The Happiness Inquisition

by Nōnen Títi

  Beth held her breath as if the honour of her family rested on this answer, but she knew it before Glenn spoke. “They didn’t listen when I said…” Glenn started to cry.

  Beth sat down on his bed. “In that case you should have walked away and gone for help.”

  “I know, but…”

  “Didn’t we warn you about playing with fire?” Will asked. “Josh could have died.”

  “But it was only water.”

  Will ran his hand over his head as if he only now realised that the danger had not been as real as he must have believed the moment he spotted them.

  “I don’t want you playing with those kids anymore,” Beth told Glenn. “It may have been just water, but matches are dangerous on their own and you knew you weren’t allowed to play with them or you wouldn’t have lied about it just now. So you can go and spend the rest of the day in bed without toys and think about that.”

  Will shrugged his shoulders as if he had no idea what else to say and left the room. Beth waited for Glenn to finish changing his clothes and then sent him to the toilet. When he was in bed, she sat back down on the side of it and stroked his head. “I understand that it is hard to stand alone, Glenn, but there are going to be kids trying to make you do all kinds of dangerous things and you have to learn to say no.”

  Glenn pulled the blanket over his head. Beth stood up to shut the curtains. “I’m going now. We will bring you a drink and something to eat, but no playing and no leaving your bed until we say so.”

  When Glenn didn’t answer she left the room. She found Will standing in front of the kitchen window. “It looks like branches and leaves and a whole bunch of clothing,” he said.

  Beth looked at the pile that was left deserted in the garden across the road. “What were they thinking?”

  “Playing witches,” Will answered, as if that was to explain it all.

  While pouring Will and herself a cup of the now-cold tea, Beth wondered if she should go to Doreen to say that it had been only water. From upstairs a weak whimpering sound was audible. Will sipped his tea as if it was still hot and shook his head so now and then. Then he suddenly pushed his cup away. “It’s only two o’clock.”

  “Yes, I know,” Beth answered before looking at the clock to confirm.

  “There’s an awful long part of the day left.”

  “Six hours until his normal bedtime.”

  “I’d go mad if I had to stay in bed that long.”

  “So would I,” Beth admitted.

  Will stood up and started filling up a water bottle. “I think he’s sorry enough.”

  Beth wasn’t sure. “What about consistency? The experts say you should never give in.”

  “They don’t know Glenn,” Will answered. ”Are you coming?”

  Glenn went quiet when they opened the door. He still had his head under the blanket and didn’t move. “I brought you a drink,” Will said.

  It stayed quiet for a while, but then the blanket spoke. “Dad?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are you mad at me?”

  Will sat down on the bed and picked him up. Glenn looked as small as Josh had earlier. “We were angry at what you did, Glenn, not at you.”

  “I’m sorry,” Glenn said and then started crying all over again. Beth sat down next to them. For a while they just sat there until Glenn calmed down.

  “What do you think, Mum, could he maybe come back down?” Will asked.

  Beth had long given up on the ‘be consistent’ advice, but one thing was important to her. “Did Josh choose to be the witch in the game?”

  “They said it was truth or dare, so he had to.”

  “And you agreed with that?”

  “Or they would have made me do it.”

  “In that case I think you should go say sorry to him.”

  Glenn promised to do that, so Beth agreed that he could come down again. She had just made a fresh pot of tea when the others came back.

  “We had ice cream,” Meghan bragged to Glenn, who shrugged his shoulders at her, not yet ready to resume the normal sibling rivalry.

  Beth finally served the cake and peace returned.

  “Thank goodness for that,” Will said.

  Will’s parents left after dinner. Beth had only just finished washing the dishes when the doorbell rang. On the step stood two police officers, one male and one female.

  “Oh, my god, what happened?” Beth gasped thinking Will’s mum and dad may have had an accident. They were getting too old to drive, she’d been saying so for months.

  “Are you Mrs Bonner? It’s about your husband. Is he home?”

