by Ali Gardner
As Dad came off the phone from talking to Kitty, he realised he felt calmer and brighter than he had done in a while, and resolved to be more positive with the girls over the weekend. He knew that it was hard for them. It did worry him that they didn’t seem to like Maggie, especially as she seemed so good at her job. He told himself again that things would get better and it would just take time. Maybe a visit from Kitty and planning for her wedding would help to cheer up the girls and himself.
Dad arrived to pick up the girls from Grace and Hope’s house as planned, and Dan invited him in for a drink. After a few drinks, they all decided to get a takeaway; this meant that Libby, Janey and Dad didn’t get home until after 10pm, which was exactly how the girls had planned it earlier.
Dad was exhausted after his week, so, after seeing the girls to bed and kissing them good night, he made his way to his bedroom. Suddenly, he remembered his chat with Kitty and he called to the girls, “Oh yes, I nearly forgot; Kitty and Nick are coming to stay next Friday. Night night.” In a flash, Libby and Janey shot out their rooms towards Dad’s bedroom. As they reached the door, Dad shut it, laughed and told them that if they were good and went straight to sleep now, he would tell them more in the morning. Libby and Janey were so relieved that Dad was back to his old self that they did a very quiet high five followed by a bit of a ‘jumping on the spot’ routine, then shot off straight to bed and sleep.
Libby and Janey spent most of Sunday planning and rehearsing their plan for revenge on the Pig. This involved a lot of time in the bathroom, using the make-up that they had saved from a Halloween fancy dress party the year before. In Libby’s room, the girls practiced the plan, with Janey playing herself and Libby playing Mr Pitchers. Although the plan was a serious attempt to get rid of the Pig, they had to start again so many times as they couldn’t stop laughing at Libby’s impression of Mr Pitchers. To help her get into character, she had cut some of the fur from her furry toy owl and stuck it to her ears and eyebrows. Eventually, they were happy with the plan, and Libby prepared all the materials in her bag ready for Monday morning. That night, Libby went to bed feeling that things would soon change. She drew a picture of a rainbow, but instead of a box of treasure at the end, she drew a picture of the Pig in jail, protesting her innocence through the bars.
Satisfied and confident with her plan, she folded the drawing carefully and shoved it under her mattress.
Chapter 13 - Bruises and Blunders
Both the girls were up bright and early on Monday, and Dad was encouraged by the unfamiliar enthusiasm they had for the start of a school week. The girls arrived at school and, as planned, they met in the girls’ toilets, where they crept into a cubicle together and closed the door. They knew that they would have to be quick to get it done before register, so Libby got to work and painted the fake bruise just under Janey’s fringe as rehearsed over the weekend. Libby packed the make-up away in her bag and they both went to class.
No one noticed anything different, as Janey’s fringe covered the bruise. As planned, Janey was to wait until break time, and as the others left to play, she was to tell Mr Pitchers that she felt unwell and that she had a headache. Sure enough, Mr Pitchers was concerned and called Janey to his desk to see if she had a temperature. As he lifted her fringe, he saw the bruise and asked Janey how it had happened. As planned, Janey pretended not to want to tell him at first and, after a few more questions, Janey told him that the childminder had done it last week. Mr Pitchers asked whether Dad had seen it, and Janey explained that she had covered it up because she was scared of her childminder. Mr Pitchers was very kind and calm, but said that he would need to deal with this immediately, and took Janey with him to the school office. Mrs Darrington, the school administrator, came and sat with Janey.
All the children loved Mrs Darrington and she was always drafted in if any child was upset or hurt, as she always knew the right thing to say. Janey was starting to feel worried about the plan. She did not want to disappoint Mrs Darrington, and she could tell that lots of phone calls and discussions were taking place and that Libby’s teacher had also been brought to the school office. About half an hour later, Janey saw Dad’s car pull up to the school, closely followed by two people whom she didn’t recognise. They went into a room and another discussion took place. Finally, Janey was invited into the room with Dad, the headteacher and the two people she didn’t recognise.
