Part NINE

'He's your dad?' said Jasmine, now recognising the man from her earlier encounter outside the village shop, wrapping her arms around herself again in reflex.

'That's right,' Cain said, answering for his daughter as he held Jasmine's uncomfortable gaze. 'And what I want to know is,' he continued, slowly pacing up to the younger Dingle, 'when did my daughter – suddenly decide she were queer?' His words menacing in tone as his face came within inches of Debbie's. Both sets of eyes fixed on each other.

'What do you care?' she bit back. 'You think you can just waltz back 'ere and start criticising my life? You've not bothered getting in touch wi' me since you fucked off. Not once. So you can keep your comments to yourself – Dad.' she added, mocking him,

Cain stood there, his expression neutral as his daughter spoke. Only when she stopped, did he glance sideways at the attractive girl standing beside Debbie, her face filled with concern at seeing Debbie so angry.

Once again, he pointedly looked her up and down, catching her eye when her attention left her girlfriend to look at him when there'd been no response to Debbie's tirade. His mouth curled ever so slightly into a grim smile and Jasmine immediately looked away again. His whole persona made her decidedly uncomfortable. Cain returned his attention to his daughter, whose face was now clearly showing her barely contained anger.

'And how's Sarah?'

Oh that did it.

He reveled in seeing the tough façade slip from Debbie's face at the mention of her daughter; then seeing her friend look across at her, brow furrowed in confusion, his mirthless grin grew. Two dykes with one stone.

'Oh, did she not mention Sarah? he asked Jasmine, feigning surprise. 'Tut tut, did you not tell your little "friend" here about your daughter?' The words slithered out of his mouth like poison. His eyes once again fixed on Debbie, as he watched her momentarily close hers.

She had started to think about Sarah more and more over the past year, and the guilt over the fact that she might be changing her mind was eating away at her. She had been adamant that she hadn't wanted to play any part in Sarah's life. Getting thrown out and disowned over it. But she refused to go back on her decision then, believing it to be the best thing for her daughter.

Contrary to popular opinion, she cared a great deal about Sarah and what happened to her. She wasn't that hard hearted. But she did what she felt was right and didn't look back. Until recently that is. Until the thoughts started – but what could she do? She had made her decision. Now she just had to try and live with it – didn't she?.

'Debbie?'

The quiet, questioning voice of her girlfriend broke the Dingle out of her reverie and she turned to see the concerned look on Jasmine's face. Her mind raced as she tried to find the right words to explain, but as the sound of clinking bottles drifted into the garage, all eyes immediately turned to see the vicar, quietly surveying the scene.

'Sorry. Am I interrupting?' he asked, concern etched on his face at seeing Cain Dingle and the solemn faces of the two girls.

Jasmine's stomach lurched suddenly. The thought of her uncle and Debbie's dad being in the same vicinity at that moment made her panic. Debbie's father was clearly not happy catching them together and she didn't want him blurting anything out to Ashley. It would simply make an incredibly awkward situation, ten times worse.

'Uncle Ashley,' she said slightly flustered and forcing a smile, 'No no, it's fine. Look, why don't I walk with you. Give these two some space to talk.' she added, quickly escorting him back through the small garage door.

'Jas?' said Debbie, her voice now soft again, desperately wanting to know what was going through Jasmine's mind since the mention of her daughter.

'It's okay,' Jasmine said, as she turned to face the Dingle. 'You two need to talk. I'll come find you in a bit, yeh?' She gave her a quick smile and then turned to leave with her uncle.

Debbie watched on as she left, sighing deeply once she'd gone. Jasmine hadn't given much away on what she was thinking.

'Oh dear. Have I put my foot in it?'

The young mechanic glared at her father. The taunting comment made her blood boil, furious at the sudden turn of events getting in the way of things once again.

'Why the hell have you come back!?' she shouted. 'Seriously Dad, did you wake up this morning thinkin', "Oh, I've not given Debbie any grief for at least three years, I think I'll drop by and fuck everything up for her."?'

Cain grinned, chewing his ever present gum with increased exuberance. Even that simple act seem to mock her. Her eyes narrowed. She really hoped one day he'd choke on it.