  “Why? What happened?”

  “Get him for us, please.”

  “Is somebody hurt?” Beth asked again, by now thankful that her own family was safely at home.

  The two exchanged looks. “That wouldn’t surprise me, since he’s wanted for assault,” the male cop said.

  “What? Will? That’s impossible.” Beth swallowed. “He’d never…”

  “Did he ever hit you?”

  “No, of course not.”

  “Did he ever lose his control with your children before?”

  “The children? No! Will! William, come down please!”

  Cathy came out of the living room to see what the shouting was for.

  “Hi there,” the policeman said. “Do you mind if we ask you some questions?”

  “Will!” Beth hollered.

  He appeared at the top of the steps. “What is it?’

  “The police are here. They’re after you!” Unable to contain the tears, which were more anger than upset, Beth stepped back when Will came down two steps at the time. “What’s going on?”

  “Are you William Bonner?”

  Cathy took her mother’s hand. Beth tried to tell her to go back inside and that it was nothing, but she wasn’t sure if the words came out right.

  “Yes, I am. Why?” Will asked.

  “We have reason to believe you assaulted two children.”

  “What? Who said that?”

  “That’s not important. We have to ask you to come with us to make a report.”

  “Did ‘not important’ also tell you I was preventing an accident?” Will asked.

  “That’s what they all say,” the woman sneered.

  Beth couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “But the kids were playing with matches.”

  “We don’t deal with reasons, only with the law.” The male cop handed Will a folded notice. “At this stage it is an official order, but non-compliance could end in arrest.”

  “Dad, can they arrest you without saying who reported it? Somebody may have made it up,” Cathy said, despite Beth trying to keep her out of it.

  Will looked at the paper, then re-folded it. “This is totally ridiculous,” he said. “I’ll go with them and sort it out. Stop worrying, okay?” he said to Beth.

  “But Will…”

  “Just check on Meghan. She was almost asleep.”

  He walked out with the male cop, apparently calm, but the woman stayed in the door. “If you would agree to give a statement, we can protect your children.”

  “We don’t need protecting,” Cathy said.

  “Does your father lose his temper easily?” the woman asked.

  “No.”

  “Did your father ever hit you or your siblings?”

  “Never.”

  The police woman took a moment before starting again. “You don’t have to lie to us. We’re here to help.” She turned to Beth. “Does your husband get angry at all?”

  “Not often,” Beth said.

  “Mum, Meghan is calling,” Glenn shouted from upstairs.

  “I’m coming.”

  “But sometimes. Does he get angry at the children?”

  “Sometimes.”

  “Mum!”

  “And then he hits them, right?”

  The microwave started beeping in the kitchen. Glenn’s warm milk was done. Glenn called again, and Beth was
starting to feel desperate. She couldn’t think. “I don’t know… yes, I guess. Cathy, please go turn that noise off… and check on Meghan for me.”

  “Usually anger control counselling is all that it takes. If you agree to let us advise that, we have no reason to pursue this, but we are obliged to consider the danger to the children, so if you choose to protect him we will have to take your case to court and put the children in a foster care for their protection. It all depends on your willingness to cooperate.”

  “Case?”

  “Just sign here,” the woman said.

  Beth did as she was told with shaking hand and watched the aggressive woman nod at her colleague when walking to the waiting car, while trying to get a glimpse of Will. She closed the door automatically as if having said goodbye to a friend, but with the notion she may never see Will again.

  “You shouldn’t have told her, Mum,” Cathy said.

  “I could hardly lie to the police.”

  “I’ll go see Meghan,” Cathy said and went up the stairs.

  “Were they after Dad?” Glenn asked.

  Without answering, Beth went to the kitchen, switched off the microwave and poured herself a juice. It must be a mistake. Somebody must have seen and not realised it was an emergency.

  Glenn came into the kitchen. “Mum, why did the police take Daddy?”

