Happy Families

by Janey Fraser

  Then she looked up at Bobbie with an expression that her daughter could read all too clearly. Please make them behave, she was saying. This means a lot to me. ‘Where’s Rob?’ She gave a little nervous laugh. ‘Don’t tell me he’s in the office on Mothering Sunday.’

  Daisy looked important. ‘Dad’s still cleaning the downstairs loo cos Jack did this big …’

  ‘That’s enough!’ Bobbie virtually pushed her mother through the recently repaired glass doors (Jack again) into the lounge. ‘Would you like a drink?’ She grabbed the bottle of wine which had been breathing on the side.

  ‘You keep wine in reach of children?’ Dr Know’s eyebrows were raised.

  ‘Well, not usually.’ Bobbie felt even more flustered. ‘It’s only because we have guests.’

  ‘But what if they help themselves?’

  Daisy did a little pirouette. ‘I’ve tried wine before!’

  There was a knotting of eyebrows and a stroking of the goatee beard. ‘You have?’

  ‘It was when Mel babysat us.’

  More raising of the eyebrows followed by more furious stroking. ‘Your babysitter drinks?’

  ‘She’s not our sitter any more cos she smokes,’ piped up Jack.

  Oh God. He was flicking bogeys at Dr Know.

  Ding dong.

  ‘There she is.’ Bobbie had given up. ‘You can meet her for yourself, along with the rest of her family, including my mother-in-law. Jack, can you open the door?’

  ‘AUNTY PAM! AUNTY PAM! I’VE BROKEN THAT BOWL YOU GAVE US. BUT MUM SAYS IT DOESN’T MATTER COS SHE ALWAYS HATED IT!’

  VANESSA

  At times it was as though Brigid had come back as a completely different person. That old stubborn streak was still there: no, she said firmly, she didn’t approve of Sunshine watching television because it might stop her reading. But at other times she was the loving daughter that Vanessa had always wanted. And she was an adoring mother.

  ‘It nearly killed me to stay in India without her,’ Brigid had said on that first night when they’d stayed up into the early hours to talk and talk and talk. ‘But after they’d threatened her I had to get her out somehow. If I’d gone with her, they would have taken both of us.’ She shivered. ‘These men were different from the others. They were ruthless. I might have been killed if I hadn’t gone into hiding after she’d left.’

  So that’s why the Foreign Office hadn’t known anything. No one had reported Brigid’s plight because it had to be kept quiet.

  Vanessa had a lot of gaps to fill Brigid in on as well. ‘Bastard,’ muttered her daughter when she heard about Jason and the DNA test. ‘He had no right.’

  ‘Turned out he wasn’t the father anyway,’ said Vanessa, hoping that her daughter might come clean.

  ‘Course he wasn’t.’ Brigid looked away. ‘Don’t push me on that one, Mum. Not now.’

  Then Vanessa told her about the lump that had to come out. The lump that might or might not be cancer. Brigid cried at that, weeping like a baby in her arms, before blowing her nose and sitting up straight. ‘I’ll look after you,’ she announced firmly. ‘I’ll do some healing on you.’

  If only it was that simple! ‘I’m sorry, love.’ She shook her head. ‘But I just don’t believe in that stuff.’

  Brigid’s mouth tightened and, for a second, she could see the old rebellious Goth teenager. ‘Allow your children to have their own views and don’t expect them to share yours.’ Wasn’t that what someone had said at the parenting course?

  ‘But it’s fine if you believe,’ Vanessa added quickly. ‘In fact, that’s great.’

  ‘Glad you see it that way.’

  Then she told her about social services. ‘I’d like to see anyone trying to take my daughter away.’ Brigid set her teeth. For a minute, Vanessa could see Harry in her face. Strong. Resolute. Stubborn.

  ‘And what about this Brian?’ probed Brigid. ‘Do you really like him?’

  She nodded shyly. ‘But I’m not allowed to see him.’

  ‘He’s married, then?’

  Vanessa was shocked. ‘Of course not. Social services made out that he might be a threat, you see, and—’

  ‘He didn’t hurt you!’

  ‘No!’ She’d forgotten how her daughter would jump in and not let her finish a sentence. ‘They didn’t like him staying over with a child in the house.’ This was so embarrassing!

