13.
Christine was conflicted. Her feelings towards Joe were annoyingly paradoxical – she hated him passionately but at the same time she had never really managed to get rid of those feelings she had for him. She would have took him back in a heartbeat, and completely disregard the fact that he walked on out on her whilst she was pregnant. But he never came back, and Christine was left alone with a baby, alcohol her only friend. The feelings of loneliness that she felt during that time were so sickeningly overwhelming and as soon as she had seen Joe, stood in that doorway as casual as ever; his presence ignited those memories like a lighter to a firework. Rapidly, Christine's curiosity turned to fury.
"What the hell are you doing here?" she asked, cleverly keeping her voice down so as not to attract the attention of anyone who was passing her room.
"It was the only way I could track you." he told her calmly. "I need to talk to you."
"This is where I work!" Taking a deep breath, she carried on. "What could we possibly need to talk about? Oh, I know! How about how you walked out on me all those years ago whilst I was pregnant? Hmm?"
Joe eyed the floor nervously. He wanted to argue back, justify his actions, but he needed Christine on his good side to ask her about his fathers will. "I'm sorry. I really am. But seriously, are you still maintaining that the child is mine? We were hardly sleeping together!"
Towards the end of their relationship, Joe accused Christine of cheating. She would never, of course. Despite their differences and ill-advised marriage, she loved him.
"Don't start that again, Joe, you know I would never cheat on you and quite frankly, we aren't here to discuss that. If you really have something you want to speak to me about, meet me here at 3.00." Christine scribbled the name of a café in town on a piece of spare paper and handed it to Joe.
"3.00? I only need 10, maybe 20 minutes. Please, I have to get home tonight… my girlfriend is heavily pregnant, she could pop at any moment, you know?" Joe told Christine, completely unaware that his words had just sliced through Christine's heart. A recovering alcoholic really did not need her ex-husband to show up, reignite the feelings that she had worked to block out with drink all these years, and THEN explain how he had a new girlfriend, a family, a new life; all without her.
Christine tried to keep her voice steady. "Oh, sticking by that kid are you?"
"Yes, of course I am. Don't stoop to low blows, Chrissie. It's not your style." Christine just narrowed her eyebrows, giving him a steely glare. "Your kid then-"
"Our kid." Christine interrupted. "His name is Connor, he doesn't know you're here and I think we should keep it that way, ok?"
"3.00." Joe decided not to push her anymore. He desperately needed her signature for the farmhouse.
"You can't wait here. I have a lesson."
Joe nodded, and left, knowing exactly where he was going to go. Christine, however, watched as her ex-husband left her yet again. Exhausted, she collapsed into a heap of wracking sobs, each one making her body shake, the urge to drink accentuated awfully.
X
Connor was miserable. He was sat under a tree on a patch on grass, watching the world go by. By world, he meant watching Kevin be sickeningly sycophantic to Dynasty Barry (he was head over heels) and Barry Barry bullying Year 7's into buying knock off DVDs (he justified it by using the whole 'Me dads in jail and I'm providing for me family' thing.).
"You better be careful, babe." Connor didn't notice as Imogen wandered over, placed her jacket onto the grass and sat down next to him.
Breaking his train of thought, he said, a bit too snappily, "What?"
"If the wind changes – your face will stay like that." she said, smiling. Although they'd been arguing recently, and she ignored him during English, you didn't have to be a genius to realise something was troubling Connor.
Despite his girlfriend's best efforts, Connor stayed silent.
"Oh, for God's sake; am I going to get a smile from you today or am I stuck with a miserable boyfriend for the rest of my life?"
"For the rest of your life?" Connor managed a smirk. "Do you mean to say you want to be with me forever?"
"Are you going to tell me what's up, then?" Imogen said, aimlessly pulling grass from its roots.
"I wish everyone would stop asking!" he snapped. Apologetically, he mumbled, "Sorry. Anyway, I thought you were ignoring me."
"I was just annoyed that you lied to me. Forget about it, it doesn't matter. But, by the looks of you, you're in no mood for company… and unluckily for you; I'm not leaving you alone until you cheer up!" She moved closer to him and grabbed his hand, interlinking their fingers.
"It's just… everything really. Everything is getting to me, and I feel so down all the time." He stopped as he noticed his mum practically running towards the car, looking distressed. "I wonder what's up with her…" not realising he'd said that out loud.