'Don't flatter yourself. You were an afterthought. I was passing and figured I'd stop by and check in on the family. And see – if you'd come to your senses and got your daughter back yet.'

'You were passing? Please.' she sneered.

'Look, it's my business.'

'I really don't give a toss anymore, Dad. And as you probably know by now – no – Sarah is still with Andy.'

'She belongs with her mother.'

'She belongs with the person who can provide for her!' she retorted, her voice rising with each embittered exchange.

'You've got your own business, your own home. You can provide for her just as well as Sugden!'

'Dad! I'm not having this conversation with you. It's done. End of. So now you've checked in, you can carry on "passing by" and leave me to get on with things.' she countered, turning her back on him. Now becoming more frustrated with the argument that she had thought was done with three years ago.

' "Getting on with things?", he echoed sarcastically. 'That what you girls call it now, eh?'

Debbie paused, turning back to meet the gaze of her father, her eyes dark with anger.

'Well I call it perverted.'

-----

As the two Thomases left the garage, their feet crunching in the gravel as they made their way down the drive, Jasmine tried to make out the raised voice of her girlfriend. She started to wonder if she'd done the right thing, leaving Debbie alone with her father.

'Are you sure everything is okay, Jasmine?' her uncle asked, breaking her concentration. 'I had no idea Cain Dingle had returned to the village.'

'What?' she asked, somewhat distracted, wishing her uncle would be quiet. 'No. Everything's fine. Um, he literally just showed up today I guess,' she replied, giving up as they turned the corner.

'Jasmine. I um.. wanted to apologise for my behaviour earlier. I realise I was out of order - the way I spoke to you was uncalled for, and I just wanted to make amends really. It's been such a long time since we've seen you and I would hate for my rashness to cause ill-feeling. And well, I er, hope you like wine,' he added holding out the bottles. Jasmine smiled as she accepted the peace offering.

'Ashley, you needn't have, really. I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have flown off the handle like that. I know you only had my best interests at heart. But thank you,' she added gesturing with the bottles.

'I didn't know which..' he continued.

'Oh I'm partial to any kind of wine,' she replied cheekily, chuckling at her uncle's raised eyebrows. 'Oh in moderation, of course,' she added, quickly adopting a mock stern expression. Only managing to hold it for a matter of seconds before giggling again, causing a short laugh to escape from Ashley in return as they continued to walk up Main Street.

'But seriously, I am aware you're old enough to make your own decisions, but as your uncle, I can't help but be concerned about your welfare. But...' he immediately added, raising a finger when he saw his niece about to interject. 'I know it's inevitably down to you what you decide to do. All I can do is make you aware of my concerns, and then, well, you decide as you see fit. But I can't help but want to protect you.'

'Interesting choice of words,' said Jasmine, as she stopped to look at her uncle.

'I shan't interfere, Jasmine. But I'll just say this. My concern is not without good reason. Seriously – how well do you know Debbie, really?'

The question hung in the air as the younger Thomas thought to herself. The recent revelation of Debbie having a child playing on her mind. They hadn't known each other long. How well did she know her?

'Look, Debbie and her dad probably need a while to catch up. I'll only get in the way, so why don't we enjoy this wine over that lovely chicken dinner that Laurel is making?'

Ashley smiled, pleased that they had managed to resolve their disagreement amicably and that there were no hard feelings.

'That would be lovely,' he said, as they walked companionably back to the vicarage.

----

Over dinner, the Thomases enjoyed catching up, relaying stories and amusing anecdotes. Sandy once again delighted at having his grand-daughters company. Jasmine also got to see Gabby and meet Arthur for the first time, which led to thoughts of Debbie's daughter to run through her head. She started wondering how young Debbie must've been, how old Sarah must be now and what she looked like.

And that's when an image floated to the front of her mind. One from the first night she had spent at Debbie's house – the photos she looked at. There had been one taken of Debbie with a young blonde girl. She had presumed that she was related to the blonde woman from another photograph – but that could possibly have been Sarah, she thought.

The child looked like she could have been possibly two or three years old, yet she had no idea how old Debbie was in that picture. At the very most she would've been only seventeen when she'd had Sarah, but after today, something just told her that she was probably younger.

