Chapter 14
Previously…
It's not a double glazing salesman. It's Jane.
"Hello Harry."
Harry stares at the woman who abandoned him and the children and caused them so much pain; he is rendered speechless by her sudden appearance.
"Aren't you going to invite me in?" she asks, stepping towards him. "The house is still half-mine after all."
Harry doesn't move. "Wh-what are you doing here?"
"I want to see my children."
"No. Not now, not like this. You can't just turn up out of the blue whenever you feel like it and expect to see them."
"How are they?" she asks
"They're fine, no thanks to you."
"That's unfair."
"No. What's unfair is you abandoning them. What's unfair is them having to grow up without a mother. What's unfair is Catey crying herself to sleep for months after you left, wondering what she'd done wrong to make her Mummy go away." Harry is losing his temper now; all the emotions he has held inside for two years are surfacing. "What you did to them, that was unfair. I don't know why you did it, Jane and quite frankly I don't care. What I care about is the welfare of my children. They don't need you coming in here turning their lives upside down again!"
"You can't stop me from seeing them!" Jane protests. "I'm their mother!"
"And what sort of a mother have you been? What sort of a mother abandons her children?"
"I didn't abandon them; God you make it sound like I left them on someone's doorstep. I left them with you; their father!"
"Harry?" Ruth's soft voice travels down the corridor. "Is everything alright?" She had heard Harry's raised voice from the kitchen and had come out to berate him for shouting at the salesmen, only now she sees it's not a salesman. It's his wife.
Harry turns to face her and she sees the pain in his eyes. "Everything's fine," he lies. "Go back in the kitchen…please," he begs. He wants her to go and keep the children occupied.
It's too late though; as Ruth opens the kitchen door, Catherine comes running out. "Daddy, hurry up! We're waiting for you so we can ice the ca-" She stops as she sees the woman in the doorway.
Jane takes her opportunity and steps inside. "Hello Catherine," she greets, bending down. "Do you remember me?"
"Mummy?" Catherine mumbles, a confused look on her face.
"That's right." Jane opens her arms. "Can I have a cuddle?"
Unsure of what to do, she looks to her father but he is staring at the ceiling. Finding no help from him she turns to Ruth.
Ruth shrugs, not really knowing what to say. "It's up to you, sweetheart."
Catherine approaches her mother warily and gives her a quick, slightly awkward hug, before moving to stand next to her father.
Meanwhile, bored of waiting in the kitchen and thinking he's missing out on something, Graham wanders in from the kitchen. He senses the atmosphere and notices the unfamiliar woman in the hall. He tugs slightly on Ruth's jeans to get her attention and holds his arms out , wanting to be picked up. Ruth does so out of instinct, but she can feel Jane's eyes on her.
"Graham!" Jane exclaims, stepping further into the hall. "You've gotten so big!"
"That tends to happen over two years," Harry comments icily.
Ruth shoots him a glare. As much as he may hate Jane, he needs to remember that the children are still present. Jane approaches Ruth and Graham and reaches out to stroke her son's head. Graham, not recognising his mother and being incredibly shy, turns away, burying his head in the crook of Ruth's neck.
"He doesn't cope well with strangers," Harry tells her.
"I'm not a stranger; I'm his Mum."
"Who he hasn't seen in two years," Harry reminds her. "He doesn't know you."
Ruth turns to Harry, "Maybe I should take these two to the park for an hour or so?" she suggests.
"That's a good idea."
"But what about the cakes?" Catherine asks.
Harry sighs and Ruth can tell he is holding onto his temper by a thread. Not wanting him to blow up at Catherine for something that's not her fault, she intervenes. "The cakes will still be here when we get back. Daddy just needs to have a bit of a talk with…Mummy." Ruth struggles with Jane's 'title' but forces herself to say it for the children's sake.
Catherine turns to her Dad. "Promise you won't eat any?"
"I promise. Now, take your brother and go and get Scarlett in from the back garden." He hands her the lead and Ruth puts Graham down. The two children walk off together as Ruth retrieves her trainers from the shoe rack.
"Who exactly are you?" Jane asks Ruth.
"That's none of your business," Harry tells her, his arms folded across his chest.
"As their mother I have a right to know who's spending time with my children."
"Ruth has been more of a mother to them over the past five months than you have in two years. You don't have the right to know anything."
"Harry, don't," Ruth implores, stepping into him and squeezing his arm gently, trying to calm him down. "Stay calm," she whispers. "Shouting at her won't do any good. You need to find out what she wants and come to some sort of understanding."
"We're ready!" calls Catherine as she, Graham and Scarlett come bounding down the hallway. "Can I go on the big slide again?" she asks. Ruth had finally convinced Harry to let her try the climbing equipment in the 'junior play park' last week and she loved it.
"We'll see. It depends how busy it is. Are you okay to hold Scarlett's lead if I take Graham's hand?" Catherine nods. "Right then. Come on."
"Bye," calls Catherine over her shoulder as she steps outside.
"I've got my phone," Ruth tells Harry. "Ring me when you're done."
"Thank you," he whispers, walking her to the door and kissing her cheek. Once the door is closed behind them, Harry turns to Jane and motions to the living room. "Shall we?"