  ‘Poor Mum!’ Brigid gave her another cuddle. ‘It’s worse than being a teenager and being told that you can’t have a boy in your room.’ She gave her a little look. ‘I’ll never forget how shocked you were when you found Mark upstairs.’

  Had she? There’d been so many boys over the years in her daughter’s room that she’d lost count. ‘Funnily enough, I bumped into his mother at a class. A parenting class actually. She said that Mark had been quite sweet on you.’

  Brigid looked away. ‘It was a long time ago.’

  Really? Vanessa thought of Sunshine sleeping in the next room. How long ago? Seven years? Around the time that Brigid got pregnant? Wasn’t that what Audrey had implied? ‘You know that you can tell me anything.’ She gave her daughter a squeeze. ‘Absolutely anything.’

  ‘Thanks, Mum.’ Brigid stood up and yawned. ‘I’m absolutely exhausted. So is he from the look of it.’ Vanessa had almost forgotten Malik, who was slumped fast asleep on the sofa. ‘Let’s just leave him there, shall we? I’d rather cuddle up with Sunshine, to be honest.’ Her eyes moistened. ‘There were times when I wondered if I’d ever see her again.’

  ‘That’s how I felt about you,’ said Vanessa in a small voice.

  Brigid enveloped her in another big hug. ‘I’m so sorry, Mum. It wasn’t until I had Sunshine that I realised what it was really like to be a mother. Can you forgive me?’

  Of course she could! A week later, they were now gradually getting in a sort of routine. Brigid had spoken to social services and informed them that her mother had merely been looking after her granddaughter while she’d been away on business. Even then, it had taken a lawyer’s letter to sort it out, courtesy of the solicitor mum in class who refused to charge.

  Meanwhile, Brian had come round and, although Brigid had been unusually shy at first (there was something about seeing your old headmaster), they all seemed to get on really well. It helped to take Vanessa’s mind off her operation which was now scheduled for two weeks’ time. ‘We’ll still be here,’ Brigid had assured her. ‘I’ll help to man the shop if you like.’

  If only she still had Bobbie! But she hadn’t seen her since Devon. Part of her wanted to pick up the phone. The other part continued to feel terribly wounded. And confused.

  ‘There’s something else.’ For a moment, Brigid’s eyes refused to meet hers. ‘I don’t want you to feel hurt, Mum, but I’ve decided to get in touch with Dad. All that time without Sunshine got me thinking. Family’s really important, isn’t it? So I’ve been doing a bit of research on the net.’ Her eyes began to shine with excitement. ‘And I think I’ve tracked him down.’

  FIVE THINGS THAT TEENAGERS HATE THEIR PARENTS DOING

  Waking them up to explain how the iPad works.

  Waking them up to go to school.

  Waking them up with sex sounds.

  Waking them up before 2 p.m. at weekends.

  Waking them up.

  Chapter 44

  ANDY

  IT HAD BEEN a mistake coming here. Andy had had his doubts when he’d first heard about the lunch party, but it was even worse when Bobbie opened the door, looking slightly flustered in her pinny that said KISSES FOR THE COOK in big pink letters, and then proceeded to brush all their cheeks in greeting. Including his.

  The feel of her soft skin on his – and her smell – made it impossible for him to stand there making small talk, so Andy made an excuse to slip into the downstairs loo. ‘Pull yourself together,’ he said, addressing the mirror sharply. ‘You’re married. She’s married. End of.’

  When he came out, Andy found a funny little dwarf
of a man in the sitting room, earnestly advising Mel’s ghastly boyfriend that he ought to have a Hep B test in view of his tattoos and ‘numerous metallic adornments’.

  Even worse, a serious-looking Rob came up to him, suggesting they ‘had a quiet word’. Andy braced himself. If this was about Jack telling everyone that ‘Mum had been cuddling Uncle Andy’, he’d tell the truth. Well, partly anyway. He’d explain they’d just been comforting each other but leave out the bit about this stupid boyish crush. That’s all it could be, he told himself fiercely. A crush.

  ‘So,’ said Rob, putting a drink in his hands and leading him towards the garden where it really was incredibly warm for this time of the year, ‘what do you think of Phyllis’s catch?’

  Andy was so relieved that he wasn’t to be interrogated at once that he knocked back half his glass. ‘Bit pushy, isn’t he? He reminds me of a man in …’ He stopped just before saying ‘the home’. ‘I mean, he reminds me of a man at my old school. Always critical but with a crocodile smile at the same time.’

