Mad About You

by Sinéad Moriarty

  ‘I think I numbed my brain.’

  I told him about Poppy and Claire’s mother, Maggie. James agreed that we should get in touch with Maggie and tell her what Claire had done. James wanted to go to the police immediately, but I felt we should talk to Maggie first – at least give her fair warning.

  I dialled Poppy’s number.

  ‘Darling, what time is it?’

  ‘Eight thirty.’

  ‘I hope this is an emergency. I’m meeting Jasper later and I need my beauty sleep.’

  I filled her in on Claire.

  ‘Oh, darling, I am sorry. I’m astounded. My God, I feel responsible because I recommended her to you and then she turns out to be … I’m shocked. Maggie’s so normal. I presumed her daughter would be too. Emma, how awful for you.’

  Poppy gave me Maggie’s mobile number and I promised to call her back later with an update.

  When James got out of the shower, I rang Maggie and put her on loudspeaker. James introduced himself, then gave a brief outline of last night’s events. His voice was cold and hard: he was furious. ‘We’re going to the police about this. Claire’s behaviour was destructive and, quite frankly, sickening.’

  Maggie said nothing until James had finished, and then she began to sob. We could hear her sniffling on the phone. When she had composed herself, she begged us not to call the police. She asked us to allow her to call over and talk to us, to explain some things. Somewhat reluctantly, we agreed.

  Ten minutes later, the doorbell rang. I opened it. Maggie was standing on the step, with tears streaming down her face, absolutely distraught. I invited her in and led her into the lounge, where James was pacing. We stood facing each other in silence. There were no niceties, no small-talk.

  ‘Did you call the police?’ Maggie asked, clutching a tissue.

  ‘Not yet,’ James told her.

  ‘Oh, thank God.’ Maggie put her hand up to her heart. She seemed on the verge of collapse so I offered her a seat, which she gladly sank into.

  ‘Why did Claire do this?’ I demanded.

  Maggie dabbed her eyes. ‘I’m so sorry. I thought she was OK. I thought she was better and then, last night, she arrived home in a state and told me James was in love with her and wanted to marry her. I knew then that she must have stopped taking her tablets.’

  ‘What tablets?’ James asked.

  ‘Anti-depressants. She goes very high and then very low. For years I just thought it was her hormones, until the incident in school.’ Maggie took a deep breath. ‘She became a bit obsessed with her history teacher, Mr Clancy. He was nice to her – he felt sorry for her because she didn’t really have any friends. Claire’s always found it hard to fit in. She was very badly affected by her dad leaving and she’s no confidence. So she misunderstood Mr Clancy’s kindness and thought he was in love with her. She started texting him and it all got a bit out of hand.’

  Oh, my God, she’d done it before. Why had Maggie not warned us? How could she have let her daughter come into our home when she knew she was unhinged?

  ‘What exactly do you mean by “out of hand”?’ James’s face was flushed with anger.

  Maggie twisted her tissue between her hands. ‘Well, she began to send him texts and emails, and then she started phoning him. When he refused to answer his mobile, she called his home phone and hung up if his wife answered. Sometimes she’d do it twenty times in a row.’

  Now I had to sit down. She had actually stalked poor Mr Clancy’s wife too. This was just too much to get my head around.

  ‘What happened?’ James asked quietly.

  ‘Mr Clancy told her to stop. He said she was imagining he had feelings for her, that he was happily married. So Claire went to the headmistress and told her that Mr Clancy was in love with her and had been touching her and staring at her in class.’

  James cursed under his breath.

  ‘What did the headmistress do?’ I asked.

  ‘Well, Mr Clancy was suspended for a month while the school looked into it. They even got the police involved. They found the texts and emails and it was just awful. They came to the house and told Claire that if she didn’t leave him alone she’d be in big trouble.’

  ‘Did she?’ James asked. ‘Leave him alone?’

  Maggie shook her head. She began to cry again. ‘She kept contacting him. The police came back and said they were going to prosecute her, so I had to pack up everything and leave. We came to London. I had to get Claire away from him. She was so unhappy.’ Maggie looked up at me. ‘I know she’s done wrong, but she’s not a bad person. She’s just a very lost young girl.’

