“Never?”
“Never. Oh, I bumped into her sometimes at the shops and, would you believe, we even used to go for coffee? She chatted away about the house and decorating.”
“So she was happy to meet if it was elsewhere?”
“Yes, in fact I would say that she was lonely and was glad to have some company. Very soon she fell pregnant and she talked openly and excitedly about being a parent, about motherhood. I’m a retired social worker so she was keen for me to tell her anything that would help her to be a good mother. But she never said anything about her marriage or about Thomas.”
“Did you ask?”
“Of course I did. Initially I asked too many questions and she just used to say, ‘Oh, let’s talk about ourselves not men.’ After a while I realised that I learned more if I slipped in subtle questions like, ‘Is Thomas pleased about the baby?’. She might let something slip then but never if I asked directly about him. The conversations she was having with me were the ones you have with your girlfriends, or family. She wouldn’t plan any coffees with me but if we bumped into each other she would have one. She seemed so lonely that I used to pretend to bump into her.” She paused. “When she had the baby she was ecstatic. I decided to call to the house and deliver a present. She chatted on the front doorstep, thanking me and saying how happy she was but she didn’t ask me in. I got the message. I was welcome but not inside.”
“How odd.”
Grace nodded. “Her mother and sister did come when the baby was born. They stayed in a hotel nearby for a few days. I happened to see them all when they were having coffee in the shopping centre nearby. I stopped to say hello. Eventually Anne went to the mothers’ room to change little Tommy’s nappy and her sister told me that she was worried, that they never got to see her, and that Anne had changed. At a later stage I asked Anne about her family and she said that they weren’t close and so she didn’t see them very often.”
Isobel frowned.
Grace nodded. “I know, but families are complicated and it is hard to know what is really going on.”
Isobel raised her eyebrows and almost smiled. “Ain’t that the truth?”
Grace gave a half-smile. “When Tommy was about ten months old I saw her out in the front garden. I was walking past and the gates were open. I called out and when she turned I saw that she had a black eye. Needless to say, I enquired about it and she said that she’d banged into an open kitchen cupboard. Well, that’s such a cliché, so eventually one day when I’d bumped into her in town and we were having coffee I asked her outright if she was being beaten or bullied.”
Isobel leant forward. “What did she say?”
Grace shrugged. “She denied any problems and was shocked that I would even think of asking her that. Oh, she still met me and talked about Tommy, but she wouldn’t hear a word against Thomas. In fact she went out of her way to drop in facts that showed how good to her he was. In the end I wondered if I was imagining the few things I’d seen or if I had been misinterpreting them. Sometimes, when you’re too long on a job like mine, you start seeing problems everywhere. But, on the other hand, there was a child involved and so one last time, when Tommy was older, I did bring the subject round to Thomas and how he treated her and asked if he was ever controlling or – well, I didn’t get any further. Anne was so upset that I could even suggest such a thing. That kind of put the tin lid on it. She just avoided me after that or kept things to a minimum.”
Isobel chewed her lip.
“Over the years, Thomas always saluted me and was pleasant but somehow always made it clear that I should keep my distance. He was never rude, just unwelcoming. In the end I accepted that they were very private people. Then, out of the blue, a few months ago, he arrived at my door one evening. He asked if he could talk to me and seemed agitated and upset. Needless to say, I said yes and invited him in. That night he confided that Anne had a secret drink problem that he’d just found out about. He claimed that sometimes she had bruises and when he’d ask she’d say she’d bumped into things but he now realised that it happened when she was drunk. He said that he’d thought she was happy and she seemed to be functioning, but that actually during the day when Tommy was at school she drank. She drank vodka so he had never smelt anything. The school isn’t far away so she walked round to pick up Tommy. She wasn’t aggressive or falling-down drunk, but her drinking was escalating and she was more and more depressed. He had noticed that and so he came home from work early, because he was concerned, and that’s when he found Anne at lunchtime, passed out on the sofa, with the vodka bottle on the floor. Apparently this was her pattern, to drink all morning, then sleep it off and so be hungover collecting Tommy.”
“Were you shocked?”
“Well, yes, I was. All along I wondered if he was off in some way and suddenly here I was hearing that Anne was the one who had been causing problems. He said that they rowed for weeks but eventually they both admitted that there was a problem and he persuaded Anne to go into rehab for a month. Apparently she did well there but their marriage had been badly damaged and Thomas felt that he just couldn’t cope with things any more. When she left rehab she moved into a flat so she could have the space and time to focus on her recovery. Thomas said they were going to divorce as he’d had enough. Anne was going to aftercare and AA meetings but, as far as he knew, it was going to take time. He said that at the moment Tommy wasn’t seeing her but hopefully, in the future, Anne would be ready and able for that.” She paused.
Isobel nodded and waited.
Grace took a deep breath. “Well, the first thing I said was that Tommy must miss his mum because they were always so close. Thomas got upset and said he was very worried about Tommy and how he’d been affected by Anne and her drinking. He said they were giving Anne a chance to get sober and find her feet and then they were hoping to have visits so that Tommy could get used to the new arrangement.”
Isobel said, “So they’re making plans for the future and are trying to balance everything.”
Grace made a face. “Maybe.”
“Go on.”
Grace took another deep breath. “All I know is that Anne was devoted to Tommy. Even if she was an alcoholic she would want to see her son and, to be honest, he would want to see her. I said as much to Thomas.”
Isobel leant forward again. “What did he say?”
“He said that he and Anne were taking advice from the workers in aftercare and that they were doing everything they could to make this work for Tommy. In the end I said that seeing his mother was the best thing for him. Thomas agreed but said that unfortunately it couldn’t happen just yet and he was doing his best to get everything right for everyone. He left shortly after that. I haven’t seen Anne. How was she when you saw her?”
Isobel chewed her lip. “She was disinclined to talk, not even about Tommy. She seems very focused on getting her divorce sorted and has some future plans to see Tommy. She is sober and looking well. To be honest, I found it hard to know how she is . . . inside.”
There was a lengthening silence.
Then Grace rubbed her hands together. “I’m worried about Tommy. But if Thomas and Anne have agreed a plan and are getting help, what can I do? Thomas seems to be managing. He leaves Tommy to school. After school Tommy goes to an afterschool club and then Thomas comes home from work earlier to mind him.”