Please Don’t Take My Baby. Cathy Glass
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8.15,’ I said gently as I entered.
‘Oh, Mum!’ Adrian cried. ‘Can’t we just finish this game?’
‘Oh, yeah, please let’s finish the game,’ Tyler said.
‘Five minutes and then you must pack away,’ I said. ‘You, Adrian and Paula have school tomorrow and Jade needs her rest.’
‘I’m OK,’ Jade said, clearly not wanting to be responsible for ending the game. ‘Can I have a packet of crisps?’
‘Yes, if you’re still hungry, although a piece of fruit would be better.’
Jade pulled a face. ‘I don’t do fruit,’ she said.
‘Nah, she don’t do fruit,’ Tyler agreed.
I thought Jade needed to ‘do’ some fruit, but didn’t say so. It was only her first evening with us and there’d be other times when I could help her eat more healthily. So I left the sitting room, went into the kitchen and returned with a large bag of assorted crisps.
‘We have these at home,’ Jade said as I offered her the bag and she took a packet of cheese-and-onion-flavoured crisps.
‘Yeah, so do we,’ Tyler said, taking a beef-flavoured packet.
Adrian, aware he didn’t normally have crisps just before bed, grinned sheepishly and quietly selected a packet of roast-chicken ones. The resulting aroma as the various flavours mingled set Toscha’s nose twitching. Although Adrian wasn’t normally allowed crisps just before bed it would have been unfair to leave him out, so I could see that one of the issues with fostering a child older than one’s own was that it could lead to double standards – with something being acceptable for a teenager but not for a younger child.
The game finished a few minutes later and they counted their treasure chests. Adrian had the most and had therefore won.
‘Well done,’ I said. ‘Let’s pack away the game now.’
‘I’ll beat you next time,’ Tyler said good-humouredly.
He helped Adrian pack the pieces into the box and closed the lid, but then sat back comfortably on the sofa and made no move to go. I now had to get Tyler off the sofa, to say goodnight and out the front door.
‘Your mum will be wondering where you are,’ I said, trying the subtle approach first.
‘Nah, she’s OK. She knows I’ll be back later.’
‘Good, but we did agree eight o’clock was the goodbye time and it’s nearly half past eight now,’ I said.
‘Oh yeah,’ Tyler said, clearly simply not realizing the time. He stood. ‘Well, thanks, missus. Thanks for dinner. It’s been very nice.’
I smiled. ‘You’re welcome, but call me Cathy. We’ll see you again soon.’ Then to Jade, I said: ‘Would you like to see Tyler out?’
Jade shuffled to the front of the sofa so that she could stand. Tyler reached out his hand and she took it. Then, in what appeared a familiar routine and was quite touching, he hauled her off the sofa with an exaggerated groan. ‘Ten-ton Tess!’ he joked. Adrian laughed but I wasn’t sure Jade appreciated Tyler’s humour; she didn’t laugh.
‘I’m going up to my room now,’ Adrian said. ‘See ya, Ty.’
‘Yeah, see ya soon,’ Tyler said, raising his hand so that Adrian could give him a high five.
‘I’ll be up shortly,’ I said to Adrian as he left the room. Then to Tyler, who was also on his way out: ‘Goodnight.’
‘Night,’ he called.
I waited in the sitting room while Jade went with Tyler down the hall to the front door. It went quiet, so I guessed they were having a goodnight kiss. Then I heard the front door open and it went quiet again. I felt the cold night air seep down the hall and into the sitting room, quickly cooling the house. I waited a minute longer and when there was no sound of the front door closing I called: ‘Could you shut the front door, please, while you’re saying goodnight? It’s making the house cold.’
‘I’m going,’ Tyler called easily.
There was another silence, during which the front door remained open; I assumed they were having a final goodnight kiss. Then I heard the door close and I went into the hall.
‘All right, love?’ I asked.
Jade was standing in the hall by the coat stand. She nodded. ‘Where’s my bag?’
‘I took it up to your room earlier. Would you like to unpack now? You’ll feel more at home with some of your belongings around you.’
‘Don’t mind,’ Jade said with a small shrug. ‘But I need me phone. It’s in me bag.’
‘Come on, I’ll show you where it is.’ I led the way upstairs and into Jade’s room, where I’d put the holdall on the floor. ‘Shall I help you unpack?’ I asked. Although Jade didn’t have many things with her – we were collecting more from her home the following day – I thought she might like some help, and it would also give me an opportunity to chat and get to know her.
‘No, I can do it.’ She squatted down, unzipped the holdall and took out her mobile.
‘Sure?’ I asked.
She nodded and concentrated on her phone.
‘I’ll leave you to it, then,’ I said. ‘Let me know if you need anything. Come down when you’re ready.’ I smiled and came out, leaving Jade sitting on the bed texting.
I knocked on Adrian’s door. ‘Are you getting ready for bed now?’ I asked quietly so that I didn’t disturb Paula in the next room. Adrian knew he had to be in bed by nine o’clock on a school night.
‘Yes,’ he replied.
‘Good. I’ll come up at nine to say goodnight.’
I checked Paula was asleep, closed her bedroom door and went downstairs to the kitchen, where I washed the dishes and cleared up while I waited for Jade to come down. She hadn’t much to unpack, so I was expecting to see her very soon, although I appreciated that at her age she might want some time to herself. When she hadn’t appeared by nine o’clock I went upstairs. Her bedroom door was ajar and the light was on, but I couldn’t hear any movement inside.
I knocked lightly. ‘Jade? Is everything all right?’
There was no response so I knocked again. ‘Jade? It’s Cathy. Can I come in?’
Still nothing, so I opened the door wider and went in. Jade was lying on the bed on her side, in her clothes and fast asleep with her mobile in her hand. Her bag was open on the floor but not unpacked. The poor kid must have been exhausted. I didn’t want to just leave her there for the night. Although she’d taken off her shoes it would be uncomfortable for her to sleep in her clothes, and without the routine of changing and getting into bed if she woke in the night she might wonder where she was.
Leaning slightly over her bed, I said: ‘Jade, it’s Cathy. Shall I help you to get changed and into bed? Are your night things in your bag?’ I guessed they would be but I didn’t like to just start rummaging in her bag to find them. With a younger child I unpacked their bags when they first arrived, but at Jade’s age I needed to respect her privacy. ‘Jade, love,’ I tried again, gently stroking a few strands of hair away from her face. ‘It’s Cathy. Would you like to get changed so you are more comfortable?’
Still nothing. She was clearly in a very deep sleep. I then decided it might be best to leave her for now to have a sleep. I’d cover her with the duvet, leave the light on low, and listen out for her. She’d probably wake before I went to bed. I reached to the foot of the bed and began drawing up the duvet. Suddenly I jumped with fright as a loud noise shot from the bed: a hundred decibels of rap, scaring me silly and blasting Jade awake.
‘Oh my God, Ty!’