When John and Harry (who won't answer to Harriet anymore) left for school this morning, Mum was on the couch in her bathrobe watching telly. She told them that the reason she was still there when they came home is that she's ill. She isn't, and they know that she isn't, but they keep up the fiction for the sake of family harmony. They spend most of their afternoons outside playing football and pretend that their mum calls them to dinner when everyone else's does.
Today, John comes home before Harry and sprawls on the floor next to Mum. Dad returns home shortly after and dutifully kisses Mum, wincing at the liquor on her breath. He asks if she's been in her robe all day.
"So what if I have? It's not as if anyone will see me here."
"That's my point, Miranda. You need to get out of the house more, do something besides watch telly and drink! What sort of example are you setting for the children?"
Mum grabs John and puts her arm around him. With a boozy grin, and says, "John, you're a happy boy. You don't mind if your mum drinks, do you?"
John's greatest fear is that he'll be in trouble no matter what he says.