  Beth shook her head, unable to answer for the tears that would come with the words if she did.

  But who? They were all nice people. They all had kids. They would have come to the door, but they wouldn’t have just… Maybe it was those punks of number nineteen? No, unlikely; the police wouldn’t believe them regardless of what they said.

  “Glenn go to bed. Dad will be back soon,” Cathy said, coming into the kitchen. “And Mum, stop crying. That doesn’t help.”

  “Is it because of me?” Glenn asked.

  “No, of course not. Why would you think that?” Beth asked.

  “I don’t know. When is Daddy coming back?”

  “I don’t know. You can’t wait up for him. It could be late…” If he came back.

  “They said a report, Mum. That can’t take hours,” Cathy said.

  She was right, as usual. Will came home just before eleven. “It’s totally ridiculous,” he repeated. “I’m going to kill Martin. I’m not going to be bullied by some pig with an attitude. Off duty, my arse. These people are never off duty. They’ll rat on their own parents if they get a chance.”

  “Martin?” Martin had reported it? After Will had saved his son? That was ridiculous. “But I brought him home. I told Doreen… They’re our friends…”

  What if they all believed that the reason didn’t matter, only the law, like that policeman had said? What if all the neighbours agreed with him? They’d all talk to each other and they’d be watching… “Oh God, we’ll have to move. It isn’t safe here anymore. One word from any of them and we’ll lose the kids.”

  “Shut up, Beth. You’re exaggerating.”

  “Why don’t you call Grandpa, Dad?” Cathy suggested. “He’ll know what to do.”

  “That’ll be the day,” Will answered. “Me going to the Citizen’s Advice Bureau because my dad works there. Besides, shouldn’t you be in bed? This isn’t your concern.”

  “It is my concern.”

  “Cathy, don’t go worrying about it, okay? Maybe nothing will come of it,” Beth said.

  “Something will come of it alright,” Will told her. “Don’t think I’m going to let them get away with putting me on probation or it being on my record. Nobody tells me how to raise my kids.”

  “But he is police. Nobody will take your word over his, you know that.”

  Will insisted he wasn’t going to be bullied and Cathy told her mother that Grandpa would sort it out, but Beth couldn’t not worry about it. Long after Cathy had gone to bed and Will was snoring on the couch, she sat up drinking wine until she stopped shaking.

  The next day Will insisted the kids go to school or people would believe he’d done wrong. But Beth couldn’t help but notice the glances when dropping them off.

  Then, at lunchtime, there was a phone call. There were problems with Glenn and Beth was to come and pick him up. Too nervous to take the car, Beth more or less ran to the school. Cathy was waiting for her at the gate. “I’m coming with you, Mum. Whatever she says, don’t let her send me away.”

  The principal was waiting in the main corridor. “Mrs Bonner?”

  “Where’s Glenn?”

  “Both your children are in my office.”

  Beth followed her in and found Glenn crying on the couch. Meghan jumped up and ran into Beth’s arms. “Mum, she pulled me!”

  “Now Meghan, don’t make up stories,” the principal told her.

  “Meghan doesn’t make things up,” Cathy said.

  It was the tone of her daughter’s voice that alerted Beth to the situation, more than her being here. That same tone Cathy had used to the police. The tone that suggested Beth be very careful about what she said.

  Beth pulled Glenn onto her lap. “Are you okay, baby?”

  “We had a lot of trouble with Glenn today,” the principal started. “He was rude to the teachers, kicked the nurse and initiated fights, especially with the younger children. We had to call one of the parents to take his son home and he has threatened to make a case out of it.”

  “We’ve been having a few problems,” Beth apologized.

  “What nurse?” Cathy interrupted.

  The principal ignored Cathy’s question and insisted she would not deal with aggression. “I must inform you that the school is under obligation to report any behaviour that may be the result of aggression in the home. However, the school counsellor says that if you are willing to cooperate, we can try therapy first for both Glenn and Meghan. They may be less of a handful with Ritalin.”

