‘Are you threatening me?’
He saw how she narrowed her eyes, and he wondered how he had let her rule him for so long. ‘Why would I do that, Josephine? If I was threatening you, believe me, you’d know it. I come here to see how you are and to bring your little grandson in to visit you. There’s no hidden agenda.’
Then she said angrily, ‘It’s been nearly six months, Michael. I want to go home.’
Michael turned to Jake. ‘You can go inside now, and spend the pound I gave you in the sweet shop. Wait in the reception and I’ll be there in a minute, OK?’
Jake nodded.
‘Say goodbye to Nana.’
Jake waved at her quickly and, running off, he called out ‘Goodbye’ over his shoulder.
Michael knew that the lad found Josephine a trial – as he did if he was honest. She was stranger than ever now, but it was all to the good, according to the doctors. Personally, he thought she was getting madder by the day.
‘Look, Josephine, I can’t control everything any more. This is a proper hospital – you can’t just buy the doctors here, and choose your own fucking meds. Look how far that got you. You need to do whatever the doctors tell you to do. For once in your life, Josephine, you can’t rely on me to bail you out. You were sectioned, for fuck’s sake! You can’t just fucking choose what you want to do any more. It’s out of our hands. The doctors decide when you can go home and, when that day comes, I have purchased a lovely little cottage for you. You will love it.’
‘I’ve already got a home.’
He sighed heavily; he was sick and tired of this. ‘Not any more you haven’t. Once we get the divorce, I will see you all right. But you will never come back to that house again. It’s in Jake’s name now anyway.’
Josephine grinned nastily. ‘You’re loving this, aren’t you? You dumped me, and then you put me away. Katie Rourk must be a blinding fuck, Michael. Got you right where she fucking wants you!’
Michael stood up slowly. ‘I’m not doing this, Josephine. I’ve told you before. It’s over between us. I will never forgive you for what happened to our Jessie. I will take care of you up to a point – I owe you that much. But don’t treat me like a fucking earhole, OK? I come here so you can see Jake, so I can see how you’re getting on. After all, I am the one footing the fucking bill for this, aren’t I? If I pull out, lady, you will end up in a local NHS nut ward somewhere, so don’t bite the hand that feeds you.’
Josephine couldn’t believe that her Michael couldn’t find it in his heart to forgive her; he had always forgiven her in the past, no matter what she had done. She grabbed his hands in hers, and she tried to pull him back into his seat, to make him sit down and talk with her.
‘Please, Michael, I promise you I will do anything . . . But don’t do this to me . . .’
He pulled away from her and, stepping back, he said gently, ‘I’ve got to go, Josephine. But if you don’t stop this I can’t visit you any more. I’ve told you over and over again I will bankroll your treatment, and I will always look out for you. But our marriage is over.’
He walked away from her purposefully, aware that he didn’t have even a small sliver of doubt about what he was doing. She had ceased to exist for him when he had seen that letter. It was like he had woken from a coma, and seen his wife for what she really was. It had been a revelation. He had suddenly seen how much she had manipulated him over the years and, the worst thing was, he knew that he had gone along with it all: her agoraphobia, her fear of telephones, her fear of fucking everything that didn’t suit her. But she didn’t have a fear of wine – she could neck that all day and night. He had swallowed it until he had seen that letter which resulted in his daughter dying in such pain and with such injuries. Knowing that if Josephine had just once put someone else first it might have all have been avoided wasn’t something he could excuse.
He walked into the reception room. Jake was waiting for him – he looked so worried, bless him.
‘Is Nana OK?’
Michael grinned. ‘’Course she is. Come on, let’s get home, shall we? Dana is cooking us a shepherd’s pie! With real shepherds in!’
Jake smiled a real smile at last. ‘That’s my favourite dinner!’
‘And mine too! What’s the chances of that, eh?’ He grasped his grandson’s hand and walked him out to the car park. Jake stopped in front of the Mercedes, and Michael looked at him quizzically.
‘What’s wrong, Jake?’
The little boy suddenly looked vulnerable and frightened. Michael smiled at him gently. ‘You can tell me anything, Jake, you know that.’
Jake started to cry, and Michael rushed over to him, and he swept him up into his arms, hugging the boy to his chest tightly.
‘Nana scares me. I don’t like coming here, Granddad.’