30
30
‘I don’t think we should let Rose spend her days with Fiona anymore,’ I said.
We were halfway through our main course. The restaurant was busy, the food a little disappointing after the hype, but it was still good to be out with my wife. There was a candle on the table, the lights were low, and it was romantic. We were reconnecting and, with the candlelight casting a glow upon her skin and hair, Emma was as beautiful as on our very first date, all those years ago.
It might have been romantic, but we were still talking about our offspring.
Emma put her fork down. ‘Why? Has something happened?’
I outlined my worries. My growing concern about the influence Fiona was having on our daughter, including what Dylan had said about our neighbour.
‘I mean, look at Rose’s behaviour recently. Her moodiness. The way she talks to you in particular. She’s even changed her bedroom. She told me she was going to get rid of her Barbies.’
‘But that’s just her growing up! I know as her dad you find it hard to accept, but that’s all that’s happening.’
‘So how do you explain what Dylan said? About how Fiona’s face goes blank when she doesn’t think anyone is looking?’
‘That just sounds like Dylan’s imagination running riot to me. Too many video games and horror films.’
‘Dylan’s not the one who watches horror films. Fiona let Rose watch that M3GAN movie. God knows what else she’s been showing her.’
‘Didn’t you tell me you started watching scary movies when you were eleven?’
‘Yeah, but—’
‘What, it’s different for boys?’
I had stopped eating, suddenly no longer hungry. I really didn’t want to argue, not when we were finally getting along again. But I couldn’t let the subject drop.
‘She let Rose see someone die . That man in the park.’
‘That wasn’t Fiona’s fault.’
‘I know, but she neglected to tell us about it. There was the whole thing with Albie and Eric too, back at the start of the summer. She didn’t tell us about that either. What if we made a big mistake letting Fiona look after her? What if Fiona brings out Rose’s bad side?’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘Remember when Rose pushed that girl off the tower at nursery?’
‘What, when she was four?’
‘Yes. I know it was a long time ago, but don’t you remember how concerned we were at the time? About how she showed no remorse?’
‘She was four!’
‘You’ve obviously forgotten how worried about it we were. How we wondered if we were doing something wrong with our parenting. Don’t you remember how we talked to her about the importance of being kind?’
‘Of course I remember. And it worked. She’s been absolutely fine since then.’
‘She was absolutely fine.’ I sighed. ‘Maybe I’m being stupid. But her behaviour has definitely changed recently. You can’t deny it. This incident with Henry, her bad temper, taking stuff without asking ...’
‘You really think that’s because of Fiona? You heard what Angela said. She’s a child psychologist. She knows what she’s talking about. It’s normal, Ethan. We don’t know what happened with Henry, and it’s completely normal for there to be conflict between me and her – though I’m going to do what I can to smooth things over. That’s why I took this week off work, so I can spend some time with her, show her I’m not a bad guy.’
‘That’s good. I’m really pleased you’re doing that. Maybe I could take a week off too, look after her for the final week of the holidays. Then Fiona won’t need to do any more childminding, Rose will be back at school, Fiona will presumably start her job – if it even exists.’
‘What makes you say that?’
‘Well, she never mentions it, does she? And she’s extremely vague if you ask her about it. Plus I searched for her name in relation to banking and nothing came up. I checked Google, LinkedIn, all the social sites. It’s weird. I’m not even sure if Fiona Smith is her real name.’
‘What?’
‘Iris is sure she knows her from somewhere.’
‘Right.’ Emma looked at me as if waiting for more.
‘She gets a bad vibe from her too.’
Emma laughed. ‘Oh my God. The woman across the road gets a bad vibe from her. We’d definitely better stop our daughter from seeing her.’ She picked up her fork again. ‘I am so tired of this subject, Ethan.’
‘So you’re not going to listen to my concerns?’
She sighed heavily. ‘Rose loves her. If we stop her seeing her – based on some hunch – then, well, if you think Rose has been difficult recently, you’ll be in for a nasty surprise. Because, believe me, she could be a lot worse.’
‘We shouldn’t allow the fear of Rose’s moods to dictate our parenting decisions.’
This time the sigh was both heavy and deep. ‘We’re going in circles, Ethan. Look, if you bring me one piece of proof that Fiona is a bad person or a malign influence, then of course I’ll stop Rose from seeing her. In fact, if she’s done anything to harm Rose, I’ll punch her bloody lights out. But this is all starting to seem like a one-man witch hunt, and I don’t get it.’
‘But—’
‘Let’s change the subject. What vinyl is coming out next week?’
I had to laugh at that. ‘Wow, you really are desperate to talk about something else.’
We finished our meal, paid the bill. Chatted about the shop and Emma’s job and some home improvements we wanted to get done before Christmas. We talked about Lola and the possibility of getting another dog, or even a cat.
I didn’t mention Fiona again.
We got off the train and decided to walk the rest of the way home, because it was such a warm evening.
