by Ali Gardner
“However,” said the Pig, “I have not yet told your dad what you said to me, Libby – and I think if he finds out, he will be even more cross.” Libby looked down; of course she had remembered calling the Pig a pig, but she had just reacted in anger. She also knew that her dad would be very cross about this. The Pig explained how hard it had been to speak to their dad about their behaviour. She said that Dad had been very disappointed, and that he didn’t know how much longer he could go on with the girls on his own and that he might try to talk to someone about it. The girls had no idea what this meant and who he might talk to about what, but, having lost one parent, their greatest fear in life was to lose the other.
“So I am willing to do a deal with you two girls,” smiled the Pig.
“When Dad arrives home, you will not try and tell him another story; you will stick to the one he knows and, in return, I will not tell him that you called me a Pig.” The Pig held out her hand to Libby to shake and seal the the deal. Slowly, Libby raised her hand and half-heartedly shook the Pig’s hand.
Dad arrived home that evening and, as agreed, Libby and Janey stuck to the Pig’s story. After speaking to the Pig in private, Dad told her to leave early. The girls watched as Dad brought the Pig her coat and thanked her again for all her hard work. As Dad turned back towards the house, Janey began to cry. Without speaking to one another, both Libby and Janey resigned themselves to going along with the Pig’s account of today’s events. Dad sent the girls to their room and told them that he would be up to speak to them shortly.
The next day, the Pig was there at the school gates with a smug grin on her face as the girls appeared. Libby and Janey didn’t say a word; they just walked home obediently with the Pig, and followed all her instructions. This continued all week as the girls became flatter and flatter. The girls only talked to the Pig when they had to, and rarely spoke to each other from fear of saying or doing something wrong. Some evenings would be spent in silence until Dad returned, at which point the Pig would switch on the Mary Poppins act, as Libby liked to call it.
The Pig would fool Dad that everything was “hunky dory, super fabulous.”
A couple of weeks later, the girls enjoyed their first half-term holiday. They had a lovely week with Dad, with lots of day trips to the cinema, the zoo and the funfair nearby. The girls loved spending time with their dad when he wasn’t thinking about school, but even more, they were enjoying a week away from the Pig. At the end of the week, Dad sat the girls down and asked them to try really hard with Maggie, as he was worried about what he would do if she left. He said he didn’t have time to find a new childminder and he couldn’t leave the girls alone. Libby saw the panic run across Janey’s face, as she too remembered what the Pig had said about not being able to cope on his own and needing to talk to someone. The girls didn’t say a word about this, but both started crying and promised Dad they would try harder. Dad was quite surprised at the girls’ response, and reassured them that he understood it was hard for them after losing their mum and then losing Kitty and all their friends. He promised he would also try to get home early and have more fun in the week.
The girls did try hard for the first few weeks, absolutely fearful of losing Dad. Libby had found out about what happened to children whose parents couldn’t cope.
She told Janey that they would often get put in children’s homes and be split up from one another. She explained that sometimes, other families would look after these children, but that they would probably have to move far away. The threat of this was enough to make sure that Libby and Janey behaved as well as they could and avoided any confrontation with the Pig.
Chapter 11 - Bridesmaids and Breakages
It was Monday morning, and Libby and Janey were down in the dumps. Dad noticed that these Monday blues were not lifting, and wondered whether it was just a matter of going back to school after a weekend. He tried to cheer them up before he left for work, but nothing seemed to lift them. As Dad left for work, feeling slightly concerned, he started to worry that the novelty of a new school and new friends was beginning to wear off and the loss of their mum was again hitting the girls. The counsellor who had supported Dad just after Mum died warned him that the grief would hit them all at different times, and often children found it harder to recognise the grief and could express it in many ways. Meanwhile, the girls quietly dreaded another week with the Pig bossing them about and dangling the threat of Dad not being able to cope and giving up on them.
The Pig seemed to be in a surprisingly chirpy mood when she met the girls after school, but the girls, particularly Libby, were always suspicious of any change in her mood. She knew only too well that one minute, everything could be fine, but the next moment, a wave of anger could appear to sweep through her body in an uncontrollable and unstoppable manner. Taking both their hands as they crossed the first road, she told the girls that there was something exciting waiting for them at home.
Spontaneous and trusting as ever, Janey clapped her hands together and started jumping on the spot, pleading for the Pig to tell her what it was. Libby, on the other hand, felt her heart sink as she wondered, with dread, what the Pig had in store for them. Any confidence or trust in her child minder had long gone, and Libby wished that her sister was less naive. On this occasion, however, Libby was proven to be wrong, as the thing that waited for them at home was very exciting. It was a letter addressed to Libby and Janey. The letter was in a beautiful white envelope with flowers on it, written with the most fancy handwriting. Libby loved the shape of the letter ‘L’ used at the beginning of her name, and the ‘y’ seemed to go on for miles. Later, she thought, she would take the envelope and copy the name again and again.
The Pig teased the girls by wafting the letter above their heads as both girls tried to grab it from her.
