The next day we were having breakfast when the doorbell rang. It was only eight-thirty in the morning.
"Dammit, this is Mum's only lie-in of the week," I said as I got up to get the door.
I opened the door to see Mrs Davis, Fiona's mother. She looked much thinner, very pale and very nervous.
"Hello Jake."
My expression must have darkened considerably as she immediately tried to placate me.
"I'm not here to cause any trouble Jake. I just can't bear not seeing or hearing from Fiona. My husband and I have had some...discussions about this and I thought it best that only I come. Please can I see her?"
"I'll see if she wants to see you or not Mrs Davis. One minute."
I shut the door and went back into the kitchen.
"Who was that Jake? A delivery or something?"
"No sweetheart. It's...it's your Mum."
"Mum?" She looked up, shocked. A range of emotions went across her face. Pleased, scared, worried. She regained some control and her expression became stony.
"What does she want?"
"She wants to see you. It's just her. She's waiting at the door. I told her that I'd ask you."
I saw how torn she was.
"You don't have to see her if you don't want to, love. Or we can schedule something for when you feel ready..?"
"No, I should see her. But not dressed like this. Can you let her in and give me a couple of minutes to throw some jeans on and brush my hair?"
"Of course."
She dashed upstairs but without the happy bounce that I knew and loved. I went back to the door.
"Sorry to keep you Mrs Davis."
Her face had fallen when she saw that it was me and not Fiona at the door. She started to call out plaintively,
"Fiona? Honey? I just want to talk!"
It was pitiful to see how upset she was.
"Mrs Davis! It's OK. She's just not properly dressed. If you don't mind waiting in the sitting room for a couple of minutes then she'll be with you."
She looked a bit embarrassed.
"I'm sorry Jake. Yes, of course, that would be nice."
She came in and settled on to the edge of the sofa looking extremely uncomfortable.
"Can I get you something to drink?"
"No thank you. The way I'm shaking I'd probably spill a cup of tea."
Her voice wavered with stress and nerves and her small, scared smile reminded me of Fiona so strongly that my heart went out to her.
"Well why don't I put the table over here. I'll get a cup of tea and when you feel ready maybe it will help."
She nodded, looking pleased and embarrassed at the same time.
Just then Fiona came downstairs. She stopped, holding on to the bannister before taking a deep breath and moving over to the armchair opposite her mother. They looked at each other and there was an awkward silence. Fiona was clearly not going to make this easy.
I cleared my throat and went to the kitchen to give them some privacy. Conversation started in the background and I put the kettle on thinking that Fiona might welcome a cup of coffee. I dragged out the process for as long as I could before walking back into the sitting room with two mugs in hand.
They were standing with their arms around each other crying, rocking back and forth. I stood there unsure of what to do. I didn't want to break their moment of what I hoped for Fiona's sake was reconciliation.
After a minute I turned and started to go back into the kitchen.
"No Jake, please come in."
Fiona looked so relieved. Her mother let her go and was trying to get her emotions under control. I put the two mugs down and grabbed a couple of tissues for them which they gratefully accepted.
Fiona sat down beside her mother on the sofa and they looked up at the same time, saw each other's blotchy faces and burst into laughter. That brought on more tears and more hugs.
"I always was an ugly crier. Fiona and I always used to joke that we didn't look anything alike unless we were crying."
"Or when you're smiling," I said.
"Really?"
"Yes, you have the same quirky little smile."
The two rushed to the mirror and giggled at discovering something new after all this time.
I sat down on the armchair and slowly it all spilled out. Mr Davis had always been quite controlling and his fear of his daughter growing up, losing his little girl meant that he became a bit unhinged. Mrs Davis had been swept along until that night when Fiona had run away. Realisation of what they were doing had hit her like a ton of bricks and she and her husband had been at loggerheads ever since about what to do and how to handle things.
"We're going to have some time apart to try and get some perspective. He's gone back up to Birmingham for a while. I'm...I'm not sure what's going to happen to be honest."
Her eyes were full as she reached out her hands to Fiona.
"I'm so sorry, my love. I should have stepped in much sooner. I can't bear not hearing from you and I was so worried that you wouldn't see me when I came here."