  James slapped his hand on the mantelpiece. ‘I’m sorry, Maggie, but this is a lot more sinister than just a poor young girl thinking someone has a crush on her. She stalked me and Emma, sent sex toys to our home. We have small children. You have to see how threatening her behaviour is.’

  ‘She doesn’t mean it. She’s always been looking for someone to replace her father.’

  ‘I’m sorry, but that’s just not good enough,’ James said. ‘She’s made our lives hell. She almost broke up our marriage. I don’t give a damn whether her father left or not. She cannot do this to anyone else. Frankly, I’m appalled that you didn’t tell us this when we hired her. How could you allow us to employ a clearly unstable person to look after our children?’

  ‘I thought she was better. For the first six months we were in London, she was taking her tablets and she was much less down and she seemed back to the old Claire. I had no idea she’d stopped the medication. And I’d no idea she was stalking you.’ Maggie reached out her hands to James, as if imploring him to believe her. ‘I even called over a good few times to see if you were here. I wanted to see how Claire behaved in your company. I’d have known straight away if I’d seen her with you, but you were always at work. Emma told me you worked late all the time and that you were hardly ever home. I was delighted because I thought Claire couldn’t possibly become obsessed with someone she never saw.’

  ‘It obviously doesn’t take much for her to become obsessed,’ I said drily. ‘But it was wrong of you not to warn us.’

  Maggie put her hands over her face for a moment, then looked at us again. Her voice was low and strained when she said, ‘I never thought she’d do it again. I thought she’d learnt her lesson. I thought a new start would be good for her. She loved your children, adored them – they were all she talked about. She seemed so happy and content with you. I was thrilled. All a mother wants is for her child to be happy. It seems very black and white to you now because your children are small but, believe me, it gets very complicated as they grow older.’

  ‘Claire’s “complications” almost cost me my marriage, and my sanity,’ I snapped. ‘I’ve been going out of my mind with worry and paranoia. This isn’t some little mistake she’s made. Her behaviour was incredibly destructive. Claire doesn’t need pills, Maggie, she needs serious help. She’s out of control.’

  Maggie’s mouth set in a tight line. ‘She’s a lovely girl, really. She’s just confused is all. She’s not mad and I won’t have you saying she is. I brought her here for a new start. I thought it would work. She’s my only child, my baby. You look at your children now and all you see is sweetness and innocence. But they will change. They’ll challenge you in ways you never imagined. They won’t stay sweet and innocent, but no matter what they do, you’ll love them and mind them just the same.’ Her voice caught, and she dissolved into tears, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed.

  James came over and put his arm around me. ‘If my children ever try to destroy someone’s life, I can assure you that I’ll make them face the consequences of their actions.’

  ‘She’s just a confused, lonely girl. Don’t get the police involved, I’m begging you. I swear to you that I’ll take her to a psychiatrist. I know I need to get proper help for her now. I know now this goes deeper than depression. But please don’t let them send her to prison. She’ll die in there. She’s all I have – let
me fix this.’ Maggie buried her face in her hands.

  Despite my rage at what had happened and my anger towards Claire, my heart went out to Maggie. Claire was her only child and you love your children unconditionally. I understood her feelings towards her daughter, of course I did. She had tried to protect and help her by taking her away from Ireland to start again. And Maggie had called into our house to check up on Claire and she had asked me about James working late. She had tried, in her own way, to protect us and make sure Claire wasn’t up to anything. Unfortunately, she just didn’t realize how delusional her daughter was.

  James went over to Maggie and patted her shoulder. ‘Please calm down. If you promise to send Claire to a psychiatrist and keep her far away from here, I won’t go to the police. But if I see her again, near our home or my workplace, I’ll contact the police immediately, no questions asked. I’ve kept records of everything she sent and all of her text messages. Do you understand?’

  Maggie nodded. ‘Thank you,’ she whispered. ‘I promise you’ll never see either of us again. I’ll hand in my notice to Poppy today. I’ll find work somewhere else. I won’t let Claire out of my sight until I’m sure she’s well enough to handle things.’