She must have been so frightened, she thought. Suddenly wishing she knew more about the girl, cursing herself for not asking about her family sooner, but it had always been something that Debbie, on the whole, had avoided talking about. She'd clearly had a turbulent history with them. Today's events were testament to that.

She thought back to Ashley's earlier remark about wanting to protect her. It was certainly a curious word to use. Did he mean from her family or maybe Debbie herself? She couldn't imagine that she'd need protecting from her girlfriend. She felt the urge for more information fill her and knew that she should really wait to speak with Debbie herself, but Ashley's words had intrigued her and she decided she wanted to hear more about these 'concerns' of his.

Once she'd helped clear away the plates, they sat in the lounge nursing their glasses of wine as Ashley filled in the gaps of Debbie's past. Tales of the young girl giving birth in a shack in the woods and how later, she devastated her family by giving away her daughter without telling anyone, resulting in her being thrown out. Ashley then took it upon himself to fill Jasmine in on tales of Dingle theft, deceit and dodgy dealings. All this new information made Jasmine's head spin. Theft and blackmail didn't sound like the Debbie she knew and loved

---

Over at Windsor & Dingle, the tension that had filled the air, had slowly filtered as the two Dingles had finally calmed down enough to manage a civil conversation. Debbie was now sat in her chair on one side of the garage and Cain was stood, arms crossed, leaning against a unit at the other side.

Debbie ran her hand through her fringe, looking tired, as she spoke.

'So how long are you going to be 'ere?'

'As long as I need to be,' he shrugged.

'What does that mean?' she said, looking up. The comment grating on her.

'Why don't you want Sarah?' he asked bluntly, ignoring the question asked of him.

Debbie sighed as she placed her head in her hands. She was getting tired of this subject and was starting to feel like a broken record.

'Dad, what makes you think she'd be better off with me? What is it that makes you think you know better than I do?'

'You didn't answer my question. Why – don't you want Sarah?' he repeated, slower this time.

'I don't love her,' she said as expressionless as possible. She looked her father in the eyes as she spoke the words, praying he wouldn't see through her.

'Lisa's told me how you are with her when you see 'er.'

'Oh for God's sake. The number of times I've seen her you can probably count on one hand!' she snapped. Not appreciating the fact that he'd been snooping round and that Lisa had been sticking her nose in, yet again. 'It's nothing.' she added, lying. She didn't want him knowing that she'd been having second thoughts.

If she was to do anything, it would be after she had thought long and hard about it before making a decision. Not because her family got wind of what she as thinking and pushed her into doing something before knowing if it was what she truly wanted. The last thing she wanted to do was confuse the poor girl any more, if she wasn't one hundred percent certain.

'If you don't love her, then why didn't you just have done with and sign the adoption papers when Sugden asked?'

Lisa was going to have a piece of her mind after all this, Debbie thought.

'That doesn't mean anything,' she said, trying to shrug it off.

'It means, you're lying about not lovin' 'er.' he countered. 'She means somethin' to ya. Just admit it.'

'Even if I were to say "yes–I love her", then what? What exactly are you trying to achieve? You can't make me change my mind about having her. Jesus!' she exclaimed, as she got to her feet and started to pace. 'Do you not remember what it was like? Constant fighting in that house. It was no place to try and bring up a kid.'

'Zach and Lisa manage. And the fighting were cos of you. You're the one that caused all the agro, Debbie.'

'Nobody would listen to me! I was trying to tell you that I was strugglin' and no-one would listen.'

'Everyone was there to help you! You had a whole family round ya. You were just a selfish cow, only thinkin' of yourself as usual. You didn't give a stuff about Sarah and couldn't wait to get rid.'

'You're wrong.' she said. Trying to quell her rising temper.

'Am I? No, I don't think so, Debbie. You are a manipulative – selfish – bitch. Just like your mother.'

Debbie was now standing rooted to the spot, glaring at her father. Jaw clenched as the words washed over her. The tension rising once again, becoming so thick it could choke you.

