Another Forgotten Child (36 page)

‘Yes, of course.’

I showed them to the bathroom and then when they returned to the sitting room there was an awkward silence before Jason said, ‘Well, Aimee, we’d best be on our way, then.’

‘I’ll give you a hand loading the car,’ Adrian said, and we all traipsed into the hall.

Lucy and Paula helped Aimee into her coat and shoes and then stayed in the hall with her and Emily, while Adrian, Jenny, Jason and I loaded the car. It was a fine spring day outside, clear and fresh with birds fluttering in the hedgerow, nest-building. It took a number of trips in and out before the hall was empty. Their car was large – a people carrier – which was just as well. The boot was full and we’d stacked a couple of bags on the rear seat. Returning to the hall for the last time I checked around for any stray bags but it was clear. ‘If I do find anything, I’ll send it on,’ I reassured Aimee.

Everyone fell quiet again and there was another awkward silence. Then Emily left Paula and Lucy, and went over and took her father’s hand, while Aimee looked at us in turns, uncertain. Adrian broke the silence and, stepping forward, offered his hand to Aimee to shake. ‘Bye then, little un,’ he said, ruffling her hair. ‘Take care.’

‘I’m not little,’ Aimee said, flattening her hair. We laughed and the tension eased, for standing beside Adrian, who was over six feet, she was indeed a ‘little un’.

Having said goodbye, Adrian stepped back and Lucy went forward. ‘Bye rascal,’ she said, hugging Aimee. ‘Be a good girl. You’re very lucky to have such a nice family. Remember that.’ Jason and Jenny looked emotional and I swallowed hard.

Then it was Paula’s turn. She hugged Aimee and said, ‘Bye, little sis. I’m sorry if I didn’t play with you as much as you would have liked, but I had to study for my exams.’ I felt choked up.

‘That’s OK,’ Aimee said easily. ‘I understand. I hope you pass your exams.’

They kissed goodbye, which just left me. ‘Big hug,’ I said, spreading my arms wide to receive her. Aimee buried her head in my chest and I felt her arms tighten around my waist.

‘I’m going to miss you,’ she said, her voice trembling.

‘I’m going to miss you too,’ I said. ‘But I know you’re going to do just fine with Jenny, Jason and Emily. We’ll wave you off at the door and then visit when you are settled.’ I gently released her arms and passed her to Jenny. Aimee wasn’t crying but she was close to it.

‘We’ll phone,’ Jenny said.

I smiled. ‘Thank you.’

Adrian, Paula, Lucy and I followed them out of the front door and then stood on the drive as they got into their car. Jason settled Emily into her seat in the rear while Jenny did the same with Aimee.

‘Goodbye,’ we all called before the rear doors closed.

‘Goodbye!’ Aimee and Emily returned, waving. Aimee was smiling now but it was a brave smile and I could see her bottom lip trembling, as indeed was mine.

Jenny climbed into the passenger seat and Jason the driver’s seat, and they called goodbye again before they closed their doors. The windows lowered and there were more shouts of ‘Bye’ as the car engine started and they slowly pulled away, Jason and Jenny in the front smiling and waving, and their two children smiling and waving from the rear. They were like many other families on their way home, but this was no ordinary family: it was a very special family formed from the ashes of abuse and despair. It was a family that had risen to live again – Jason adopted and given a fresh start in life, and then twenty years later doing the same for his younger half-sister. No, this was no ordinary family; it was an incredible family born of love, hope, courage and the determination to put the past behind them and create a better, brighter future.

Goodbye, Aimee, and good luck
.

Epilogue

When my children were young and a child left us I always took them on a little outing to take their minds off our loss. Big as they were now, after Aimee left that Saturday I still thought we needed some diversion, so I suggested we went out for lunch. It was nothing grand, just our local carvery, and then on the spur of the moment we decided to go to the cinema. The film showing was
Brokeback Mountain
, which went on to become a classic. It was a long time since we’d all been to the cinema together and I relished every moment. It also gave Paula a much needed break from studying. When we arrived home there was a message on the answerphone from Jason saying that they’d arrived safely and were busy unpacking.

I didn’t hear anything further from Jason or Jenny for two months. I wasn’t expecting to, as I was aware Aimee needed time to properly settle in before we visited. Then one evening in July, Jason phoned and after he’d told me all about Aimee and how well she was doing he invited us for Sunday dinner the week after next. Adrian couldn’t make it, as he was travelling in Europe for the summer before he started work in September, but Paula, Lucy and I looked forward to seeing Aimee and her family again.

We arrived as arranged at 12.30 p.m., and no sooner had I parked the car outside their house than the front door opened. With cries of delight Aimee and Emily ran down the path to greet us, followed a little more sedately by Jenny and Jason.

‘You’ve both grown!’ I exclaimed to Emily and Aimee, passing the flowers and chocolates we’d brought to Jenny and then hugging the girls.

‘They have,’ Jenny said. ‘Thanks for these. It’s so good to see you all again.’