Janey took one look at Dad and burst in to tears; “Sorry Dad, it was Libby’s idea.” Everyone looked very confused. One of the people that Janey didn’t recognise introduced herself as a social worker, and asked Janey to explain what had happened. Janey just cried and hugged Dad.
As Dad tried to move Janey away from himself so she could talk, he noticed that his shirt was covered in some sort of paint or make-up. As he looked more closely, he could see the same colours smudged over Janey’s forehead. Realising what had happened, the social worker suggested that Dad wiped Janey’s head with a tissue that she handed to him, and sure enough the bruise disappeared.
Dad just sunk into the chair behind him, and in a desperate voice asked Janey, “Why, why would you do this?” Dad tried to calmly explain how much trouble Maggie could have been in for this. The social worker asked to speak to Dad in private whilst Mrs Darrington helped Janey wash her face properly.
When Janey returned, she saw her dad shaking the social worker ’s hand as the social worker said, “If you have any further problems, please contact us as we may be able to help.” Janey wondered what this meant, but then became more worried about what was going to happen to her now.
Dad, having had lots of experience of working with social workers and having encountered problems similar to this in his own school, dealt with the situation quite well. First, he explained to Maggie what had happened, and as he did so, he said that he would totally understand if Maggie felt she could not work with the girls anymore. Maggie said that she was determined that she would not give in, and that it was important for the girls to work through this with her. Dad could not help but admire Maggie’s loyalty to himself and the girls. He was also very thankful, as he was so busy himself at work that he didn’t know what he would do without her. Dad tried to speak to the girls about the reason behind this plan, but they could only tell him that they didn’t like Maggie and could not give any real reasons why. Libby and Janey clearly regretted their plan. They had not thought through all the consequences and were now so scared of what the Pig might do. According to the plan, the Pig should have been in jail by now, not coming back to look after them the very next day.
The Pig continued to care for the girls, and became meaner and meaner each day as she now knew she could control any situation. She knew that the failed plan of revenge meant that Dad would never trust the girls again and that anything she said would be believed. The girls tried to be as good as possible for the Pig, and spent as much time upstairs and away from her as they were allowed.
Chapter 14 - Wedding Dresses and Warnings
It was Thursday evening, the day before Kitty and Nick were due to arrive. Libby and Janey were so excited about seeing them again and trying on the bridesmaid dresses. In her excitement, Libby decided to take a look at her mum’s wedding dress.
She knew exactly where it was – in Dad’s wardrobe, right at the end of all his suits in a special cream bag to protect it. Dad had shown the dress to the girls when they had moved in, but said they mustn’t get it out without asking, as it was very precious. He said he was saving it in case Libby or Janey ever wanted to wear it for their own special day. Libby went into Dad’s room and opened the wardrobe very slowly, so as not to make a creaking noise. She took out the bag, which was very heavy, and placed it on Dad’s bed. She unzipped it and took out the dress. Suddenly, the door of the bedroom opened slightly and Libby panicked. Thankfully, it was only Janey who came in and gasped at what Libby had done. Libby told her to stop being so stupid and to help her put it on. A
lthough a little reluctant, Janey did as she was told and fastened up the 25 tiny buttons on the back of the dress. Libby suggested that Janey put on one of Dad’s suits, and that they would pretend to be Kitty and Nick walking down the aisle. Soon, Janey was as excited about the game as Libby, and she quickly put on the suit. They looked at each other in the mirror and laughed at their oversized outfits. Libby crept across the landing to the bathroom and took the toilet roll.
“What are you doing, Libby?”
asked Janey. “It’s confetti,” replied Libby as she broke the toilet roll into lots of pieces and handed a pile to Janey.
The girls walked along the landing laughing and singing wedding tunes, and then threw the confetti over themselves as they reached the imaginary church doors. They were having so much fun that they were totally unaware that the confetti was now falling past them, down the space between the landing and the stairs, and onto the floor of the hallway outside the kitchen. Wondering what all the commotion was about, the Pig walked out of the kitchen to the tune of “Here comes the Bride, fifty inches wide” as a shower of toilet paper fell softly onto her head.