The tears started again and my eyes were full as they hugged each other again.
"I don't think that I want to see Dad again. There were an awful lot of hurtful things said. He was going to have me sectioned Mum!"
It was all still very raw.
I left them to talk things through and took a cup of tea upstairs for Mum who would surely be awake after all this noise. She looked a bit irritated at having her lie-in disturbed. She almost went full protective Mummy when I told her that it was Mrs Davis downstairs with Fiona until I told her what was going on.
We had a good chat while Fiona and her mother sorted things out between them downstairs. Eventually Mum needed something to eat so I headed back down to the sitting room.
Mrs Davis was standing up, getting ready to go.
"Thank you for the tea Jake."
"You're welcome."
"I'm sorry that we didn't take the time to find out about the rumours for ourselves. We were so blind."
"That happened to a lot of people Mrs Davis, I wouldn't beat yourself up."
She seemed about to say something and then just nodded and swallowed. Fiona snuggled in under my arm and then my Mum appeared. More apologies were said and more tears shed until Mrs Davis finally took her leave.
Fiona was emotionally wrung out but so relieved to have her mother back.
"She's promised to start taking better care of herself, Jake. Did you see how thin she was? I felt so guilty that it had had that effect on her. It's so nice to know that I can pick up the phone and talk to her again."
Her eyes began to fill again.
"I'm so pleased Fiona. You shouldn't ever have to feel cut off like that," said Mum. "And you know that whatever happens you're welcome here for as long as you like?"
She nodded, unable to speak and they hugged.
I took Fiona off upstairs and just held her, stroking her hair and allowing her the time to come to terms with a totally unexpected start to the day. She dozed for a while and I relished the time with her. Jamie's mention of being apart from Susan last night had made me think about not seeing Fiona every day. It wasn't a happy thought.
She stretched and turned after a while, giving me a huge smile and a kiss. I heard Mum downstairs singing along to the radio. All was right in the world.
"Do you want me to call Jamie and postpone this afternoon's film and shopping trip?"
"No. It'll do me good to get out and about. Besides, you've got tickets to the film already haven't you?"
"Yes but..."
"Don't be daft. I'm not that fragile. Mum just caught me by surprise this morning, that's all. Come on. We can't laze in bed all day and I'm hungry."
= = = = = = =
We decided to take the bus into town and met up with Jamie, Susan and Tina. The girls were all dressed up and were drawing a lot of attention. There was plenty of chat, laughter and teasing and it was a happy group that got off the bus.
The girl's linked arms and set off into the heart of town.
"See you at the Italian restaurant at seven."
We waved and headed for the cinema. Jamie and I chatted away when I heard a voice that I recognised. I grabbed Jamie and much to his consternation threw him up against the brick wall behind a fire escape.
Pulse
Green power enveloped us both and we vanished in a camouflage of red brick and mortar. Around the corner came Youle the Tool, holding Jennifer Sawyer's hand.
"C'mon! It'll be fun. I've got us VIP tickets and if you come to see X Men then I'll take you to anything that you want to see."
"Can't you just see this thing by yourself Harry? I'm not that interested."
He turned on her sharply, his voice low and menacing. They were only standing a few feet away from us.
"We're going. And I hope that you've got that mouth of yours good and ready for my cock. Now get your shit together or the world will know about how you and your parents spread those rumours."
Youle had a firm grip on her wrist and Jennifer was pulled towards the cinema. The two of them only perked up when they saw some people from school. The transformation was immediate and they instantly became the haughty, popular kids out on a date.
I dropped the screen from around us just as Jamie let out a long low breath.
"Wow. Did you hear that?"
"Straight from the horse's mouth, Jamie."
"That Youle is a real piece of work. How the hell did they miss seeing us? We were right there."
"They were pretty focused on each other I suppose. And from the sounds of it Youle was looking forward to a blow job in the cinema. Jennifer not so much."
"Jesus!"
"Come on or we'll be late."
I was excited. This was the perfect opportunity. A dark, noisy environment and at least two hours to work with. I was so tense that even Jamie noticed.
"Are you OK?"
"Yes, just looking forward to the film," I lied.