Imogen glanced in Christine's direction. "You worry too much. I'm sure she's just rushing home to get some books she's forgot or something."
"I can't help but worry though, can I? You know that better than anyone."
Imogen rested her head on Connors arm, reassuring him that his mum would be alright. She didn't know, then, how wrong she was.
X
Sonya, Lorraine's ditzy but loveable sister and Michaels PA, was currently trawling through pages and pages of cakes on the internet. It was her birthday soon, and knowing that no-one else would bother, she was choosing herself the perfect cake. Just as she got to some gorgeous little butterfly cupcakes, she was interrupted by a man in a scuffed leather jacket.
"Can I help you?" she asked, enthusiastically. Noticing his ragged good looks, she flirtatiously flicked her hair and batted her eyelids. Lorraine always said Sonya flirted with anything with a pulse.
Joe Mulgrew got straight to the point. "Yeah… I'm Joe, Christine's husband." He watched as Sonya thought hard about who Christine was.
"Oh, yeah, English teacher, lovely woman!"
"Well, if you say so. Look, I just need to know what class Connor is in at the moment." Joe spoke confidently, mentioning Connors casually as if he knew the boy well. First trick of the book when lying – act like you know what you're doing.
"Hold on a tic." Sonya loaded up the register, not once realising she shouldn't be giving out confidential information to strangers. "I do believe he's in History with Ms McFall, room 70. Would you like me to show you?"
Joe panicked. He recognised the name McFall as the woman who showed him to Christine's room. He didn't want to rouse her suspicions, as she seemed the inquisitive, nosy type. Besides, he didn't even know what his own son looked like. "No, no. Would it be possible for you to get a message to him?" Sonya's face fell, and Joe turned on the charm. "I know I'm pushing it… but please, I really need to talk to him."
Sonya, ever the easily manipulated, grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. "What's the message? I'll see what I can do."
"Just say… he's needed, and if he could come as quickly as possible. Cheers."
Sonya hastily scribbled it down, jumping up immediately and setting off towards Audrey's classroom. "I will do just that! You can wait here, if you like." With a cheeky wink, she left. Joe sat down and shook his head. He just wanted to talk to Connor before he had to leave.
When she arrived, Sonya knocked on the door and informed Audrey that Connor was wanted at reception. Audrey assumed Christine needed him for something or other and gave her permission for him to leave, not thinking anything of it. After seeing the state of his mum at lunch, Connors suspicions were aroused immediately. He grabbed his stuff and followed the bumbling receptionist.
"Here he is, Joe. You can talk in here, if you like. I've got some messages to run." With that, she sped off, leaving Connor wondering who this man was, and Joe examining his long lost son. It was silent for a moment, neither one of them wanting to speak first. Finally, Connor broke the ice.
"So… you going to tell me who you are then or are you just going to stare at me?" he said, pulling up the sleeves of his cardigan over his hands, a habit he'd picked up years ago whenever he felt nervous or awkward.
"This is going to sound weird… but what's your full name and what's your mum's name?"
"My name is Connor Mulgrew and my mums name is Christine… who are you, why do you want to know?"
"Connor… I'm your father. I'm your biological father, and I need your help."
X
Unbeknownst to Christine, back at school her worst nightmare was unfolding. She never wanted Joe speak to Connor, never mind meet him. One of the things they had in common was their skills for lying to get their own way, and Christine would have put money on Joe attempting to turn Connor against her. Although their relationship was growing stronger every day since she stopped drinking, it wouldn't take much to unravel all over again. This thought obviously wasn't in Christine's mind today though, as she stopped outside her local off-license, contemplating going in and buying her old regular – a half-litre of the strongest vodka they had. Giving in to temptation, she went in, pulled it off the shelf and paid, feeling a piercing pang of guilt with every action. Back in the car, hands trembling, she tentatively unscrewed the bottle, the intoxicating smell immediately hitting her nostrils. Unthinkingly, she put all thoughts of Connors imminent dramatic reaction out of her mind, put the bottle to her mouth, tipped… and happily drank and drank and drank.
X
AN: Unless I get chance, I probably won't be updating until next week, as I need to revise this weekend and I've got exams next weekend. Sigh. Anyway, like I said, unless I get chance, it'll be a while, but I promise next chapter will be super long to make up for it. Cheers for reading! x