“No, no; go and wash your hands first, and then you can come back and open it.” The girls hated the fact that they had to wash their hands before touching or doing anything from Monday to Friday after school, yet at the weekend they rarely went near a tap for two days.
Nevertheless, they knew better than to argue and raced to the bathroom and back. After the regular hand inspection, which surprisingly both girls passed first time, the Pig handed Janey the letter and said that she could open it and Libby would read it. Janey, knowing that she had to pass the letter to Libby, took her time opening it. She read the address out in full, so as to feel she had also been involved in the reading of the letter, and stayed a good enough distance away from Libby so that she could open the letter and try to get a glimpse of what it said and, more importantly, who it was from. Libby, however, who was already protesting about the time it was taking, grabbed the letter from Janey and ran to the other end of the room. Libby then began reading the letter:
“Right, that is enough for now; I have made your tea, and you need to get out of those school clothes immediately.” The Pig had turned as white as a ghost and was visibly shaking. Libby and Janey started to recognise the familiar signs of the Pig’s anger bubbling and about to erupt. In a flash, the Pig had taken the letter, and Libby could see her scrunching it into the tiniest ball in her hand. Afraid to challenge her and risk losing the chance of being a bridesmaid for her beloved Kitty, she burst into tears and ran from the room, closely followed by Janey. They headed straight for Libby’s room and shut the door behind them, leaning against it as they tried to unpack what had just happened. The contents of the letter, coupled with the Pig’s response, had left them in a state of high emotion. On the one hand, they were so excited about the wedding and being bridesmaids – but at the same time, they were frightened by the Pig’s reaction. In the past, she had sometimes flown off the handle, but there had always been a reason. They knew that her reactions were often over the top, but they were always in response to something that they had done that had displeased or disappointed her. This time was different; it was a letter from someone the Pig didn’t even know, and it w
as good news. They were both dumbfounded.
They sat at the top of the stairs for some time, neither daring to go downstairs first.
Libby had brought a pen from her room with her, and was doodling on her hand in quite a nervous fashion. She fiddled with the edge of the carpet on the second step. It was one of those carpets that run all the way up the middle of the stairs, leaving the wooden panelling on show at the edges. Libby, in her anger, asked Janey to hold up the edge of the carpet on the second step whilst she took her pen and wrote ‘Maggie is a Pig.’ As instructed, Janey let go of the carpet, and it was now impossible to see or guess anything was written beneath it. Libby somehow felt a sense of power and control in committing this act, as she promised Janey that they would look at it every time the Pig was horrible, and that one day they would get their revenge.
Eventually, the Pig called the girls to tea. She sounded very flat in her voice, but it was clear the anger had subsided, for which they were both thankful. Libby had suggested that they didn’t mention the letter and just waited till Dad came home. She was going to tell Dad exactly what the Pig had done tonight. As the girls sat down for tea, the Pig picked up the telephone and rang Dad at work.
“Hello Mr Scott, it’s Maggie here. I am very sorry, but I think you had better come home early tonight. The girls’ behaviour has been totally unacceptable and I feel unable to take much more of this.”
Libby and Janey dropped their knives and forks, aghast at what the Pig was saying. They listened as she continued to tell Dad that they had fought over something silly. She explained, in a calm voice, that she had tried to stop them, but the girls had pushed her away and ended up knocking over and smashing the wedding photograph on the mantelpiece in the lounge.
“Mr Scott, are you there?” asked the Pig. After a while, it was clear that Dad was not responding, and the Pig had no other option than to put down the phone. As she did so, she looked at the girls with a satisfied grin.
Libby dashed into the lounge and, sure enough, the photo of her mum and dad on their wedding day was smashed to pieces and lay on the floor. This time, it was Libby’s turn for anger.
She ran at the Pig, grabbing hold of her shouting, “Liar, liar, you are a horrible Pig and a liar, I hate you and Dad will hate you too!”
The Pig seemed quite calm and easily unpeeled Libby from her arms and said, “I’m not sure that your dad will see things in the same way, Libby. Let’s wait and see, shall we?”
Half an hour later, Dad walked into the house looking very stern and red-eyed. He told the girls to go to their rooms in a calm voice, and then invited Maggie into the kitchen to sit down. The girls did as they were told to begin with, but after a while, they crept halfway down the stairs to see if they could hear the conversation. Dad and the Pig were speaking in such hushed voices that it was impossible to hear. They did, however, hear the Pig crying, and could just about make out that Dad was trying to comfort her. As they heard the chairs moving, they moved back to the landing out of sight.
As they walked through the hallway, they heard Dad say, “Maybe this just isn’t working out, Maggie.” Libby and Janey silently hugged each other and smiled briefly until Maggie replied, “No, Mr Scott, I will not give up. I am so fond of the girls and I understand how hard it is for them both to trust a new person. No, things will get better, you’ll see. If I take a few days’ break, I am sure I will be ready to go again next week.”
Dad thanked Maggie for her loyalty, and instructed her to do something nice over the weekend and try not to think about the girls for a few days.
