No Way to Say Goodbye - Anna McPartlin [78]
Ivan sat down on the bed beside Sienna and took her hand. “I know. But whatever she does,” he said, with great resolve, “I’m taking the kids home.”
“You’ve spoken to your solicitor?”
“In the car. They need to come home with or without their mother.”
“Is that what you want? To take them without their mother?”
“Of course not. They’ve been through enough this year but she’s leaving me with no choice.”
“Talk to her,” she said.
“I have!” he said, frustration building once more.
“No, you didn’t. You presumed she was coming home and when she told you she wasn’t you went mental. Going mental isn’t talking.”
“So what do you suggest?” he asked, burying his head in his hands.
“Look at the situation from her point of view.”
“I am. She’s fucked. Excuse my French. She needs to come home.”
“She left her husband, her home town, her friends and her family for someone who ended up beating her and terrorizing her kids. If it was me I’d find it hard to face people.” She shrugged – he’d noticed she did that when she was talking sense.
“You think she’s afraid to come home?” Ivan mumbled, about to scratch his head.
“I think she just needs a little reassurance,” Sienna said, taking his hand away from his hair.
She was right, of course. Norma did want to go home. While Sienna talked with Ivan, Norma lay in her hospital bed contemplating a bleak future. There was nothing but misery for her in the UK. She had wanted for months to go home – but how could she? How could she return to the home town that had watched her walk out on her husband for a man she barely knew? How could she return with her tail between her legs, beaten and broken by that same man? How could she ever walk through the streets of Kenmare with her head held high? People would say she was selfish. People would say she deserved what she’d got. People would say she was an unfit mother to have allowed her children to witness such violence. And all those people would be right.
Ivan took the kids with him for the evening visit. They were subdued in their mother’s presence. They spoke quietly as though they were afraid that a loud noise would break her. They maintained a distance from the wires and protruding steel, but she smiled through her discomfort, insisting she was fine and that everything was going to be all right. Ivan sent the kids to the canteen so that he and their mother could talk, but first he offered to help his wife adjust an awkwardly positioned pillow. Norma accepted his assistance and was grateful for it. He had just placed his phone on her locker when it rang. Mary’s name appeared. He silenced the call, noticing Norma’s fearful expression. He realized it was a link to all those who judged her.
“It was Mary. She’s been worried about you,” he said.
It was obvious she didn’t believe him.
“We weren’t happy, were we?” he asked.
“No,” she mumbled.
“No,” he agreed, “but I would have stayed with you until the end.”
She raised a hand as if to defend herself.
“You were right to walk away. I’m glad you did what you did. You knew something was wrong and you were brave enough to make a change.” He smiled at her surprise. She hadn’t expected gratitude. Norma’s eyes sprang a leak. “Marriages break up, Norma. And no matter what is said or done, everyone knows there are two sides to every story.” He tried to take her hand but she pulled it away.
“Easy for you to say. You’re not the bitch who broke up her family!” Tears ran down her swollen face. “You’re not the one who got what she deserved.”
“My father always says a small town is like a big family. It doesn’t matter what you do or where you go, you’re always welcome home. People still care, Norma.”
She remained silent. A minute or maybe two passed, then Ivan stood and put on his jacket. He leaned down to kiss the small area of undamaged forehead. Then he paused. “You have a lot of thinking to do,” he said at last, “but you need to know this.”
She looked at him quizzically.
“I’m taking the kids.”
She nodded.
“I’m taking them home for good.”
Her eyes filled.
“I didn’t fight you before because I believed