Damn straight.Dean nods.But I still can’t believe you managed to resist finding out. That’s way more willpower than I’d have in the same circumstances.He says it nonchalantly, but I find myself wondering if he and Liaden will choose to have children in the future. They’d be the most ridiculously cool kids in existence, with Dean’s easy going charm and Liaden’s…Liadenity.
The front door opens, and Emily and Eli come in from lunch. Em’s eyes light up, and she makes grabby hands. “Gimmegimmegimme!”
I love her so much for still being so enthusiastic despite her mental allergy to parenthood. It’s so reassuring, and makes it clear that she’s not going to drift away once I’ve podded. I reachin my back pocket for the latest ultrasound photo, and everyone crowds around to have a good look. Even Click gets shown the picture after he makes some soft noises asking to be included, and we all melt when his tail wags.
“I love that this little one has a ready made fan club,” Em says, and Eli kisses the top of her head.
I get a little teary yet again. It keeps happening over the silliest things. “Yeah, I mean… Fuck, I couldn’t ask for a better family for my baby than you guys.”
“Damn straight,” Eli rumbles, slinging a comforting arm around me. “That baby is one of us.” He slings his other arm around Leo and grins. “I call godfather,” he says quickly, and Dean laughs.
Bastard, I was gonna call that!
Eli laughs. “You were quicker off the mark calling best man for me that time.”
Dean shrugs.I call favourite uncle.
Eli’s eyes narrow. “Oh, it’s on.”
My afternoon clientis pleasant enough. She’s after several small tattoos at once, and they’re all the sort I could do in my sleep. Nothing to stretch me creatively, but easy money, and I’m all about the undemanding life these days.
I’m about halfway through her infinity symbol on her wrist when I start to hear people talking out front. I can’t make out what’s being said, but the tone of the voices is serious, maybe even concerned.
I’m just about to go and investigate when Em taps on my door and pokes her head through. She offers a small, apologetic smile to my client, and then turns to me. “So sorry to interrupt, but there’s someone to see you in reception.” She looks sorry for me, and it makes my stomach dip. “It’s OK,” she whispers to me, “but if you don’t want to deal with it, Leo will.”
I march right out of there, and then stop dead when I see Leo hugging a woman who appears to be quietly crying. She’s wearing a familiar beige anorak, and I have to peer around them to see any more of her, but I’d know that grey streaked auburn hair anywhere.
“Mum?”
She breaks away from Leo immediately, hurriedly wiping her eyes and searching her pockets for one of the cotton handkerchiefs she always carries. She used to embroider our initials in the corner and give them to us all as stocking fillers at Christmas, but I can’t see any of the telltale purple thread on the white cotton square she uses.
There’s a suitcase next to her, the oldest one she has. It’s beaten up brown leather with frayed buckle closings. Edges of clothes are poking out, like she packed in a hurry. That’s not like my Mum. When we went on family holidays when I was a child, this very same suitcase, and others like it, were so neatly and efficiently packed. I remember she had all sorts of space saving hacks, like rolling up underwear in our shoes. I still do that to this day.
“Sadie,” she says in a broken croak, dragging a deep breath in. “I’ve…” Her face wobbles, but she hangs on tight to what’s left of her composure. Maybe for my sake. “I’ve left your father.”
The words seem to shock her, and she sits on the sofa like her legs just won’t hold her up anymore.
I look at her for ages, and she seems to be bracing herself for my reaction. That makes me feel really shitty. I’ve alwaysbeen hot tempered, but I never thought my own mother would be scared of what I thought of anything she had to tell me. Especially when she’s at her most vulnerable.
“That’s fantastic,” I tell her sincerely, reaching forward to take both her hands. She breaks down as I squeeze them, so I scoop her into a hug, my own tears beginning to fall freely. “I’m so sorry about what I said before, I didn’t mean any of it…”
I look down at her hands, and where her coat sleeve has ridden up slightly, I see a red mark. Like the sort a rough hand would leave if it grabbed her too tight. She squirms.
“What did that bastard do to you?” I ask in a dull voice. I’m going to kill him.
“He didn’t want me to leave,” she whispers. Raking a shaky hand through her hair, she sighs. “You were right. Everything you said to me was right. And I can’t believe I let it go so far. I just thought…growing older…personality traits are magnified, and he’s always been…particular. But lately…It’s been so much worse. And he’s so very hard on you and your brothers, and I’m so sorry for everything I failed to do, I was acoward…” She looks defeated, and she should feel anything but.
“Listen to me,” I say in a clear but wobbly voice. “You got out. You did the right thing. He’s been treating you horribly for years, but you seemed to just accept it, so I thought…” It strikes me that finishing that sentence isn’t helpful, so I squeeze both her hands again. “You took a stand. And you know we’ll look after you. Me, Tim, Jacob… You’ll be fine, I promise.”
She stares at the ground, lost in memories. “Today was the first time he put his hands on me,” she mumbles, “and it was like a light went on in my head. All those years…getting more and more nit-picky, and cruel. He’d say such spiteful things, and…and…” She puts her head in her hands. “I didn’t think this through. I just wanted to get out of there, but…I should have thought this through more. I have nowhere to go.” Fresh tearsspill out as the reality of her situation seems to dawn on her. “I havenowhereto go…”
“I can find you a place,” Leo says immediately, walking closer and taking one of her hands from me. “You’ll have a place to stay while you figure out next steps, I promise.”
I look and look at him, and it all just clicks into place in my head like never before. There’s an obvious solution to Mum’s housing predicament, and maybe this is why it took me so long to agree to moving in with Leo: because it was meant to happenthisway.
I’m a bit more accepting of the idea of fate these days.
“You can have my flat,” I say. Leo’s eyes flick to mine, and a slow smile spreads all over his face as he takes in the implications of what I just said. “I’m moving in with Leo. You take my place. It’s got everything you’ll need. I can talk to the letting company and sort it.”