Libby knew that her own simple explanation of what had really happened that evening would not work. She could see that the Pig had well and truly twisted her dad around her little finger. As Dad waved off the Pig, he turned towards the house and marched with anger towards the front door. The girls raced back to their rooms and waited. But Dad didn’t come straight upstairs and, after a while, Libby’s curiosity got the better of her. She silently opened her bedroom door and crept down one stair at a time until she could peep through the bannister to see if she could see what was happening downstairs.
There was no noise to suggest that Dad was getting his tea ready; the TV was not on. As she edged down a few more stairs, she heard a whimpering sound - and, reaching the bottom of the stairs, she could see Dad with his head between his knees, holding the broken picture, crying and gently rocking back and forth. Libby could not contain herself. She was scared, angry and sorry all in one emotion.
She ran to Dad and put her arms around him. “Sorry, Dad, please don’t cry, I’m sorry.” Later that night, Libby would reflect on those words. What was she sorry for? She had done nothing wrong, but she somehow felt sorry for being who she was, causing Dad so much pain. Dad tried to pull himself together and shook Libby away. In a very soft, expressionless tone, Dad told Libby to go to bed as he needed to clear up the glass and he didn’t want her to cut her feet.
Dad seemed unable to look Libby in the eye, but just kept his head bowed. Libby desperately wanted to do what Dad had asked, but she could not bear to leave him in this state. Dad didn’t seem angry with her; he just seemed empty, like a light had gone out and Libby had no idea where the switch was. Even though she hated it when Dad was angry with her, she knew the pattern of his anger and she knew what always happened after everyone had said sorry and moved on, but this was different. Libby felt that Dad had given up on her. The Pig had trapped her; she was stealing her only parent, and Libby was terrified.
Libby went upstairs to find Janey playing vets with her teddies. Footsie had broken his leg, and Janey the Vet was bandaging it carefully with toilet paper whilst talking through the ‘aftercare’ with the imaginary pet’s owner. Janey had clearly forgotten the earlier incident until Libby abruptly put a stop to her surgery by sitting on Footsie and tearing the toilet paper off his leg. Angry that her sister was not feeling the pain she was, Libby made sure Janey was listening as she planned her revenge on the Pig.
Chapter 12 - Revenge and Rainbows
Janey and Libby started work on their plan, and decided that they would put it into place next week. Libby said that they could not wait any longer and that she was going to teach the Pig a lesson. They agreed to do some more planning over the weekend. Janey suddenly remembered Kitty and the bridesmaid.
“The letter!” she cried. “Where is the letter and what else did it say?” The Pig had snatched the letter from Libby, but from a quick scan through the letter before reading it aloud, Libby remembered something about Kitty visiting soon and Dad needing to ring her.
Both the girls knew they could not look for the letter tonight and that they could not discuss it with Dad, but they would need to find a way to talk to Dad about it tomorrow.
The next day, Dad took the girls to school; he had talked very little to them during breakfast. Although it was clear that he was still cross, Dad rarely said much in the morning anyway, as he and the girls could work their way through breakfast, school bags and goodbyes in a series of universally understood grunts. As he left the school gates, Dad said that they needed to have a good think about their behaviour over the weekend and how they were going to make it up to Maggie.
Janey, still a little too young to work out timing, left a moment’s silence to show Dad that she had understood, but then said, “Oh, and we need to talk about Kitty’s wedding as well this weekend, she wants us to be bridesmaids!” Libby elbowed Janey in an attempt to shut her up. Dad looked confused. Although he now remembered something about a letter and Kitty as being the trigger for last night’s commotion, he had no idea what Janey was talking about, and neither did he have the will or energy to ask. He told the girls that he had arranged for Grace and Hope’s mum to collect them after school, and that he would be home early.
As Dad drove off, he started to think about what Janey had said about Kitty and a wedding. Even in the depth of his despair, he knew how muc
h Kitty meant to the girls and that he must find out what this was about. Dad rang Maggie later that day to see how she was and to ask about the letter. Maggie seemed distracted and couldn’t remember much about the letter, but when prompted, agreed that the girls had been asked to be bridesmaids. Maggie apologised, but said she couldn’t remember what happened to the letter. She remembered taking it from the girls, but in the course of trying to split them apart and move them away from the broken glass, she must have mislaid the letter. Dad told her not to worry. He decided to ring Kitty himself. It was lovely to speak to Kitty, who told Dad all about her plans to marry Nick. She told him that she wanted the girls to be bridesmaids and that Nick was writing a song about her for the wedding day, and that different people would be singing the verses. Nick wanted the girls to sing a verse, as they were so special to her. Kitty said she would like to visit next week to try some dresses on the girls, and that Nick wanted to do a private rehearsal with them. She said they could come up next Friday and maybe stay overnight. Dad thought that would be a great idea, and arranged for Kitty and Nick to arrive at 4 pm.
He explained that he would be back from work at 6 pm, but the childminder, Maggie, would be there until then.