Family Drama 4 E-Book Bundle (42 page)

Bessie bustled off, and Nora began to amuse Johnny, pulling her usual faces whilst Pearl’s mind continued to churn. She couldn’t forget it. The police would be back soon for her answer. She couldn’t let Dolly get away with it. She’d have to press charges.

In the end it was Bernie who stayed Pearl’s hand. Dolly was ill, he said, when he came to see them. Her mind was unhinged. Pearl saw the deep sadness in her father-in-law’s eyes as he spoke.

‘I should have realised she wasn’t quite right, Pearl, but now she seems to have lost it completely. Maybe those tranquilliser pills the doctor prescribed held it off, but she must have stopped taking them. She’s raving, Pearl. She thinks that Johnny is Kevin and that the police were taking him away from her.’

Confused, Pearl shook her head, but Bernie continued, ‘I had to speak to a psychiatrist and he asked me lots of questions. I told him about Kevin and then he spouted bloody theories that Dolly couldn’t face up to what Kevin had done, or losing him to a prison sentence. He said the catalyst must have occurred when the police snatched Johnny. His theory was that Dolly slipped back to a time when Kevin was a baby, and that her mind couldn’t cope with losing him twice.’

Pearl sighed heavily. ‘I suppose it makes some sort of weird sense. Did you have to give permission for her to be sectioned?’

‘Yes, but even if I’d refused, it would have been taken out of my hands. Anyway, seeing the state Dolly’s in, it wasn’t a hard decision. She needs help, a lot of help, and at the moment a psychiatric hospital is the best place for her.’

‘What will you do now, Bernie?’

‘I dunno, love. With the café being in Dolly’s name, I couldn’t halt the sale, but I’ll stay around here. The psychiatric unit is in Tooting, and I want to be close by.’ He rose to his feet. ‘Anyway, I’d best be off to sort to find myself a bed for the night. Can I pop in to see the nipper now and again?’

‘Yes, of course you can,’ Pearl said, her heart going out to Bernie. He looked awful. With his shoulders stooped, suddenly he was like an old, old man.

‘Thanks, Pearl.’

As Bernie left, she slumped back and closed her eyes, feeling mentally drained.

‘Are you all right, Pearl?’ Bessie asked.

‘I’m just tired.’ Pearl said, forcing her eyes open again. It was only five o’clock, but felt much later.

There was another knock on the door.

‘Bloody hell, what now?’ Bessie said as she went to answer it.

Bessie returned with Derek behind her and Pearl
rose swiftly to her feet. ‘Oh, Derek, I was going to come to see you, to thank you. How did you know what Dolly was up to?’

‘I didn’t, but it seemed odd that she was going off with your baby. I followed her, and I’m glad I did.’

‘Me too,’ Pearl said, impulsively giving him a hug.

His arms tightened around her and she leaned against him, feeling his strength. This man had stopped Dolly from kidnapping her son. Tears of gratitude filled her eyes. ‘I … I can’t thank you enough.’

‘It was nothing, love, and anyway, the police weren’t far behind me.’

‘Hark at him, playing it down,’ Bessie chuckled. ‘From what we heard you held on to Dolly until they arrived. I reckon you deserve a medal.’

Pearl was still in his arms, but before drawing away she heard words said almost under his breath: ‘Sod a medal, I’d rather have Pearl.’

She pretended she hadn’t heard, but her mind reeled with confusion. Derek still loved her, still wanted her, and as she looked up at his face she realised that she cared for him too, maybe more than cared.

‘I’ve got to go, Pearl,’ he said. ‘I’m due at the gym.’

‘Yes, of course. I … I’ll show you out.’

Derek called goodbye to the others, and then
Pearl led him downstairs. She paused before opening the door. ‘Are … are you still seeing that woman?’

‘No, love, it didn’t work out.’

‘Oh, I’m sorry.’

‘Is there any chance for me, Pearl?’

She wanted to say yes, but held back. She felt something for Derek, but was it love? He held none of the passion that she had felt for Kevin, but there was something, like a seed that had been planted yet needed water to flourish. ‘I don’t know, Derek. Maybe, but so much has happened and I don’t think I’m ready for another relationship. Perhaps if you give me a little more time and then ask again …’

‘I’ll wait, Pearl,’ he said eagerly. ‘You can have all the time in the world, and I’ll still be waiting.’

He looked like a big, soft bear and Pearl had to smile. She stood on tiptoe, giving him a swift kiss. ‘Thanks, Derek.’ Then impulsively she added, ‘And … and I don’t think I’ll keep you waiting for long.’

