Hand On Heart: Sequel to Head Over Heels (22 page)

That evening, James called Tom to one side.

‘I’ve had some news,’ he announced.  ‘My friend at the hospital, he’s just called me.’  Tom gulped.  ‘Do you want to go and get Grace?’

Tom was terrified.  He could only imagine that whatever James was about to reveal, their lives were going to change forever.

Grace came in from the pool looking ashen.  She and Tom sat on the sofa, holding hands.

‘Well,’ James began, ‘I suppose you could say it’s good news.  My friend Patrick, he’s pretty high up in hospital administration, and so I’m sure you can appreciate that these days, divulging patient information can get you into all sorts of trouble, but…’

‘James, just tell us,’ Tom said impatiently.

‘Sorry, mate.  Well, to cut a long story short, Sophie does have a child, Isaac, and he’s ill, but the crucial factor here is that he’s only four.  So, not your responsibility, Tom, unless of course you… No, silly me, of course you wouldn’t, you’re a good boy.’

‘James, how can you joke at a time like this?’ Grace said.  Honestly, James’ comic timing was wholly inappropriate sometimes.

‘So we’re in the clear. 
We
are at least,’ Tom breathed.  ‘But there’s still a sick child, and that’s awful.  I mean, whatever she’s done, whatever she’s like, having a child with a life-threatening illness, well, that’s just unimaginable.’ 

Trust Tom to still be thinking of others, after all that woman has put him through,
Grace thought to herself.

‘Well, she lied about that too, Tom,’ James said.  ‘Or at least she was economical with the truth.  He is ill in hospital, but it’s not leukaemia.  He’s got an infection, a nasty one at that, on a drip and all sorts, but he’ll be getting better and going home within a week or so.  It’s nothing that can’t be cured with drugs and there aren’t expected to be any long-term effects.’

‘Oh, that’s good news.  But why get us all wrapped up in this then?’ Grace asked.  ‘It’s got absolutely nothing to do with us, so why hold us to ransom, why call Tom like that and say all the stuff that she did?  That’s sick.  Can you imagine lying about the twins being terminally ill, Tom?  You just wouldn’t!  It’s like tempting fate, putting into words the worst thing that can ever happen.  She’s the one who’s sick, isn’t she, to do this.  Why on earth would you lie about something as serious as your child’s health?’  Tom sat quietly, looking relieved but pensive, but Grace was absolutely furious, and pacing the room.  She thought she would kill Sophie if she ever had the misfortune to set eyes on her again.

‘Can’t answer that question, I’m afraid,’ James asked.  ‘All I can confirm is that it’s not your problem, Tom, but you might want to speak to the woman again, find out what she’s up to.  It would be good to get some closure on the whole thing, wouldn’t it, make sure she doesn’t pull a stunt like this again.  But whatever you do, please don’t tell her how you found out, you can’t reveal my source.   I don’t want to lose him his job over all this, especially as he’s been so helpful.’

‘Course not, wouldn’t dream of it.  And thank you, James.  Thank you for doing what you’ve done.  We’re in the clear, and that’s a good thing to know, but I need to understand why Sophie is doing this to me, to us, after all this time.  Much as I never want to speak to the woman again, I think I’m going to have to.  This whole thing isn’t really over until I can find out why she wanted to involve me.’

It was alright for Tom, Sophie thought, it all came so easily for him, didn’t it?  Happily married, two lovely children, and they just got on with their happy little lives in their happy little village, where the sun was always shining on them, didn’t they?  Nothing touched them, life was just perfect.  Some people had all the luck. 

When she was at a particularly low point she sometimes thought, ‘That could have been me there, with Tom.’ 

He had loved her, hadn’t he, and there was a time when he would have done anything for her.  And if she hadn’t been so stupid and blown it
–
like she always seemed to
–
then she’d be Mrs Parry now, not that other one.  It just wasn’t fair.  She seemed incapable of not wrecking her relationships; just when she’d got a good thing going, a partner worth hanging onto for the future, then she would go and do something stupid and upset it all.

Sometimes she thought there was something wrong with her, an inability to commit to a long term relationship, or that she was incapable of loving someone properly.  But then she loved Isaac, loved him more than anyone else in the world, so she must have the capacity to love.  She’d never really wanted children
–
she’d had the discussion with Tom time and time again and it was the one big sticking point between them.  But back then she just couldn’t see herself being a mother, somehow, with the thought of someone else being so dependent on you for their very survival.  She knew she was too selfish to have to put someone else’s needs first to such a degree; some people were like that, and she was one of them.  But these days, she couldn’t imagine life without Isaac; he was her world, the one stable thing in it that never changed.  But even he had been unplanned and the shock at the time was unbearable.  She’d had huge problems coming to terms with the pregnancy, even thought about terminating it in the early stages, but once she felt that first kick she suddenly realised that she loved him more than life itself, and there was no turning back.  She would do anything for him, and she hated herself then for all the dark thoughts she had harboured about her unborn child.  All parents loved their children and would do anything for them, but in her case, she really would do ANYTHING
.

