Jane Renshaw - Watch Over Me

The glass doors to the garden came open and Neil and Caroline came breezing in with false bright smiles for Beckie.

‘Beckie’s not going back to school this afternoon,’ said Flora, getting abruptly to her feet. ‘We need to speak to Mrs Jenner – Beckie has been on the receiving end of some very nasty – very nasty rubbish about us being violent and –’

‘Mum! I don’t mind. It soooo doesn’t bother me.’

‘What?’ Neil was at the table in an instant, crouching down beside Beckie and putting an arm round her thin shoulders. ‘What have they been saying?’

‘I’ve not even really been listening. They’re all like “Blah blah blah” and I’m like “Whatever!” Really, Dad. I could. Not. Care. Less what those losers say.’

‘They’ve been saying we’re violent?’

‘Ailish,’ said Flora. ‘It seems Ailish has been spreading stuff.’

‘That bloody woman!’ said Neil.

‘Language, Dad,’ said Beckie.

Neil grinned and gave her a little squeeze. ‘Sorry, Beckster.’

‘Stress of the moment.’

‘Indeed… So, would you like to stay off school for a bit?’

‘Nope, it’s fine. I’ve spread this rumour of my own about Ailish. You know how she’s always on about how she was the best team leader ever at the Bank of Scotland, before she became the best mortgage advisor ever in the whole of Edinburgh, or maybe the UK? And there was this guy Malcolm in her team who she’s always making fun of in a like really nasty way, saying he smelt and stuff and she gave him Sure deodorant in the Secret Santa? I’ve been telling people that Malcolm has just got the courage to come forward and accuse her of like discrimination against people who sweat a lot because they’ve got something wrong with them, and he’s suing her for ten thousand pounds.’

‘Oh wow, Beckie,’ chortled Caroline. ‘That’s… very wrong.’

Beckie was smug. ‘Ailish is maybe going to jail and that’s why she’s spreading rumours about other people – she’s hoping everyone will stop talking about her and –’

‘Beckie.’ Neil shook his head, his mouth twisted in an effort not to laugh. ‘Spreading lies about people is never the right thing to do.’

‘It certainly isn’t,’ said Flora.

Caroline was grinning. ‘Ailish obviously doesn’t know what she’s up against.’

‘She started it,’ Beckie agreed. ‘But yeah, Mum, I know, two wrongs don’t make a right.’ She stood, wiping her hands on her napkin. ‘Anyway, I’m going to just leave it there because if you go on too much, people don’t believe you. And when people ask him about it, Thomas is going to say, “Yeah she’s maybe going to jail but I can’t talk about it.”’

‘Oh,’ said Flora weakly. ‘That’s –’

‘Really disturbingly Machiavellian,’ finished Neil.

‘I know! Let’s go, Dad!’

‘No,’ said Flora. ‘I don’t want you going back to school. You can stay here with me. This is all getting… out of hand.’

‘Honestly, Mum, it’s fine. Dad, I’ll just go to the loo?’

‘Okay, Beckster.’ And when she had left the room: ‘Let’s not make a big thing of this.’ His voice strained to stay light, unconfrontational, in front of Caroline. ‘She’s fine to go back to school, and I think that’s for the best. You can take it easy and chill this afternoon.’ And his eyes lingered on her. ‘Maybe – relax in a hot bath or something.’

She knew she looked a mess. She knew she probably whiffed a bit. ‘Let’s just keep her off today and then see about tomorrow. I’m not going to be able to “chill” if I’m worrying myself sick about her –’

‘This isn’t about you, though, is it?’

Caroline was edging towards the door. ‘Okay guys, see you later.’

‘Yes, thanks so much, Caroline.’

A charged silence until they heard the front door close. ‘How dare you?’ Flora spat at him. ‘How dare you say I’m making this “all about me” when it’s you saying Beckie being at school will give me a chance to “chill”. As if I’m going to be able to “chill”!’

‘Well, for Beckie’s sake, Flora, if for no other reason, you’re going to have to try to do something to…’ He flapped his hands in the air. ‘The last thing she needs is a neurotic mum to worry about on top of everything else. School is the best place for her at the moment, a normal environment –’

‘Oh, it’s normal , is it, to be ganged up on by a load of little bastards taunting her, saying her parents are psychos –’

‘She’s not being ganged up on! I’m there in the car watching, remember, when she’s in the playground, and she’s got plenty of friends. There’s no problem that I can see –’

‘That you can see. That is the whole problem, Alec!’

He opened his mouth; closed it. He moved to touch her, but she stepped back. ‘Okay. We can talk about this later.’

Flora was lying on a sofa in the family room, drowsily watching the Ten O’Clock News , when Neil came back into the room. ‘Asleep. She’s amazing, isn’t she? The way she’s taking all this in her stride.’

‘But is she taking it in her stride, or is it an act to keep us from worrying about her?’

He sat down on the arm of the sofa. ‘Maybe a bit of both.’

‘I don’t want her going back to school. It’s only a couple of weeks until the summer holidays; it’s not as if she’d miss much…’

‘She’d miss out on the class trip to the watersports centre, and she’s been looking forward to that for ages.’

‘We could take her there in the holidays.’

‘Hardly the same.’

‘I don’t want her going back to that school. Don’t you think… If we’re going to move, now would be a good time to do it?’

‘ Move? ’

‘We’re never going to be safe from the Johnsons unless we do.’

‘No. I’m sorry, Flora, I know all this has really freaked you out – freaked us out, I should say… given that I was the one charged with assault.’ He attempted a weak smile. ‘But there is no way we’re moving again. We have to get some perspective here. What have they actually done? Nothing, other than indulge in a bit of low-level harassment –’

‘ Low level? ’

‘But I agree, of course, that it’s sensible to take reasonable precautions.’

‘A few CCTV cameras and some self-defence tuition from an HR consultant?’

‘If they were going to do anything –’

‘They’re toying with us! Ryan Johnson in the Botanics today – They’re enjoying it, they’re enjoying making us suffer before closing in for the kill! You weren’t there. You didn’t see the way he was looking at me –’

‘Flora… Caroline didn’t see anyone.’

‘What, so I’m hallucinating now?’ She got up; put distance between them. ‘They killed Saskia! What’s to stop them killing us? A few CCTV cameras? What would happen to Beckie then? Who would look after her?’

He just shook his head at her wearily.

‘You have to wake up, Alec. Seriously.’

‘I –’

‘And the first thing we have to do is appoint someone to be her legal guardian in the event of our deaths. We have to make sure she’ll be okay whatever.’

‘Flora –’

‘It’s hardly ideal, but I guess that person has to be Pippa.’

He breathed. ‘Okay.’ Making a Herculean effort, it seemed, to humour her. ‘If you want. I guess that’s something we should have sorted years ago anyway.’

‘Let’s call her now.’

‘Now? It’s the middle of the night where she is.’

‘If she agrees, we can at least get the legal stuff moving.’ She reached for the landline handset and held it out to him. ‘Put her on speakerphone.’