The next thing the girls knew, the Pig was stood at the top of the stairs with her hands on her hips, screeching at the top of her voice, “How dare you wear my dress? Get it off, where did you get it?”
The girls knew that they should not have the dress on and that the Pig was right to be cross about that, but they were confused by what she was saying.
“This is not your dress, it is my mum’s dress. No one would marry you anyway since you are such a horrid Pig.”
The Pig just fell to the floor, crying uncontrollably and thumping the stairs with her fists with all her might. Libby and Janey ran back to Dad’s room and, as quickly as possible, they took off the clothes and folded the dress very carefully before putting it back in the bag and hanging it up in the wardrobe. This took some time, as unfastening the 25 buttons on the back of the dress seemed to take twice as long as fastening them had.
Eventually, Libby and Janey came downstairs to face the music – but, as had happened before, the Pig was calmly making tea. As the girls sat down, they noticed an official-looking letter in the middle of the table, addressed to their dad. The letter had already been opened and placed back in the envelope. The Pig said, “I know how much you both like letters; perhaps you would like to read this one, Libby.”
Libby didn’t know what to do, and was confused as to why the Pig would want her to read one of Dad’s private letters. The Pig instructed Libby to take the letter and read it aloud to Janey. Afraid to do anything else, Libby did as she was told and read the letter aloud.
Libby just about managed to read the letter, with some help from the Pig for the longer words. She didn’t understand all the words, but both Libby and Janey understood enough to realise that Dad was actually thinking about giving them up. Both girls started crying, and Libby ran upstairs to her bedroom. Janey soon followed her and both girls hugged each other. Five minutes later, the Pig came up to the room with a suitcase and told the girls to pack some clothes, as it was likely that Dad would be contacting the social worker once he had heard about the dress. Libby and Janey reluctantly started to pack a few clothes as instructed. They thought their dad loved them, but they could see that they were making his life very difficult at the same time.
Suddenly, the Pig announced that they should stop. “OK, I am going to be nice to you both today and give you one more chance. I will not tell your dad a word about the wedding dress, if you promise not to mention the letter.” The Pig explained that she had showed them the letter to let them know how much their dad was struggling with their bad behaviour. Desperate to stay at home with each other and Dad, the girls agreed and thanked the Pig for giving them another chance. The Pig emptied the few items from the suitcase and went downstairs.
The next day, Kitty and Nick arrived at school with the Pig, who was chatting away to them in a very friendly manner. They walked home together, and the Pig acted as if she and the girls got along like a house on fire. She retold lots of stories that had either never happened or had happened in a very different way from the way the Pig described. Libby and Janey, still petrified from the discovery of the letter, had no choice but to play along with the Pig. Kitty knew the girls too well, and as soon as she was alone with Libby, she asked her if everything was OK. Libby tried to hide her
tears, but she was like a fountain about to burst open. Libby told Kitty that she and Janey hated the childminder, and that she was mean to both of them all the time. But when Kitty asked Libby to tell her what she had done, Libby clammed up and could not think what to say as the words in the letter – ‘children’s home’, ‘foster care’ –flashed in front of her eyes.
Kitty tried to cheer Libby up and handed her a bag of sweets, whispering, “It’s SSD.”
Libby tried to smile, and they joined the others downstairs as Kitty wiped away her tears. The Pig seemed to be very nervous with Kitty and Nick in the house, and was watching the girls’ every move. She looked suspiciously at Libby as she came downstairs with Kitty, as she could tell she had been crying. She called Libby into the kitchen to help with the drinks, and then interrogated her as to what she had been discussing with Kitty upstairs. Satisfied that nothing had been said and waving the letter
in its brown envelope, which she now kept in her cardigan pocket, the Pig reminded Libby of what was at stake.