The other males in her life had all been a disaster, though.  First Simon had left her, and then Tom.  Simon
–
well, that wasn’t her fault.  He just couldn’t cope with her investing the hours in her career that she needed to.  He was jealous, that was all it was.  She was young and ambitious, and working mostly with men, and she believed he simply didn’t like the idea of his attractive wife spending more hours in the day with them than with him.  She supposed she could understand it to a degree, but in a marriage you had to accept the other person and their needs, didn’t you?  Her career was her chief need back then, and you had to make some compromises, take into account what made the other person happy.

She blamed her parents for all her relationship failures, of course.  Didn’t everyone whose marriage fell apart blame their own parents, one way or another?  If the parents were divorced then they were setting a bad example, and if still together, then they were weak and compromising, only staying together because it was easier than splitting up.  Either way they couldn’t win, and would be blamed for the misfortunes of their offspring. 

Daddy had been an impossible flirt, and Mummy excused him, most of the time, until once he took it too far.  The result was a half-sister for her, although she refused to this day to accept Madeleine as being in any way related to her, and would have nothing to do with the woman.  To Sophie’s utter disgust, her mother had accepted the lying, cheating bastard back into the bosom of the family, but as an impressionable teenage girl, Sophie had been unable to bear the sight of him for the remaining few years she had lived at home, and barely tolerated his presence.  When she left home for university she wrote him out of her life completely, much to his chagrin, as he dearly missed his eldest daughter and woefully regretted the effect his affair had had on her.  Time had not healed the rift; she was as stubborn as a mule and refused to forgive him.  He thought she could do with a father figure in her life, now more than ever, and her constant trek from one man to another in search of that could be quelled by simply letting him back into her life.  He was probably right.

It was a sorry state of affairs, she could see that.  And then a few months ago, Charlie had left them, too.  The trouble was, it wasn’t just her to leave now, it was Isaac too.  How could any man walk away from his son, and now that he was sick, he should come back.  It was unthinkable, being away from your child at a time like this.   

She needed to have someone in her life, she couldn’t do all this on her own.  And now her darling little boy was ill.  He’d get better, they said at the hospital, there wouldn’t be any lasting effects, but it was the final straw for her.  She was useless at being a single mother anyway, and now with this to deal with, too, she needed someone by her side, to share the burden.

Tom had really loved her, hadn’t he?  He’d be the one to help her through this, he would know what to do.  He had such a sensible head on his shoulders, he’d be able to take charge of the situation and look after her and Isaac in the way they needed.  He’d come back to her, wouldn’t he, when he heard what she’d been through?  All she needed was a good reason to make the call, something which would bring him running back to her without a moment’s thought for that other woman. 

She had an idea…

‘I have to speak to her, Grace,’ Tom said solemnly.  ‘But will you stay in the room with me?  I just need to know you’re there, for moral support.’

‘If you’re sure, of course I will,’ Grace replied.  ‘Good luck.  This isn’t going to be easy, but the sooner we get it over and done with, then we can get on and put this behind us.’

‘Here goes,’ Tom said, dialling Sophie’s number and taking a very deep breath for courage.

‘I had hoped I’d never have to speak to you again,’ Tom said to Sophie, firmly.  ‘But I need to know why you lied, and involved me and my family in your sorry little mess.  What were you hoping to gain from all this?  What’s wrong with you, Sophie?’

‘There’s nothing wrong with me, nothing at all,’ she replied.  ‘Our son is the one who is ill.’

‘He’s not
our
son, he’s yours.  I know that he’s four so he can’t possibly be mine, so why are you coming after me after all this time?’

‘But he’s sooo ill, Tom.’  She had begun to cry now.  She always was good at turning on the tears when she had to, Tom thought.  ‘I just need someone to help me, to keep me strong, so that I can be strong for him, you know?’

‘But why lie?  Why try and tell me he’s mine, when quite clearly he’s not?  Do you have any idea how that feels, to have someone come in and rock your world with a piece of news like that?  Where’s his real dad?  Why isn’t he there with you?’

