Billy held her tenderly in his arms after the ceremony was over and the festivities begun. ‘I have never seen you look more beautiful. I love you so much, Ness.’

‘Thanks, I love you, husband.’

‘I love you too, wife.’

‘Mind if I steal her away?’ Wren appeared and asked her to dance. He slipped one hand around her waist, the other one holding her hand.

‘What a wonderful day, Mom,’ he said.

Vanessa smiled at her son, ‘It really has been. I never thought that I could be this happy, that I could provide a better life for you. Wren…’ she paused, as if contemplating her next words, ‘I love you.’

13

The first day of community college was never going to be easy on Wren, but nor was it going to be a walk in the park for Vanessa either. She would miss Wren so much as he’d spend more time travelling on the bus now. The college could offer much more in the way of classes than Wren’s current high school. It would help him get into a good college and Vanessa would do everything in her power to ensure Wren had a good education. Wren was a studious and serious boy, ready to embrace learning and meeting new people. Sometimes she was worried that he was too serious. Had she done that to him? She had so much guilt about what had happened in his early life – she’d do anything for a do-over.

By the time the bus came back from that first day at the college, Vanessa was a ball of nerves. What if it hadn’t gone well? But she needn’t have worried. When Wren got off the bus, he was mucking around with two boys Vanessa already knew. One was Justin Arden, who had played soccer with Wren for the last couple of years of high school. His mother, Joan, didn’t attend the games because she worked all the time – she owned the bar where Mark worked, and her husband worked away, so Vanessa had sometimes taken Justin home to where he lived behind the bar. The other boy was a recent addition to Wren’s circle of friends. Wren had introduced him as Wade Fox, a friend that he and Justin had made early on in the year. He had recently moved to town and was a polite kid who also played soccer, something the three of them had bonded over.

Wren and his friends came over to where she was waiting.

‘Wade, who’s picking you up?’

‘Mom. She’s not here, probably at home with the baby.’ He shrugged. ‘I guess I’ll walk to my house.’