It was as though a light had switched on inside Derek’s eyes and they glowed with happiness as he looked at her. He grinned, and Pearl found herself grinning back. His wasn’t a handsome face, but suddenly Pearl loved it.

‘When things have calmed down, come round to see me. Maybe in a week or two.’

‘Wild horses couldn’t keep me away,’ Derek smiled, and as Pearl finally opened the door he stepped outside. ‘Take care, love, and if you need me before then, you know where I am.’

Pearl was smiling as she closed the door, walked back upstairs and into the living room.

Bessie said, ‘Right, let’s hope that’s the last caller. I can’t face cooking a meal so me and Nora are off to get some fish and chips.’

‘I’ll get them,’ Pearl said.

‘No, love, we’ll go, but it’s nice to see you smiling again. That Derek’s a smashing bloke.’

‘Yes, he is,’ Pearl agreed.

‘You could do worse.’

‘I know,’ Pearl said, but this time she wasn’t going to rush it. She had learned her lesson, and would take things slowly. Yes, she cared for Derek, but didn’t know if it would grow into love. It wouldn’t be fair to give him false hope, and she’d have to tell him that from the start, but it would be nice to go out with him again.

When Bessie and Nora returned, they sat around the table to eat, Nora’s portion the first to disappear from her plate. She then got up, moving across to play with Johnny, whilst Bessie said, ‘That woman who turned up today – it’s a bit strange really, but with so much going on I’ve only just realised where I’ve seen her before.’

‘Miss Rosen was my art teacher during my last
year in the orphanage. I must admit I was surprised to see her.’

‘She’s the one I saw in my vision, the one I told you about, who was sitting up in bed looking at your face in the newspaper.’

Pearl frowned. ‘I wonder what she wanted to talk to me about?’

‘Well love, you’ll find out when she comes back tomorrow.’

Pearl found herself puzzling about Miss Rosen for the rest of the evening, but it had been a fraught day and she was yawning widely by nine thirty.

‘I think I’ll have an early night,’ she said.

‘Yeah, you do that, love,’ Bessie agreed. ‘Me and Nora won’t be far behind you.’

Pearl took Johnny upstairs and, after changing his nappy, laid him gently in his cot. He gurgled, his smile wide as he held his arms up. Unable to resist, she picked him up again. She held him against her fiercely for a moment, thanking God that Dolly had been caught, but then, yawning again, she put him back. He protested, so Pearl sat on the side of her bed with a hand through the bars, holding his until he went to sleep. She then lay down but, tired as she was, her mind was still restless, her thoughts again turning to Miss Rosen as she wondered why her old art teacher wanted to talk to her.

Chapter Forty-Two

When Pearl got up the next morning, she found Johnny soaking. He didn’t seem to mind as he gurgled happily to see her.

She tickled him under the chin. ‘Come on, darling, I think you need a bath.’

Bessie was up, but there was no sign of Nora when Pearl finally got her son bathed and dressed. He was starting to cry now, obviously hungry, so Bessie took him while Pearl went to prepare his bottle and rusk, something her son had taken to with relish.

‘Blimey, Pearl, he’s getting to weigh a ton,’ Bessie said when Pearl returned.

‘Yes, I know,’ she said, smiling fondly as Johnny’s mouth opened like a baby bird waiting to be fed.

‘Thank Gawd it’s Sunday,’ Bessie said, ‘’cos I don’t know about you, but I still feel worn out.’

‘I’m fine now, and just glad that Dolly didn’t get away with it.’

Nora appeared, hair sticking up like a brush, but she made straight for Johnny. ‘Me hold him, Pearl?’

‘Yes, when he’s finished his breakfast.’

It was a leisurely morning, but at eleven o’clock someone knocked on the door. ‘I’ll get it,’ Pearl said.

When she opened the door, Miss Rosen smiled, ‘Hello, my dear.’

‘Please come in,’ Pearl invited, thinking that the woman looked frail.

Emily Rosen followed Pearl upstairs, but after saying hello to Bessie and Nora, she said, ‘I’m sorry to sound rude, but would it be possible to talk to Pearl alone?’

Bessie stood up. ‘Of course it would. Come on, Nora, we’ll make ourselves scarce for a while.’

‘Please, sit down,’ Pearl said as the door closed behind them. ‘It’s lovely to see you again, but I must admit I’m puzzled. What do you want to talk to me about?’

‘Oh, my dear, I’m afraid this is going to be another shock for you, but when you didn’t respond to my letter I began to think the worst, that … that you didn’t want to see me.’