  I walked Maggie to the door. She handed me our house key on the Hello Kitty key-ring Claire had used. The poor woman seemed to have aged ten years overnight. I squeezed her arm. ‘Good luck. I hope you can get her well.’

  Maggie walked down the path to the gate, shoulders hunched. She was a weary woman with a long road ahead. I closed the door. It was over. Strangely, I didn’t feel elated or happy. I was drained. I longed to lie down and sleep for a very long time.

  39

  James and I spent an hour straightening up the house, then headed over to Babs’s apartment to see the children. I wanted to feel their little arms around me. But when we got there, Babs was on her own. She had phoned work and told them we weren’t going to make it in. At this rate I’d probably be fired, but I didn’t care. I had decided to hand in my notice. I wanted to spend more time with Yuri and Lara and I needed time to clear my head.

  ‘Where are the kids?’ I asked.

  ‘Mum and Dad have taken them to the park. They said they’d meet me for lunch at Luella’s on Fulham Road.’ She cocked her head to one side. ‘Are you going to tell me what happened between you two? I take it a sleepover is a positive thing?’

  I sighed and sank onto the couch. ‘You tell her, James, I haven’t the energy.’ I packed up the children’s things while he filled Babs in on the night before and the meeting with Maggie this morning. It was the first time I’d seen Babs listen quietly for ten straight minutes in a row.

  ‘So, I was right about her.’ She shook her head. ‘I knew from the beginning she was weird.’

  ‘I should have listened to you.’

  ‘But you chose to ignore me, like everyone else in the family,’ Babs grumbled.

  James picked up a suitcase. ‘I’ll pop this in the boot and we can head out to meet your parents, let them know everything’s all right.’

  I flopped down on the edge of the bed. ‘I’m shattered. I can’t believe this happened.’

  Babs reapplied her lipstick in the mirror. ‘It’s over now, Emma. You can forget all about crazy Claire and being stalked and start being nice to James after all your accusations. The poor guy was totally innocent the whole time.’

  I leant my head against the wall. Forget about it. Was that it? Was I just supposed to pretend it had never happened and move on? Was I supposed to be madly in love with James again just like that?

  This must be what it’s like coming back from war, I thought. After you’ve lived through hell, everyone just expects you to put your backpack away, change out of your uniform and be ‘normal’. The fact that you got your leg blown off is irrelevant. The consensus is, ‘It’s over, move on. Forget about it – sure haven’t you got your prosthetic now and sure you’re grand. You were never very sporty anyway. It’s not as if you were out running marathons. People live full lives with one leg. No point dwelling on it. Just put it behind you. One good leg is enough for anyone. Come on, let’s all sit down and have a nice cup of tea.’

  I wasn’t comparing myself to a soldier with one leg, of course, but I did feel that a single night was not quite enough time for me to forget about the stress and hurt of the last couple of months. And I still felt sick about the kids being with someone so disturbed. I really needed to talk to the children, to make sure Claire hadn’t said anything awful to them or done anything cruel.

  When we got to the restaurant, I rushed over and hugged Yuri and Lara. For once, they didn’t complain. They flung themselves at James, too. Mum and Dad looked at me expectantly.

  ‘Please let me tell them,’ Babs said.

  I couldn’t help smiling at her dramatics. ‘Knock yourself out,’ I said.

  While James and I distracted the children, Babs gave Mum and Dad a detailed account of the whole thing.

  Mum sat back. ‘I told you James was no philanderer.’

  James went bright red and mumbled, ‘Thanks, Una.’

  ‘Why is Daddy all red? What’s a fladerer?’ Lara asked.

  Babs and Dad snorted behind their menus.

  ‘Nothing, never mind. Now listen to me, both of you.’ I turned in my seat so I was facing them. ‘This is serious, so I want you to be really honest and I promise that, no matter what you say, I will not be cross, not even a tiny bit cross, so just tell Mummy the truth.’

  ‘Not even a tweeny bit cross?’ Lara asked.

  ‘No.’

  ‘Not even the tweensiest bit in the whole universe?’ Yuri asked.

  ‘No. Now just listen, OK? Daddy has found out that Claire was a bit naughty and we just want to make sure that she didn’t say anything mean to you or do anything that wasn’t nice.’