  “That isn’t fair,” Cathy said. “Glenn never caused any trouble until today and he only got angry because of what they say about my dad and you’re letting them. The yard duty teachers pretended not to notice.”

  Both Meghan and Glenn responded to the change in Cathy’s voice by sitting more upright. She wasn’t normally like this – harsh, mature, and cold. After a moment’s hesitation the principal dismissed that remark as utterly ludicrous. “I’m afraid I have to ask you a few questions. We had a general health check today and it seems that Meghan has a rather big bruise on her arm. Can you explain that?”

  “She fell off her bike two days ago,” Cathy answered.

  “I am asking your mother.”

  “Cathy’s right.”

  “Look, Mrs Bonner, I don’t like this any more than you do, but I have to ask these questions. The counsellor gave me an information package that will help you find the right kind of help for your situation.”

  Beth automatically accepted the folder, relieved that the interrogation appeared to be over.

  “How did a nurse touch my brother and sister?” Cathy asked.

  “It was just routine,” the principal answered and stood up to indicate it was time to go.

  “Where did they touch you?” Cathy asked Meghan.

  “Please, Cathy, don’t make a scene,” Beth pleaded. “We’ll call Grandpa and let him sort it out.”

  “On my arm,” Meghan answered.

  “Look, I did not pull your daughter and I advise you not to make a big deal out of this. It only takes one phone call from the school and a social worker will be ringing your doorbell. I’m only saying it to warn you. We are here to protect the children.”

  Beth had no idea how to respond. For the first time in her life she envied Cathy’s cool, which was so like her father’s. Their brains didn’t get all confused if people said nasty things to them. Cathy kept her facts clear and today she had stood up, using just a tone of voice, to protect her siblings. When they were finally outside, Beth thanked her.

  “You’re too nice, Mum. Couldn’t you sense that she was trying to trap you?”

  Beth s
imply couldn’t control her emotions the way her husband and daughter did, so she lost the fight against the tears.

  “Let’s call Grandpa when we get home, Mum,” Cathy said.

  “Dad doesn’t want to involve them.”

  “He has to, Mum. They were there. They can be witnesses for our side.”

  Beth heard in Cathy’s voice that she was struggling against her own emotions. “Okay, I’ll call them. Oh Cathy, I’m so sorry. Let’s get all of us a big treat, okay?”

  But going to the shopping centre wasn’t a treat anymore. Everywhere Beth started to feel that people were looking at her. The worst was getting into her own street. Curtains seemed to move in every house when she walked by. What were they thinking?

  It was a relief to close the door behind her. She didn’t want to live here anymore. She wouldn’t be able to while knowing… Cathy was right. She had to call Will’s parents, but Will wouldn’t be happy.

  “Call before he comes home,” Cathy suggested.

  “No. We have to be together in this. I can’t go behind his back. Not now, especially not now.”

  Even if she’d wanted to, Beth wouldn’t have had time to call. The plumber’s van came up the street faster than it should have knowing the amount of pets that could suddenly appear. Will slammed the door when he came in.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “This woman told me I wasn’t needed because her children were home sick. What did she think I’d do, flush them down the toilet?”

  “We need to call your parents. Maybe the kids can go there for a few days, until things calm down,” Beth said.

  “No way. We are not giving in to their lies. The moment we do that, they will have won. We need to keep acting normal.”

  “But the kids…”

  “We’ll talk to them.”

  “But look at this. The principal gave it to me. They want us to get the kids on medication and allow the school counsellor to talk with them or they can’t come back and look at these.”

  Will took the leaflets about spousal abuse off her. Beth expected him to get angry, but he merely shook his head. “I guess I wasn’t allowed to see those. They’re trying to set you up against me, and, Beth, you have to understand something. If it comes to the crunch, I want you to agree to divorce me.”

  “What? Are you… I don’t understand.” She really didn’t want to cry, but it was all so mixed up.