He was halfway down the path when she shouted after him, ‘Who’s Marianne?’

‘Fred will fill you in.’ He was in his car and gone before she could ask anything else.

Valerie

Valerie wouldn’t talk to her mother. She sat on her bed and faced the wall. Maisie took the time to clear up the mess in her younger child’s room. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, picking up dirty clothes from the floor.

‘You’re not sorry. You’re only sorry you were caught.’

‘That’s what I say to you.’

‘Yeah, well …’

Maisie sat down, hugging Valerie’s dirty socks. ‘Valerie, you’re not angry at me. You’re angry because your da is back and you don’t know how to handle it. I don’t know how either.’

Valerie’s eyes filled and her lip trembled. She just couldn’t push down her emotion no matter how hard she tried. ‘I just want Jeremy home and him gone and things to be like they were.’

‘Me too,’ Maisie said.

‘I don’t want to see him, Ma.’ She was lying: she did want to see him and she felt really guilty about that. He really hurt me, Ma. He really hurt Jeremy, too, but what if he’s changed? What if he’s sorry and he wants to make it up to us? What if he’s lonely and nobody cares about him?

‘It’s your choice, Valerie.’

‘Jeremy says he’s evil – he says if he shaved off his hair he’d have “666” written on his head – but I don’t think he ever did anything bad to me, did he, Ma?’

‘No, love.’

‘I still don’t want to see him. Jeremy would go mad if I did.’

‘But this is not about what Jeremy wants, love. This is about you.’

Valerie sighed. ‘I don’t remember him, not really. I don’t even know who he is, Ma.’

‘Valerie, if you do want to see him you can, and no one will blame you or fight with you. He’s your da and you’re entitled to meet him.’

Valerie could see that hadn’t been easy for her mother to say, and it wasn’t easy for her to admit her true feelings. Tears streamed down her face. ‘Maybe just to say hello.’

‘OK, love.’

Maisie was uncomfortable, Valerie could tell, but she smiled anyway. ‘Ma, will you be there?’

‘I won’t leave you alone for a second.’ She squeezed Valerie’s hand.

‘And maybe Fred could come too.’

‘We can ask him.’ Maisie dropped her gaze to the floor.

‘Doesn’t mean I want him movin’ in or anything.’

‘Understood.’ She stood up. ‘OK?’

Valerie wiped her nose with her hand. ‘I don’t love me da. I never could. I just … I dunno …’