A Last Kiss for Mummy by Casey Watson

Author:Casey Watson [Watson, Casey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2013-10-24T00:00:00+00:00

I felt much better after Riley went, and a good deal more relaxed. And with Emma spending much of the rest of the afternoon up in her room with Roman, I enjoyed preparing a huge home-made lasagne for our tea. Nothing better on a cold, early March evening than a carb-laden plate of pasta. Not that, when it came to it, the atmosphere smelled quite as good as the food did. Roman was napping, and without the focus of having to entertain and feed him the mood round the table was sombre. It was sad; Emma had been with us for almost half a year now, but it was as if we were a trio of strangers. Even Mike, usually so good at making light, banterish conversation, had given up and had his gaze firmly on his dinner.

It was Emma, in fact, who spoke first. ‘So,’ she said, out of the blue, ‘any news from the baby snatchers? What’s the verdict? Can Tarim start seeing Roman or not?’

‘Not. That’s the short answer,’ Mike replied, equally testily. ‘At least not just yet,’ he added, his tone softening slightly. Then he looked at her again. ‘And before you start jumping down anyone’s throat,’ he said, ‘just listen to what Casey has to say first.’

Ah. Over to me, then. I duly jumped to attention. ‘Right,’ I said. ‘Well … first of all, they accept that you’ll want to see Tarim – if that’s what you want to do, that is. Though, I have to tell you, they don’t like it. I might as well be honest, Emma; the truth is that Maggie’s told me that they feel he’s a bad influence on you.’

‘They know hardly anything about him!’ Emma snapped.

I refrained from pointing out that they didn’t really need to, given that what they did know comprised ‘prison’ and ‘drugs’.

‘They’re just a bunch of arseholes who won’t give him a chance,’ she then told us. ‘And too right I can see him – I’ll do what I want! And that includes Roman seeing him, whether they like it or not!’

‘Well, actually no, Emma,’ I told her calmly. ‘You won’t be doing that. If Tarim wants to be part of Roman’s life he has to be assessed first, just as would anyone else who wanted to play a part in his upbringing. After that, then they will decide if he’s an appropriate person to have contact. And he might also be expected to go on a parenting course, just like you did when you were pregnant. I know you don’t like it, love,’ I finished, ‘but it’s a serious business agreeing to contact, and that’s what they’ve decided, so I’m afraid that’s it for now.’

She leapt to her feet then, knocking her chair over, and I got the impression she’d been expecting this all day. After all, she might be headstrong but she wasn’t stupid. ‘Well, fuck that!’ she screamed. ‘And fuck the two of you as well! I’m not staying in this fucking house a single minute longer!’

Mike had stood up as well now, and he righted her chair.

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