A Lesser Evil - Lesley Pearse [108]
Fifi made them both a ham sandwich and more tea and at long last Clara began to behave as if she was glad to be there. She helped Fifi finish making the bed and admired the bookcase Dan had found in a junk shop and painted. She even praised the cleanliness of the bathroom after visiting it.
Clara had to leave and meet her husband about the time Fifi had her hair appointment. She offered to cancel it and go with her mother, but Clara wouldn’t hear of it.
‘It’s not worth you coming with me for just five minutes with your father, we’ve got to catch the train at five,’ she said pleasantly. ‘You keep your hair appointment, it will make you feel good about yourself tomorrow when the plaster comes off.’
‘I feel good just because you came,’ Fifi said, impulsively hugging Clara. ‘I really am sorry I caused you both such distress, I hope we can start again now.’
Clara took Fifi’s face between her two hands and kissed her forehead, just the way she did when Fifi was a little girl. ‘It was good to see you,’ she said. ‘A mother always worries about her eldest child the most, and perhaps expects too much. You’ll find that out when you have children. I don’t know if I’ll ever really like Dan, but I will promise to try. If he can get a long weekend off work, then come home to see us.’
On the way to the tube station Fifi felt she had to ask her mother to explain the remark she’d made on the evening of her wedding day.
‘Did people really say you should put me in an institution when I was little?’
Clara blushed. ‘I never meant to tell you that,’ she said. ‘I was angry.’
‘But was it true?’
‘Yes and no. Child guidance did suggest a special school, but that made me so angry I never took you to them again. But that was the only suggestion, and I’m ashamed I told you in such a nasty way.’
‘I must have given you a very hard time,’ Fifi said thoughtfully. A year ago her childhood problems had seemed funny and she’d never seriously considered how worrying it must have been for her parents.
‘You couldn’t help it, dear,’ Clara said. ‘Now, don’t let’s bring up any more unpleasant things we’ve said to one another. We need to forgive and forget.’
They parted at the tube station, where Clara bought a big bunch of flowers which she gave to Fifi. ‘I could see you’d made a great effort to make your flat a real home, that pleased me. Now ring me, and if you haven’t got enough change for the phone I can always ring you back so we can have a chat. I hope the trial won’t be too long off, it must be dragging you down worrying about it. If you want us there to support you, just ask.’
Fifi’s eyes filled with tears at such sweetness from her mother. ‘Thank you, Mummy,’ she said, feeling like a little girl again. ‘Give Dad, Patty and the boys my love. I feel all hopeful now.’
That evening Dan listened to Fifi’s jubilant tale about the visit with a wry smirk. ‘It’s nice to see you so happy to be thrown crumbs from the table,’ he said.
‘What do you mean, “crumbs from the table”?’ she asked indignantly. ‘She was really nice!’
‘She had to be to get the lowdown on the murder, and to get in here to inspect the flat. I wouldn’t mind betting that as we speak she’s telling your father that she’s almost persuaded you to come back to Bristol, and once you’re back where you belong it will only be a matter of time before I get the big elbow.’
‘Don’t be so nasty,’ Fifi snapped. ‘Can’t you just be glad she’s coming round?’
‘No, because I don’t believe it,’ he said. ‘You said yourself she was snotty when she first arrived. She only warmed up once you gave her all the dirt about over the road. You told her that I was fed up with you talking about it, I expect, and she saw that as a chink in the armour.’
‘Rubbish,’ Fifi said indignantly.
‘Okay, we’ll wait and see,’ he said. ‘I bet you get a letter from her in a day or two suggesting you come down alone for a weekend. She’ll dress it up saying she and your father want some time alone with you, or some such excuse.’
Fifi flounced out of the room into the bedroom. She thought Dan was actually a bit