‘I can’t imagine why I wouldn’t want to see you. I left the café just over a month ago, and maybe the letter arrived after that. If Dolly found it I’m not surprised she didn’t pass it on.’

‘Never mind, I’m here now, and only sorry I couldn’t come sooner. I’ve been rather ill and until now, unable to travel. Anyway, my dear, I don’t know how to break this gently, so I’ll just tell you. You see, I’m your mother.’

Pearl’s jaw dropped. ‘What! But you can’t be!’

‘I am, my dear, and I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to find you again.’

‘But … but I don’t understand. If you’re my mother, why didn’t you tell me when you came to work at the orphanage?’

‘I’m afraid it wasn’t that simple.’

Johnny awoke, crying loudly. Pearl picked him up and, as she comforted him, bitterness rose like bile in her throat. No matter what, she could never abandon her son. She would die first. She glared at the woman who claimed to be her mother. Emily Rosen had dumped her on the steps of the orphanage, but now had the cheek to turn up all these years later. Where had she been when she had felt so alone? Where had she been when she needed her?

Taking a seat again with Johnny perched on her lap, she voiced her thoughts. ‘Do you know I grew up dreaming about my mother, wondering why she had left me. The only comfort I could find was in thinking that she was ill, too ill to keep me and that she’d died. What other excuse could there be for abandoning me?’

‘Oh Pearl, I didn’t, really I didn’t. Please let me explain.’

‘No,’ Pearl cried. ‘You can’t be my mother! You just can’t.’ And, holding Johnny closely, she ran sobbing from the room.

‘What’s going on?’ Bessie demanded, but Pearl ignored her shout as she reached her bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

Bessie frowned and, marching into the sitting room, she demanded, ‘What the hell’s going on? Don’t you think that girl’s been through enough without you turning up to upset her?’

‘Please, I didn’t know she’d take it like this. Like me, I thought Pearl would be overjoyed.’

‘She didn’t look overjoyed to me. What did you say to her?’

For a moment Emily hesitated, but then said quietly, ‘I told Pearl that I’m her mother.’

Bessie’s face stretched in shock. ‘What?’

‘I said I’m Pearl’s mother.’

For a moment Bessie just stared at Emily. Then, heaving a deep sigh, she pulled out a chair. ‘Come on, tell me about it, and start at the beginning.’

Nora came into the room, Bessie snapping, ‘Go and make your bed.’

The tone in Bessie’s voice was enough to have Nora scuttling out again, and for a moment Emily said nothing. She then looked deeply into Bessie’s
eyes, and as though seeing someone she could trust, she began, ‘It’s a long story.’

Bessie listened, thinking that the woman still showed signs of illness, and didn’t interrupt until her story came to an end. Then she said kindly, ‘Well, love, it’s a sad tale, but once Pearl has heard it I’m sure she’ll come round.’

‘Oh, I do hope so. Now that I’ve found her, I couldn’t bear to lose her again. I can’t offer her much, but I have a small cottage and hoped to offer her a home.’

‘As I said, she can’t fail to come round, but if she moves in with you, I’m gonna miss the girl. Anyway, Emily, I should think she’ll have calmed down by now. Go and talk to her. You’ll find her on the top floor, the room at the end of the landing.

When Emily left, Bessie sat thinking. She had no doubt that Pearl would leave to be with her mother, and she felt a wave of sadness. It seemed that some people came into your life and remained, yet others came only briefly. Yet as paths crossed, each person brought a new experience, a new lesson to learn. Sometimes it would be a bad experience and you’d hurt someone, or be hurt – others were good – but no matter what, it brought the opportunity for spiritual growth.

She’d known that she and Pearl were destined to meet, that for a short while the girl would need
her, just as she now knew it was time for her to move on.

Bessie sighed heavily. It had been a two-way thing, of course. She had let the shop, and herself, go, but when Pearl turned up it had given her a new lease of life. That was the lesson: a reminder that there was always a reason to carry on.

Nora came into the room, her expression nervous, but Bessie smiled at her and, visibly relaxing, Nora smiled back. Bessie was fond of Nora and knew she shouldn’t have snapped at her. As with Pearl, the two of them needed each other. The circle was turning, and as one door was closing, another had opened. She had Nora now. Thanks to Pearl the shop was doing well, and between them they’d keep up the good work.

Yes, she and Nora would rub along well together, and somehow Bessie knew it would be for many, many years.

When Emily Rosen knocked softly on the door before walking into the room, Pearl cried, ‘Leave me alone. We have nothing to say to each other.’