We kissed and shook hands, and then once inside Emily and Aimee whisked the ‘big girls’, as they called Paula and Lucy, upstairs to show them their bedrooms. I followed Jenny and Jason into the kitchen, where from the window Peter Rabbit could be seen hopping around the enclosed garden in the sun. Jason filled the kettle for coffee while Jenny checked on the roast cooking in the oven. I admired the delicious smell, and Jenny said Aimee had told them how much she used to enjoy our Sunday roasts. We took our coffees into the lounge, where Jenny and I sat on the sofa and Jason took the armchair. The dining table at the far end of the room was already laid with a white tablecloth, neatly folded napkins and a little flower centrepiece. I was touched they’d gone to so much trouble. We talked while the dinner cooked and Jenny and Jason told me how Aimee had been doing, both at home and at school. She’d made friends and had also joined an after-school club as well as starting ballet lessons.

‘And Emily and Aimee are getting along all right with each other?’ I asked, mindful they had both previously been only children.

‘Just like sisters,’ Jenny said, with a laugh. ‘One day they’re best of friends, playing happily for hours, and the next they’re squabbling. All perfectly normal. I know, I had three sisters!’

‘We had one setback,’ Jason admitted, a moment later, glancing at his wife. ‘For me more than Aimee.’

I looked at him, concerned, and Jenny threw me a pointed look.

‘Aimee saw her mother last month,’ Jason explained. ‘Contact has been set at four times a year – supervised at our contact centre.’ I nodded. ‘I took Aimee, and I met Susan, for the first time in twenty years. I didn’t have to go,’ he added quickly. ‘Jenny could have taken Aimee, but I felt it was something I needed to do. I won’t be going again. It really unsettled me.’

Jason fell silent and I could see just how difficult meeting his birth mother after all those years had been. I could understand why.

‘Jason said Susan looked dreadful – ill,’ Jenny added. ‘In fact he was so concerned that because of Susan’s history of drug abuse, we asked for Aimee to be tested for HIV, so we could get the necessary treatment if necessary. Fortunately the test result was negative.’

‘Good,’ I said. ‘That’s a relief.’ They knew that when Aimee had been with me the paediatrician had raised the same concerns.

‘There was nothing on Aimee’s medical records to say she’d been tested as a baby,’ Jenny added. ‘So we went ahead with the test and we’re pleased we did.’ Jenny then said that although Aimee hadn’t disclosed any further details of her abusers, she did sometimes mention her mother and the life she’d led with her, which they both found upsetting to hear.

‘Aimee’s on the list to receive play therapy,’ Jason said. ‘But the list is long and Aimee isn’t considered a priority, so she won’t be seen for a few months yet.’

‘But generally she’s doing all right,’ Jenny confirmed.

Presently Aimee came downstairs and wanted to show me her bedroom. So while Jenny and Jason went into the kitchen to put the finishing touches to dinner I went upstairs. With her possessions now occupying every shelf, drawer and toy box, and her posters on the walls, the room looked very homely, and as though it had been hers for years rather than a few months. Aimee also proudly pointed out the goldfish in a bowl on top of the chest of drawers. ‘I’ve called the fish Cathy,’ she said. I wasn’t sure if I should be pleased or offended.

‘You’re a lucky girl,’ I said.

‘I know,’ Aimee said quietly. ‘I just wish my mum could have been as lucky when she was a child.’

‘Yes, I know, love,’ I said thoughtfully.

The following month we heard that Paula had passed her A-level examinations with the grades she wanted and then in October, Adrian was awarded his degree. The girls and I visited Aimee again two weeks before Christmas and we swapped presents. Peter Rabbit came into the house for a visit, as it was winter, and then returned to his hutch. Their house looked beautiful, decorated for Christmas, and I thought back to the previous Christmas when Aimee had been with us. It had, in effect, been her first proper Christmas, which she’d described as ‘just like the ones you see on television’. I realized how far she’d come in a year; to look at her now – so happy and settled in her family – you would never have imagined the shocking life she’d led before coming into care.

Before we left I asked Jason and Jenny if they were thinking of fostering now Aimee was settled.

‘Not yet,’ Jenny said with a twinkle in her eye. ‘We’ve just had some good news.’ I could guess what it was. ‘Last week,’ Jenny said, slipping her hand into her husband’s, ‘I had my pregnancy confirmed. We’re expecting a baby next year in June.’

‘Congratulations,’ I said. ‘How wonderful! I’m so happy for you all.’

* * *

But while Aimee’s story has a happy ending, not all children are as lucky. It is a sad fact that many children like Aimee are overlooked, forgotten almost, and left at home to suffer. Aimee’s story is not a ‘one-off’; she is not a lone example of a child slipping through the social care safety net, but one of millions of children worldwide who are not rescued when their parents fail. Time and time again I come across parents who are given second chances well beyond what is reasonable or in the best interest of the child, when it’s obvious – sometimes even to the parents – that they won’t ever be able to look after their child. While no one wants to see a family split, sometimes it is essential, for not only does intervention give a child a fresh start but it can and does save lives.

Acknowledgements

A big thank you to Vicky, Carole, Laura and all the team at HarperCollins; my literary agent Andrew and my editor Anne.

Also by Cathy Glass

Damaged

Hidden

Cut

The Saddest Girl in the World

Happy Kids

The Girl in the Mirror

I Miss Mummy

Mummy Told Me Not to Tell

My Dad’s a Policeman (a Quick Reads novel)

Run, Mummy, Run

The Night the Angels Came

Happy Adults

A Baby’s Cry

Happy Mealtimes for Kids

Cathy Glass

One
remarkable woman, more than
70
foster children cared for.

Learn more about the many lives Cathy has touched.

Happy Mealtimes for Kids

A guide to healthy eating with simple recipes that children love.