  ‘Exactly.’ Rob’s eyes were now focused on him. Andy began to feel uneasy again. ‘Bobbie says you’ve been a big support to her in the last few months.’

  He could feel the sweat running down his back. ‘I’m not sure about that.’ He took a deep breath. ‘She’s helped me too.’

  ‘Right.’ His brother-in-law’s face was rigid. It had always been hard to know what Rob was thinking: a family trait which made him deeply uncomfortable. ‘So long as it’s not more than that.’

  The words were said in such a low, steady way that Andy wondered if he’d heard them right. Forcing himself, he held Rob’s gaze even though he was shaking inside. ‘What do you mean?’

  His brother-in-law was studying him closely. It was like a duel! Each was determined not to look away first. ‘It can be easy to grow too close to someone you’re working with. I see it all the time in the office and I know that you and Bobbie have been quite involved with this parenting course.’

  Andy’s shirt was clinging to him now with perspiration. But he had to say it. Had to be true to himself. He’d hidden too much in his life. ‘Rob, your wife is a fine woman. One of the nicest, prettiest, most intelligent women I’ve ever met. But it hasn’t been easy for her.’ He shook his head, impatient with himself. ‘It never is when a woman is virtually the sole carer of the kids and trying to work at the same time.’

  ‘I’m aware of that.’ Rob shoved his hands in his pockets; a gesture Andy favoured himself when making a stand. ‘I’ve got a new job.’ He spoke defiantly. ‘It’s in Tyneside.’

  Tyneside? So far away! Andy felt a strange weight descending on his chest. A boy at the home had come from there. They’d taken the piss out of his accent until he’d stabbed one of them with a fork over tea. ‘We’re going to be at opposite ends of the country then.’

  ‘Exactly.’

  This time, there was no doubting the meaning behind the words. ‘There’s something you have to know, Rob.’ He locked gazes with his brother-in-law again. ‘Bobbie adores you. There’s never been anyone else for her. Ever.’

  Something cleared in Rob’s eyes. ‘I’m glad to hear that. Especially in her condition.’

  Was Rob suggesting that he might be the father? That was way out of line! ‘Like I said, Rob, she would do anything for you. Absolutely anything. You’re a lucky man.’

  Rob’s face hardened again. Shit. Maybe Andy shouldn’t have said that last bit. ‘You seem rather familiar with my wife’s views. I trust you know your own wife just as well? My sister’s been telling me about rehab. Sounds as though she’s really been through the mill.’ He glanced through the window at Pamela, who was talking earnestly to the little man with the goatee. ‘Are you two all right?’

  Brilliant, Andy nearly said sarcastically. Absolutely brilliant. We had sex the other night and I only got through by thinking of Bobbie. ‘Pamela’s different,’ he said, knocking back his drink. ‘She’s more relaxed, almost laid-back, and she seems to have come round to Nattie’s modelling contract. She’s been very good about us having to sell the house too.’

  Rob’s face sharpened. ‘You’re moving?’

  So Pamela had kept her promise and not told her brother. That was something. ‘You didn’t know I’ve lost a great deal of money?’

  ‘I didn’t. I’m sorry.’ Rob’s eyes softened in sympathy. That was surprising too! Andy had expected a flash of satisfaction, or even fear: there were people in Corrywood who worried about losing their wealth but also took pleasure in others’ misfortunes. He’d put Rob down as one of them. Maybe he was wrong. Even so, what would he say if he knew Andy had been involved in a murder case?

  ‘It’s only money,’ he said, more to convince himself than Rob. ‘Not health. We’re still working out exactly what we’re going to do and I know that’s worrying Pamela, however well she tries to hide it. But I can’t help thinking that there’s something else that isn’t quite right either.’

  Rob shook his head, as though the answer was obvious. ‘That’s because she needs something to focus on. It’s why I wanted to talk to you privately. Don’t think I’m interfering, but I know my sister. And I’ve got a couple of suggestions to make.’

  Andy came back into the lounge, feeling slightly stunned. He’d never had such a meaningful conversation with his brother-in-law before.

  ‘Ah, there you are, both of you!’ Camilla’s crisp tones met him from the sofa where she was sitting with her usual erect posture, tumbler of gin in her hand, next to Bobbie’s mother, who was reading a Shirley Hughes book with Jack. There was a stale whiff of BO coming from Mel’s boyfriend, who was sitting in the corner with Mel on his lap. Outrageous behaviour, especially in front of the children.

