“Nia, Jamie, about Julie and Mark; they’re together, aren’t they? Don’t worry, I’m not condemning, neither is Darryl, heaven knows we should be the last ones to point and accuse, but they’re together, and that’s why they’re happy, isn’t that right?”
Nia and Jamie exchanged looks, then Jamie answered.
“Yes, they are; they love each other, they have two lovely kids, they have us; their mother tried her damnedest to destroy them, and now she’s dead and they’re happy; maybe there is such a thing as natural justice.”
Emma looked sadly at them.
“Sandra did terrible things; she made her children hate and fear her, but she was still my little sister, and I loved her. Tell me, please; how did she die, and when?”
Jamie looked uncomfortable, but plunged on.
“She was sectioned under the Mental Health Act, and they confined her in a secure nursing home in Richmond. Her dementia had progressed to the point where she’d lost all touch with reality. She was there for about a year, and she died just two days after her granddaughter was born, in 2012; she’s buried in Mortlake Crematorium, and no, Mark and Julie have never been to see her; they have no reason to. I’m sorry, but after what she did to them, the mess she made of their lives, the evil things she did to torture and torment them, Julie and Mark want nothing more to do with her. I’m so sorry, I wish I could have spared you that…”
Emma nodded, ashen-faced, all through this, tears running down her cheeks, and Jamie, to his credit, looked ashamed that he’d been the one to tell her. Nia suddenly leaned forward and took Emma’s hand between hers, sympathy for her evident in her look.
“I’m sorry you had to learn this; it’s not something anyone would want to hear, and we took no pleasure telling you, believe me, but it’s gone now, that was the past; Mark and Julie survived, they have loved ones now, and people who love them. You’ve probably guessed by now that we came down to check you out. Julie and Mark are part of my family; my mum has taken them as her own kids now. Now Mark’s my brother, and Julie’s my sister, and we look after our own, so we came here to meet you and find out for ourselves what kind of people you are. What we found is a concerned, caring, loving family, and we’ll be telling Julie that; perhaps it’s time her family was put back together.”
Emma smiled sadly.
“Mark and Julie are happy, really? You promise? From what you say, all my worst fears for them came true, but now they’re happy together, yes?”
Nia nodded, her own smile gentle and understanding.
“They’re very happy, I promise you.”
At that moment, Mo-Mo made her presence felt, grizzling as she woke from her nap in the other room. David was with mum, and not due back from Play-Centre until after lunch, so we just had the one to deal with. Lena went to get her, and when she brought her back into the room, Nia was immediately all over her.
“Jamie, look, she looks like Nia!” was her comment, and when Lena offered to let her carry Mo-Mo, Nia jumped at the chance, rocking her as she baby-talked to her, with Jamie grinning as he watched.
I also grinned as I watched Nia rocking my daughter.
“Careful, she’s teething, so her tummy’s a little delicate right now; carrying her’s a bit like juggling eggs; one wrong move and it’s everywhere!”
Nia grinned back at me.
“Don’t worry, I have twins, they did this together; three months of no sleep, ice cubes, nuclear-waste Pampers, and drooling, been there, done that!”
While Lena, Emma, and Nia fussed over Mo-Mo, Jamie and I chatted about Julie and Mark. I was curious about my cousins, about what they were like, especially Julie.
“What’s she like, Jamie, really?” I asked.
Jamie leaned back and smiled gently.
“She’s tiny, only about yea high, but she’s tough; I suppose she had to be, but she’s a lovely girl, pretty as they come, and Mum adores her. Mark calls her ‘Tinkerbell’, and that’s what she’s been all her life to him. She and Nia have been friends since they were little girls. They went through school together, and to be honest, the only real mum she ever had was Nia’s mother. Nia’s parents are Julie’s parents now, her kids climb all over my da… I mean Nia’s dad like he’s their own personal playground, and she and Mark are in and out all the time; they have real family now.”
He sighed and took a sip from his coffee.
“Mark brought her up all by himself; he was just a little boy himself, only three years older than her, but he had to do everything for her, from the time she was a toddler, and that left no time for him to be what he should have been. Mum’s heartbroken that the one thing she can’t do is help him; only Julie can do that; all we can do is sit on the sidelines and be there when they need us.”
A thought suddenly struck me, dredged-up by that slip he’d made when talking about Nia’s parents.
“When you say ‘Mum’, you mean Nia’s mother yes?”
He darted a look at me and looked away again just as quickly.
“Yes, of course, Nia’s mother…”
I smiled to myself and decided to try one last question.
“It’s just that I couldn’t help noticing you both have exactly the same eyes..?” I prodded gently, and once again Jamie darted that quick glance at me, then smiled.
“Yeah, funny that!” he grinned, confirming my suspicions; he and Nia were related too, just how closely was of no interest to me; it was Julie and Mark who concerned me, but I found myself feeling grateful that, given the awful life they’d had, and the neglect and cruelty they’d suffered, there were at least two good people who obviously cared deeply about them.
Jamie and Nia finally left after promising they’d do all they could to persuade Julie to meet with us. She borrowed a picture of Mo-Mo to show her, and took a picture of Emma, and some of Lena and me, and she seemed confident that Julie would agree.
“Julie’s a nice girl; even with all that happened to her, she’s not bitter or twisted inside. Her mother terrified and ostracized her, but it never left her all bent and twisted inside, just wary of any kind of family entanglements, but now I think she’s ready to start finding her family again. Don’t worry, when she sees these pictures, I think you’ll be hearing from her again.”
We left Emma in the study for the rest of the afternoon, flicking again and again through the pictures of Julie, Mark, and their children that Nia had downloaded to my laptop, tears in her eyes but a smile playing on her lips as she finally saw them again after so long.
JULIE:
Nia called Saturday lunchtime to say it went well, and she wanted to talk on Tuesday when she and Jamie got back from Bristol, which didn’t help; three days of second-guessing her and wondering how it went was going to drive me up the wall, and take Mark with me, but there was nothing I could do about it, so I decided to be strong, just wait it out, and not let it get to me.
That lasted two hours, then I bundled Nia into her pushchair with Markie to keep her company, and beat it for Mummy’s place. I think she knew I was coming; the table was set for three, and she had that look that told me she knew exactly what was going through my mind.