  ‘I love Claire. She’s super-nice,’ Lara said.

  ‘Claire’s not naughty,’ Yuri added.

  ‘Well, now, there you are. She did them no harm. She was just a confused young girl. Don’t make a big fuss, Emma. Leave the poor children alone,’ Mum urged. ‘Don’t be making a mountain out of a molehill.’

  I glared at her. ‘She’s a raving lunatic, and they spent more time with her than anyone else.’

  ‘Darling, it might be best to do this later,’ James suggested quietly.

  ‘I need to know they’re OK,’ I said. ‘This is about my sanity.’

  ‘You said you wouldn’t get cross,’ Yuri said, pointing to my flushed face.

  I fake-smiled at him. ‘I’m not! Look!’

  ‘That’s a scary smile,’ Lara said solemnly.

  I took a deep breath. ‘Mummy just wants to know if Claire was ever mean in any way or did anything a bit strange.’

  They shook their heads.

  ‘What did Claire do that was bold?’ Yuri asked James.

  James crouched down. ‘She was mean to Mummy and we’re cross with her for that.’

  Lara’s eyes widened. ‘What did she do, Mummy? Did she scratch you? Did she bite you? Did she break your sparkly shoes?’

  ‘No, sweetie, she didn’t,’ James reassured her. ‘Claire was just … well, she was a bit nasty to Mummy and she said some mean things.’

  ‘Did she say you’re a big fat piggy?’ Yuri asked.

  ‘No.’ I frowned.

  ‘Did she say you’re an ugly old witch?’ Lara wondered.

  ‘No. It wasn’t –’

  ‘I know!’ Yuri jumped up and down. ‘Did she say you’re a grumpy old troll?’

  ‘Jeez, guys, go easy on your mum. She’s not that bad.’ Babs grinned.

  ‘Feel free to jump in and defend me anytime, James.’

  ‘Sorry, darling. I thought you’d made it clear you wanted to handle this yourself.’

  ‘Poor man was afraid of having his head ripped off,’ Dad muttered, still behind his menu.

  ‘Enough of this nonsense! Leave the poor children alone – can’t you see they’re perfectly f
ine?’ Mum said.

  ‘WHAT DID CLAIRE SAY?’ Lara shouted.

  ‘It was a grown-up thing and it doesn’t matter, sweetheart,’ James said.

  ‘I need to go to the toilet,’ Yuri announced.

  ‘Any chance of a man getting a bite to eat around here?’ Dad grumbled.

  James took Yuri to the Gents and Lara insisted on going with them, probably to get away from me and my interrogation.

  ‘That went well,’ Babs remarked.

  ‘Leave the children alone, Emma,’ Mum said. ‘That poor young girl was just looking for a father figure and took a shine to James. It’s hardly surprising – he’s so kind and handsome.’

  ‘I was the one who hired Claire,’ I snapped. ‘I was the one who was nice to her. I was the one who boosted her ego. I was the one who tried to get her to come out of her shell and praised her all the time. Me. Not James, me. And yet somehow I still get trampled on. Somehow I’m the bad guy who gets stalked. I can’t seem to catch a break.’

  ‘Oh, boo-hoo,’ Babs drawled. ‘Next time hire a male nanny and maybe he’ll fancy you if he’s into bossy older women. And he can send James nasty texts.’

  ‘That’s not what I mean, I just feel … well …’

  ‘Stupid? Guilty?’ Babs suggested.

  ‘Drained,’ I admitted.

  Mum unfolded her napkin. ‘That’s enough drama for one day. Put a smile on your face and be nice to your poor husband. Put this behind you and move forward. Don’t be always looking back, Emma. Don’t dwell on the past. Try to be more positive – remember, the glass is half full, not half empty. Now, let’s talk about something else. Barbara, have you met a nice boy yet?’

  I held my breath.

  ‘Not yet.’ Babs closed her menu. ‘I met a real jerk recently, but don’t worry, Mum, he’s gone.’

  ‘I’d love to see you settled with a nice man and some children.’

  ‘Mum,’ I tried to distract her.

  ‘I think children would be the making of you,’ Mum continued. ‘They’d calm you down and stop you thinking only of yourself all the time.’