefully.
I am sorry but I must be the worst mother in the world at this moment because tea with Mr Rainford is taking priority over locating my son.
He smi
les and pulls the chair from off his back with a flourish.
‘Just wait there and I'll be right back.’
He heads off and I think about what has happened. Lysander has taken Harry to punish me for yesterday. One thing that is obvious is that he is showing me that he can make life extremely difficult for me if I don't cooperate. Perhaps I was a bit hasty in playing the wronged wife before I gave him a chance to explain.
Suddenly my phone buzzes and my heart leaps as I see that it is from Lysander. I focus on the text through my tear infested eyes, and it reads:
Taken Harry to MacDonald's for tea. Be back at 6 pm. Sorry to text rather than email but I thought you might be worried. Maybe we can talk about this like grownups when I get back.
Mindful of Simone's warning I just reply:
Yes.
Almost immediately my phone buzzes again and I can see that it is from Simone.
I'm still waiting. What's going on in there, do you need me?
Rapidly I text back.
No thank you, I'm ok just a misunderstanding. I'll call you later after I've had TEA WITH MR RAINFORD!!!!
I laugh as I see the stream of emoji's flooding my phone. It's strange how you can be at your wits end one minute and unbelievably happy the next.
Mr Rainford comes back in balancing two mugs of tea on a celebrations tin. He hands me one with a smile and once again crushes his body into the chair next to me. Opening the tin, he offers me a shortbread biscuit and smiles. ‘One of the perks of the job. Teacher's presents. I've got more tins of biscuits in there than Tescos.’
I smile and take the biscuit hoping that I don't leave any crumbs on my face. Ugly crying face with crumbs stuck on my tears is not a good look.
He looks at me with concern.
‘I'm sorry to hear your news, Mrs. Bailey, I know that it's not what you want to hear, but this happens all the time these days. Harry is young enough for it not to affect him too much and it is how you handle things with him that matter most now.’ I nod and look at him gratefully and a little bit sheepishly.
‘I'm sorry about this Mr Rainford. You must be so embarrassed. The last thing you need is a hysterical mother airing her private life in your playground.’
He smiles and I sigh inwardly as I see his eyes crinkle up at the corners and the pure sexuality shining from his eyes. ‘You aren't the first and won't be the last that's for sure. If I can be of any help at all you only have to ask. I mean, I can keep an eye on Harry and make sure that he is ok at school.’
I smile at him and nod. ‘Thank you, I would appreciate that. He doesn't know yet and I'm not sure how we are going to tell him. If I'm honest, I still don't think that I've fully taken it in myself. I don't know what the next step is, I mean it's all new to me and I suppose I am trying to just carry on as normal when everything is definitely not.’
He smiles and offers me another biscuit. ‘You must take your time to adjust to things before making any decisions. Let the news sink in and accept any offers of support. I am sure that you are not alone and can count on your friends and family to support you. Don't be afraid to ask for help and before long you will find your path.’
I sink back and then regret the movement as the chair wobbles precariously.
I say quietly. ‘I have Simone but my mother and father live in Spain and I'm an only child. All my friends are couples that I socialise with Lysander. I am sure that they won't want to get involved. I don't even have a job because I am a stay at home Mum. To be honest, when you look at my life it's pretty sad really that that's all I've got to show for my existence so far.’
Mr Rainford frowns. ‘Come on Mrs. Bailey there's a lot more to you than that. You are more than somebody's wife and mother. Maybe it's time you rediscovered who you really are. Let's start right now.’ To my surprise, he holds his hand out and as I reach out, he shakes my hand. ‘I'm pleased to meet you; my name is Daniel and you are?’
I smile and say, ‘Sophie, I'm pleased to meet you, Daniel.’ He grins. ‘Now we are friends. That wasn't so bad, was it? By the time, you've finished you will have many more.’
I laugh and once again wonder if it's in bad taste. Surely, I shouldn't be laughing with a super-hot teacher over tea and shortbread the day after my husband left me for another woman and then abducted my child.
Once again, he grins and then stands up, the chair falling to the floor with a clatter. ‘Now get yourself home and when your little boy comes through that door give him the biggest smile and the tightest hug. He will need a strong mummy now and that is you. I will expect a full update tomorrow, same time same place, now don't be late.’
He reaches down and grasps my hand pulling me up. To my extreme embarrassment, the chair comes with me and is firmly stuck to my behind.
Daniel laughs and punches it so that it joins his in a heap on the floor and grins. ‘I get a worrying sense of satisfaction every time I do that, do you think that I'm a monster?’
I smile sweetly at him. ‘No that's the last word I would use to describe you. Thank you, I mean that. You've been so kind and I really appreciate it.’
His eyes soften and he smiles gently. ‘It was a pleasure, Sophie. Remember you're not alone there are lots of people who are here for you ok?’
I smile and gather up my belongings and leave the room an awful lot happier than I went in.
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