BooksBarbecue
Back Too Close
Chapters (28)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Epigraph
  4. Prologue
  5. Chapter 1
  6. Chapter 2
  7. Chapter 3
  8. Chapter 4
  9. Chapter 5
  10. Chapter 6
  11. Chapter 7
  12. Chapter 8
  13. Chapter 9
  14. Chapter 10
  15. Chapter 11
  16. Chapter 12
  17. Chapter 13
  18. Chapter 14
  19. Chapter 15
  20. Chapter 16
  21. Chapter 17
  22. Chapter 18
  23. Chapter 19
  24. Chapter 20
  25. Epilogue
  26. Acknowledgements
  27. About the Author
  28. About the Publisher

And as I begin to cry I feel alive again. And Ness leans forwards and rests her forehead against my own and holds me. I don’t deserve this. When I finish crying, she takes the photographs from my hands and goes through them all, showing them to me, reinforcing her words: the children are fine. The children are fine. And I begin to think maybe, just maybe, I am going to get out of here.

4 April

Dearest Connie,

I am sorry that it has been so long since you have heard from me. Please forgive me. I also offer my profuse apologies for my behaviour and for letting you down. It was deeply unprofessional of me. I hope my absence was explained to you by Dr. Johnson. The truth of it is – and I know what a stickler you are for the truth – that several complaints had been made about me (there was also CCTV footage) and I was taken off your case abruptly by my boss and was denied contact with you. It is not how I wanted to end things.

I want you to know that I have been deeply impressed by you, not just in regards to the work we did but as regards the work you do on yourself as a human being. You and your indomitable spirit have been an inspiration to me.

I was delighted to be informed, as no doubt you have been by now, that the Domestic Court has given you visitation rights twice a month. This is really very good news and I am sure your relationship with your children will thrive and that your life will take a strong turn for the better. Be sure that you keep taking the medication, which at last seems to be sorted. I am actually writing an article for the BMI regarding the misuse of benzodiazepines. Your story has deeply concerned me.

My news is that I am taking a year’s sabbatical. Si Hubby and I have decided to make a change in our lives. We are selling the house, putting things to rest and finally moving on. We have found a place in Sussex away from the dirt and grime of city life. I am looking forward to a new start, although I shall always return to Enfield to visit Abigail’s grave.

I wish you only the best with your journey. Look after yourself, dear Constance. It has been a blessing getting to know you. And I want to thank you for your boldness, your wit and your incisiveness, and for making me see the world a little differently.

Yours,

Emma Robinson

Epilogue