‘Do you want to grab a coffee?’ I asked, sensing she needed to talk and possibly vent about the situation.
‘Sure,’ she agreed. ‘Will we go to the same place we always go?’
‘Great.’
She left her car at the school and we headed off down the street together and while Maya found us a table, I ordered our usual from the barista then I brought them down to the table.
We both chit-chatted for a moment before she paused.
‘Something happened yesterday,’ she blurted. ‘After I went home from your house and I think it’s the reason why Elliot is acting out.’
‘What is it?’ I asked, taking a sip from my latte, then self-consciously wiping the froth from my lip.
‘I’m embarrassed even telling you this but Elliot found porn on Hugo’s phone.’
‘Porn?’ I repeated in shock. ‘But how?’
‘Hugo had given it to him to play with while he was in the shower. I think it just popped up.’
‘Oh my God,’ I gasped. ‘How did he react?’
‘Well, he came to me with it and asked why the man was hurting the lady.’
‘Oh dear. Did you tell Hugo about it?’
She nodded. ‘We had a huge row and of course it kicked off in front of Elliot, I just couldn’t help myself. I was furious – I still am. Surely if he knew there was a possibility of something like that popping up on his phone, he would never have given it to Elliot? I can’t believe he took the risk.’
‘What did he say to that?’
‘Well, of course he tried to blame the Internet, TikTok, blah, blah, but the algorithm only serves you those things if that’s what you like to watch. Is it any wonder our sex life is non-existent? I can’t compete with that.’ She tossed her hands up into the air in frustration.
‘That’s really tough on you,’ I sympathised. How could I tell her about the incident with Elliot calling Finn fat now? She was already upset and worried about her son. The child was obviously hurting somehow and he was expressing it in the only way he knew how.
‘We haven’t spoken since it happened and Elliot’s behaviour has just nosedived.’
‘Oh, Maya, that’s really horrible. No wonder Elliot is being a little difficult lately; that’s an awful lot for a five-year-old to process.’
My heart broke for Elliot. No matter what he had or hadn’t done to my son, he was only a tiny boy dealing with some really tricky things; it wasn’t his fault that he couldn’t handle it all.
35
LIV
I went home that day thinking about Maya and Elliot and all that was going on inside the four walls of their home. I was still annoyed that Elliot had called Finn names but now in light of what Maya had told me, it made sense. The child was hurting and was lashing out. The only problem was my son was being used as the scapegoat. It was a really tricky situation. I didn’t want to upset Maya any more; she already had enough on her plate. I had decided I would talk to Jay about how we should handle it. I needed to get his opinion on it all.
‘Tea and Treats time,’ Jay said, rubbing his hands together excitedly in the kitchen when we came back downstairs from tucking Finn up in bed. He began to fill the kettle while I rooted out the biscuits and waved a packet of Custard Creams and one of Jammy Dodgers in front of him.
‘Two packets of biscuits?’ Jay exclaimed. ‘It’s not even Friday night.’
I laughed. ‘It’s your lucky night, Jay O’Dowd.’
When we had made the tea, we sat down onto the sofa. I rested back against the cushions, with my legs draped over hislap. I took up the remote and flicked through the channels before settling onFirst Dates.
‘Guess what Finn said to me today?’ I asked. I had been waiting until Finn had gone to bed so that I could tell him without risking Finn overhearing our conversation. It had been replaying on my mind all day and I wanted Jay’s take on it.
‘What?’ Jay asked, brushing Custard Cream crumbs off his t-shirt.
‘He asked me whether I thought he was fat.’