  ‘Robert, darling, do you mind if we just watch the 1.10 before lunch? I’ve got a little something on Upper Cut.’

  ‘That’s the name of Van Van’s friend’s horse!’ sang out Daisy. ‘He owns the front bit.’

  ‘Don’t be silly, darling. And do mind Granny’s knee, won’t you, or you’ll ladder my stockings.’

  How could two grandmothers be so different? wondered Andy. One so maternal and the other so self-centred.

  ‘It is! It is! Sunshine’s Granny’s friend owns half a horse. He told us. He’s going to take us to see it one day.’

  ‘That child’s imagination is too fertile for her own good, don’t you think, Dr Know?’

  ‘Please! Call me Herbert!’ Ugh! He was actually kissing Camilla’s hand. What a creep. ‘As for imagination, in particular that of a child, it can be both a blessing and a curse.’

  There was a feverish stroking of the beard. ‘May I?’ He sat down next to Camilla, so that Bobbie’s mother had to shift along. ‘There is a story I would like to tell you about the machinations of the mind.’ An excited glint came into his eyes. ‘A very dangerous story, which, in my view, was not handled at all well by the parents!’

  Poor Phyllis! She looked like a teenager who was about to lose her boyfriend to an arch rival. ‘Actually, I don’t want to interrupt you, Herbert, but that sounds like Bobbie saying that lunch is ready. Shall we go in?’

  BOBBIE

  This was awful! Mel and that ghastly boyfriend of hers had been all over each other before lunch and even now, at the table, they simply couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Everyone was doing their best not to notice, apart from Pamela. ‘My time in rehab taught me how important it is to show your feelings,’ she was saying loudly to no one in particular. ‘It’s all right, the girls know. I felt it was important to be open.’

  Was this some kind of reverse psychology, intended to make her daughter stop? But her sister-in-law didn’t seem to mind the smooching. Nor was she reproaching Nattie, who was texting flagrantly at the table instead of eating burnt roast chicken. Her fault for giving it an extra two hours, just to be on the safe side.

  Meanwhile, Dr Know (dirty old man), was edging closer and closer to Camilla’s chair so that his face was virtually
in her chest. Yet instead of distancing herself, her mother-in-law seemed to be relishing the attention. ‘I belong to a little arts appreciation society in Sussex,’ she was gushing. ‘I wonder if you might consider coming down to speak to us one day. I could put you up in the spare room. I’d make you very comfortable!’

  Mum was looking increasingly miserable. Bobbie bristled. Should she say something? No. That might make it worse. Meanwhile, Daisy was pretending to be vegetarian again even though she had happily chomped through a bacon sandwich for breakfast this morning. ‘I’m not eating this, Mum. I told you. I don’t eat dead animals any more. Sunshine says it’s cruel.’

  ‘If you don’t eat meat, you won’t get protein!’ Bobbie turned to Rob to seek support but he was passing the bottle of wine around: a rather sharp white which Dr Know had brought, along with a copy of his new book, entitled How to Beat the Little Brats into Total Submission.

  ‘That’s not exactly true, is it, Bobbie?’ Dr Know’s tone was so smug! Couldn’t Mum see what a vain, self-important know-all he was? ‘We must be honest with children, even if their personal views conflict with ours.’ He turned to her daughter, flashing her a sly smile that reminded her of the snake in The Jungle Book. ‘You can get protein, Daisy, through other food like nuts and cheese and certain energy drinks.’

  ‘What about Red Bull?’ butted in Jack. ‘Can that give you pro teen too?’

  All the adults gasped apart from Camilla. ‘Dear me,’ she tittered. ‘Is this Red Bull some kind of new pâté?’

  ‘Where have you tried it?’ demanded Rob, ignoring his mother.

  ‘Mel let us try some when she babysat us,’ piped up Daisy helpfully.

  Andy groaned. ‘She should have asked permission first. Mel, do you hear me?’

  Bobbie, along with the rest of the table, now stared in horror. Mel actually had her right hand under the table and was feeling that awful boy’s …

  ‘MEL!’ Andy thundered, making her jump. ‘WILL YOU BEHAVE YOURSELF!’