‘He’s gone, too, just like you and all the others.  I’m impossible to love, it would seem.  Everyone goes in the end.  Everyone except Isaac, and now he’s ill, and I have no one, Tom.  I need you here with us to make it all better.’

‘Sophie, I’m not going to come over there.  I’m not going to make it all better, and Isaac
is
going to get better, but you know that already, don’t you?  He’s not dying, and I can’t quite comprehend how you could even think about exaggerating your child’s illness.  It’s sick, that is.  There are children out there who are really ill, and you’re saying this about your own son, when it’s not true.  It’s so wrong.’

‘But he
is
sick.  He needs us with him.’

‘There is no
us
Sophie, that’s what you’ve got to realise.  If you need someone with you, then you’ve got to get in touch with his dad again, get him to come and support you and your son, regardless of what happened between you.  Have you told him that Isaac is ill?’

‘No, he doesn’t know.  I didn’t think he’d come even if he did.’

‘I’m sure he would.  Why don’t you call him?’

‘So you’re not coming?’

‘No, Sophie, I’m not coming.  You need to sort this out by yourself.  Don’t call me again.  You and I were over and done with a very long time ago, and I don’t expect to hear from you again, OK.  Goodbye, Sophie.’

‘Thank God that’s over,’ Tom said to Grace.  ‘That woman is totally deluded.  She’s in a mess.  Not coping with life at all.  The trouble is, I don’t think I can just leave it there.  She’s not well, Grace.  Doing something like this, it’s not the behaviour of a rational person, is it?  I think I’m going to have to give her parents a call, see if they can help out.  They were nice people, I remember.’

‘Tom, you’re such a good man.  Anyone else would have just washed their hands of her, but look at you, trying to make sure she’s OK, despite all she’s done.’

‘Well, there’s the welfare of that child to think about.  I wouldn’t like to imagine how she manages to look after him, when she can’t even get her own life straight in her head.  She needs help.’

Tom spent the next half an hour on the phone to Sophie’s mother.  He had always got on well with her, and had met her on several occasions, while he and Sophie were together.  Sophie had never allowed him to meet her father, although the two men had spoken on the phone.  She had made things so complicated for everyone.

‘Apparently husband number two, Charlie, left her a few months ago and moved abroad,’ he told Grace after the call.  ‘Can’t say I blame him, really, if she gets like this.  Her mum said it was a real wrench for him to leave Isaac behind, but it was almost as if he couldn’t bear to be in the same country as Sophie any longer.  He still supports the pair of them financially, and comes over to see Isaac three or four times a year, but Mrs Simmonds said Sophie didn’t want to call him to come over when Isaac fell ill, as she had some crazy idea that he’d want to take him away from her.  To be honest, he’s the more stable parent of the two, Isaac would be better off with him.  Mrs Simmonds is going to give him a call and fill him in on what’s happening.  Sophie’s going to need them and him to get herself through this.  She needs to get help, counselling of some sort.  Isaac will be fine, and her parents know that, too.  She’d told them the truth about his illness, at least.  They thought she was handling everything, didn’t realise how bad it had got.  They had no idea she’d tried to rope me in on it all as well, and that she’d weaved herself into this web of delusion.’

‘And there we were at the start thinking she was trying to blackmail you, when all she wanted was someone to hold her hand.  She’s totally misguided coming to you for help, after all this time, and especially after how she treated you, but as much as I can’t stand the woman, isn’t it sad that she felt she had no one else she could call on to ask for help?’

‘It is sad,’ Tom replied.  ‘She needs to involve her parents, they’re desperate to see more of their grandson, but typical Sophie, she pushes everyone away.  She needs to put this thing with her dad behind her, for goodness sake, it was years ago now, a lot has happened in the meantime.  He’d love to help her, he really misses her, Mrs Simmonds said.  They’re going to go and see her this afternoon.  If they just turn up together, then she’ll have to let him in, too.’

‘That’s good.  Well, let’s hope that’s the end of it.’

‘I’m sorry about all this, Grace.  You didn’t deserve all the stress.’

‘It’s fine, love.  We share things, don’t we, that’s how we get through them.  No one wants to be on their own in times of trouble.  I hope they can all sort it out together.  Let’s just hope that’s it, now.’

‘Thank God I married you, and not the mad woman,’ Tom said.

‘Don’t joke about it,’ Grace replied, although she couldn’t help but smile, largely with relief that the whole thing was over.  ‘Poor Sophie.  Well, there’s a thing I never thought I’d hear myself say.’

Now it was Tom’s turn to laugh.