'You wanna know why I gave 'er away?' she said finally. Her voice eerily calm, given the anger that raged within her. She watched Cain raise his head up, while looking down his nose at her. He exuded total arrogance as he waited for her to continue.

'You.'

Something flickered behind his eyes. That solitary word pierced him. Seeing the reaction she wanted, the young Dingle slowly walked up to her father, her eyes not allowing his to deviate from her fiery gaze.

'I wanted to get her as far away from you as possible.'

Her words were measured as she now stood almost toe to toe with her father. It was as though their roles had reversed. The young girl may have rebuked any notions that she was anything like her father, but when it came to tearing into someone – she had learned from the best.

'All I ever wanted was a family. A mum and dad who loved me. But I swear – I wish I'd never found out about you and mum. I constantly felt like I was in a tug of war wi' you two and I was the fuckin' rope.

You'd think cos I chose to stay with you when she left, that you'd be different wi' me. But no. All you did was try and control me and when I wouldn't do what you wanted, you'd turn. You think I wanted Sarah around someone like that? I didn't want you anywhere near her.'

Debbie paused, half expecting Cain to argue back. But he just stood there and took it. For the first time it seemed as though he was empty. Broken by her words. Each one cutting through him.

'Truth is,' she continued, 'I did love Sarah.'

She took a deep breath as pure emotion swelled within her, finally speaking the words out loud to someone for the first time, She'd always assumed it'd be easier to make out she felt nothing, despite knowing she'd be hated for it.

She had to fight to keep her feelings in check, not wanting to show any weakness now. When she'd composed herself she looked back at her father and was shocked at what she saw. She could see that Cain was battling to keep his own emotions in check, his head now lowered, the arrogance having left him , eyes glistening.

Debbie watched as a tear managed to get past the barrier and slowly trickle down his face, as though savouring the moment of having broken free, having succeeded where others failed – as if to mock the man it had fought with. Cain stood perfectly still though, defiantly making no attempt to wipe the wretched tear away.

But Debbie wasn't about to let up.

'If I didn't give a stuff about her, I'd have let some strangers adopt her and got her the hell away from 'ere. But I wanted someone I knew and trusted to raise her. You'll never know how hard it was for me to watch Emily take her away. So, just leave it alone, Dad. I'm doin' just fine without you. Just fuck off back to whatever hole you crawled out of and leave me alone.'

Cain's face became hard again at those final words. His back straightening as he seemed to claw back his strength. But still he said nothing. His black eyes incredibly, seemed to be even colder now than before, as he glared back at his daughter while walking away.

Not uttering a single word.

Debbie couldn't believe that he'd simply left without hurling more insults at her. Once he'd gone, all the adrenalin that had been surging through her seemed to evaporate and she suddenly felt drained from the confrontation. She walked back over to her desk and slumped in to her chair, it didn't take long for her emotions to get the better of her once again and the sounds of the young girl crying, soon filled the air.

---

After the fierce conflict with his daughter, Cain jumped into his car and sped off, thrashing it all around the quiet country roads, not caring where he was going as utter fury fueled him. The growls and snarls of the powerful engine encapsulated his own wrath. Only when he noticed he had to switch on the headlights, did he snap out of the rage-induced auto-pilot mode he'd found himself in.

Eventually he made his way back to the village and he pulled up on the corner of Main Street. A darkness seemed to engulf the black BMW as though his own dark thoughts had seeped out from his mind, into the ether.

Amid these frenzied thoughts, his eyes constantly flicked from his wing mirror to the rear-view mirror. Like a predator hunting his prey. Watching. Waiting. Teeth chewing ferociously on his gum.

'I wanted to get her as far away from you as possible.'

'I swear – I wish I'd never found out about you and mum.'

'Just fuck off back to whatever hole you crawled out of and leave me alone.'

As a flicker of light caught his eye in his rear-view mirror, all motion within the car ceased. Dark eyes now fixed on the reflection in the mirror as a figure stepped out of the open doorway. He watched as the young figure said their goodbyes, embracing a whiskery old man before starting to walk in his direction.

'I'm doin' just fine without you.'

'We'll see about that, Debbie,' he muttered under his breath. His eyes not straying. 'We'll see.'

----