There was a row of shops between the train station and the estate, all of them shut except for the kebab shop and the convenience store that sold, along with milk and bread and cigarettes, a selection of cheap alcohol. As we passed it, a familiar figure came out. Tommy.
He was carrying a flimsy bag, a six-pack of lager visible through the plastic.
‘You,’ he said when he spotted us, and I immediately got a feeling of foreboding.
He was drunk. Properly wasted, standing on the spot but swaying like he was being buffeted by strong winds.
I tried to hurry on, but Emma stopped. ‘How’s Albie?’ she asked.
‘He’s getting better.’ He tapped the side of his head. ‘His brain. They reckon he’s gonna make a full recovery.’
‘That’s amazing. What a relief.’
‘Too right.’ He belched, then his eyes focused on me. I thought he might vomit on my shoes, so I took a step back. It seemed he had something to say.
‘You let her look after your kid, don’t you?’
I found myself frozen.
‘Whatever she says about me, it’s a lie.’ His words were slurred, his S’s coming out with a shh sound. Ish a lie. He jabbed a finger towards us. ‘Don’t ever try to take her photo. She’ll freak right out. And I don’t care what she says. I wouldn’t touch her with a barge pole. With somebody else’s barge pole. Not like you, eh, Ethan?’
This was the moment I’d been dreading.
‘What’s he talking about?’ Emma asked.
I shook my head, trying to act ignorant, wanting to push Tommy in front of a passing bus.
Tommy belched again, pressing his fist to his lips.
‘If I lived next to that psycho, I’d move out. And I wouldn’t let my kids anywhere near her. I certainly wouldn’t shag her.’
With that, he staggered away, into the road, a taxi swerving to avoid him, the driver sounding the horn furiously.
I turned to Emma and, to my horror, saw fury on her face.
‘What the hell was he talking about? You’ve gone completely pale, so do not try to tell me you have no idea.’
All I could do was be honest.
‘He got the wrong end of the stick.’
‘Which stick?’
‘He saw Fiona give me a hug, that was all. In her kitchen.’
‘What? Why the hell was Fiona hugging you in her kitchen?’
‘Because ... because I saw you with Mike. I was upset, needed comforting ...’
I knew that was a poor choice of words, but it was too late. ‘Wait. Why didn’t you tell me you saw me with Mike? We had a whole big heart-to-heart about that very subject and you didn’t mention it?’
‘I was about to when you brought it up.’
‘Hold on. It sounds like you didn’t mention it because it led to you going round to Fiona’s so she could “comfort” you. Oh my God, this is the real reason you want Rose to stop seeing her, isn’t it? You’re afraid Fiona will let it slip there’s something going on between you.’
‘No! Emma, that’s not right. It has nothing to do with that. And there isn’t anything going on between us!’
But she had stopped listening, was already walking away. I hurried to catch up with her. ‘It was a hug . That’s all. And I didn’t want you to think I’d been watching you. I was so relieved when you told me there was nothing between you and Mike, I didn’t see the need to tell you I’d seen you.’
She kept walking.
‘Emma. What about what Tommy said about Fiona?’
‘He’s just a drunk idiot. Probably tried it on with her and she rejected him. Trying to take her photo? Probably leaning over her fence when she was in her bikini. Or pointing his phone at her bedroom window when she was getting dressed. And she caught him and called him out for it. Now stop talking to me.’
We walked the rest of the way home in silence. When we reached our house, I looked over at Iris’s. The downstairs lights were on, and I remembered a taxi was due to pick her up at one to take her to the airport. I was chuffed for her, and proud that I’d helped her afford the trip.
We found Fiona and Rose in the kitchen, playing chess.
‘Everything been okay?’ Emma asked, her voice clipped.
Fiona looked up from the board. Half the pieces had been taken, the endgame approaching. ‘Yep. It’s all been quiet, hasn’t it, Rose?’
Our daughter didn’t remove her eyes from the game. ‘Uh-huh.’ She moved her knight and sat back.
I couldn’t stop staring at them. It was such a wholesome scene. The babysitter and my daughter quietly playing chess in the kitchen. Was I going crazy, imagining everything? Was I completely wrong to worry about Fiona? Creating problems that didn’t exist?
I should dismiss my fears as paranoia, I thought. I should definitely dismiss the drunken ranting of my most unpleasant neighbour who’d called Fiona a ‘psycho’.
Except I couldn’t. And, apart from making Emma think there was something going on between me and Fiona, Tommy had actually given me an idea.
‘I’m going to bed,’ Emma said, not looking at me as she left the room.
Fiona raised an eyebrow. ‘Trouble in paradise?’
I kept calm, smiled, said, ‘No, everything is fine. Who’s winning?’
Fiona and Rose exchanged a glance that, for some reason I couldn’t understand, sent a shiver along my spine.
‘We both are,’ Fiona replied.