Despite a dreadful week with the Pig, the girls and Dad had a lovely Friday evening, which involved a trip to the fish and chips shop, followed by Kitty trying some dresses on the girls and Dad taking lots of photographs. Nick then took the girls to the kitchen to practice their special verse. The girls loved it, as it was one of their favourite songs that Nick had changed the words to. Nick had written the words down for the girls so that they could practice once he had gone. The girls, however, were word-perfect two hours later, and even though the plan was that Kitty would hear this for the first time on the wedding day, she too was word- perfect on this verse by the end of the evening.
Chapter 15 - Discoveries and Distrust
The following week, Janey had developed a cold and was feeling very unwell at school. Mr Pitchers had phoned Dad to say that Janey was unwell and probably needed to come home early. Unfortunately, Dad was caught up in an important school meeting, so he decided to ring Maggie and see whether she could go to pick up Janey. Maggie agreed that she could, but said that she would need to bring Janey back to her house as she was waiting for an electrician to do some work. The Pig arrived at school and Janey reluctantly went home with her, although she had tried to tell Mr Pitchers that she felt better when she found out who was coming for her. As Janey left the school with her childminder, Mr Pitchers confided to Mrs Darrington that he felt there was something strange about this childminder, but that he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
The Pig was quite frustrated that Janey had needed to leave school early, and told her that she would have to sit and watch TV on her own as she was busy for the afternoon. Janey was only too pleased to be left far from the Pig. The girls had never been to the Pig’s house, and Janey was intrigued by what she might find. The Pig sat Janey in the lounge, gave her a drink of water and put the TV on. She left Janey alone and went into another room.
Janey noticed some photographs on the mantelpiece and decided to take a closer look. There were three photographs in a row, each of the Pig with a man she didn’t recognise. The Pig looked so different from the way she looked now. It wasn’t that her hair, her clothes or her shape were different; it was something about the look in her eyes.
She looked so nice and friendly in the photos as she laughed and smiled beside this man. The Pig came back in the room and caught Janey looking at the photos. Janey, a little scared that the Pig would get mad, said that she liked the photos and asked whether the man in the photo was her husband.
“No,”
replied the Pig, turning away quickly from Janey.
“Is he your boyfriend then?” asked Janey. “No, he is not. And stop being so nosey, sit down and watch the TV.” Janey did as she was told, until the Pig left the room again at the sound of the front door bell.
Janey quickly got up again. She was curious now as to who this man could be and what the Pig was trying to hide. She opened a drawer in the desk next to the TV and, to her astonishment, she found more photos of this same man. Most of the photos were of the Pig with this man, and a few were of the man alone. Janey moved a few of the photos, and found a man’s watch with the back facing towards her.
She noticed that it had an inscription on it and she read, ‘Tom and Helen, together forever.’ Underneath, there were lots of cards with messages reading ‘Happy Engagement’ on the front. She opened a few, and found that all of the cards were addressed to Tom and Helen with a message congratulating them on their engagement. Janey wondered who Tom and Helen were, but then heard the Pig’s voice getting louder as she talked to someone, so she tried to shut the drawer quickly – but the cards were all getting stuck in the hinges at the side, and she couldn’t close it in time. The Pig walked straight over to Janey, leaving the electrician in the kitchen. She took Janey’s hand and led her to the hallway, gripping her arm very forcefully. She instructed Janey to get in the cupboard beneath the stairs. Afraid to disobey, Janey did as she was told. As she stepped into the small cupboard, which could actually have been described as a very small room, the Pig locked the door. As she did so, the Pig whispered through the door, “Make a noise and I will drive you straight to that children’s home myself.”
Thankfully, there was a light inside the cupboard, and Janey switched it on. Although she was scared of the Pig putting her in a cupboard, she felt strangely more secure being locked away from her in her own little space than she did sitting next to her in a bigger room. She sat back and looked at all the bits and pieces in the cupboard. There were coats and shoes, boxes, bags and a small bookshelf with lots of interesting books about art, gardening and sewing.