Josephine sighed heavily. ‘A word to the wise, Jessie love; your father is capable of a lot of things, as you know, but he would never be party to an abortion. You’re carrying a life inside of you, girl, and we are Catholics. We celebrate a child. I think you need to remember that for the future. As the Bible says: as you sow, so shall you reap. The damage is done now, darling.’

Josephine opened up her arms and, as she hugged her young daughter tightly to her breast, she wondered at a God who could heap so much hurt on one household.

Book Four

Book Four

Be not deceived, God is not mocked:
for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap

Galatians 6:7

For the wages of sin is death

Romans 6:23

Chapter Ninety-Two

Chapter Ninety-Two

2012

As Jessie Flynn walked out of a pub in Soho, the cold night air hit her. She staggered slightly in her high-heeled shoes, and leant back against the wall for a few seconds to steady herself. She was out of her nut, as per usual, and she was also bored – bored of the company she was in, bored of her life in general. Her father didn’t seem bothered any more about her or her antics, something she was having trouble accepting. Even her mother was losing interest in her these days. After years of trying to buy her back into their life, controlling her with their cash, and attempting to make her take an interest in her son, her parents had suddenly stopped. She had a feeling she had won, but what she had actually won, she wasn’t sure. In fact, she now felt much more like she was the one who had lost something important.

There was no more pretending from her father, no more acting like everything was OK between them. He wasn’t rude as such, but he was clearly ashamed of her and the life she lived. That’s exactly what she had always wanted; she had been determined to beat him, prove to him that she didn’t care about anything, especially not him, or his precious reputation. Strangely, her dad turning away from her didn’t make her feel as good as she had thought it would. In fact, her dad’s attitude the last few times she had seen him had made her feel like she was the one in the wrong, that she was the bad bastard.