Innocent: Part 3 of 3: The True Story of Siblings Struggling to Survive. Cathy Glass
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but it’s good to hear it from you.’
‘So how are you both?’ she asked Molly and Kit as she sipped her water. ‘You look fine to me.’
Kit carried on playing, while Molly looked to me to ask the question that was on her mind.
‘Molly would like to know when she can see her parents,’ I said. ‘She’s asked me a few times.’
‘That reminds me,’ Tess said. ‘I’ve got a photograph for you.’ She delved into her bag and took out a six-by-four-inch photograph of Molly and Kit with their parents. It had been taken at contact, presumably by the contact supervisor on Filip’s or Aneta’s phone.
‘That’s great. I’ll buy a frame for it and we can put in on the shelf in your bedroom,’ I told the children enthusiastically. Most children in care have at least one family photograph, some have many. It helps to keep the memory of their parents alive while they are separated from them.
Molly looked at the picture and then at me again. I knew why: Tess hadn’t answered my question.
‘So is there no contact at present?’ I asked Tess.
‘No, but Mummy and Daddy both send their love,’ she told the children. ‘You and Kit are being well looked after and are happy here with Cathy, so there is nothing for you to worry about. Christmas is coming. You’ll have lots of fun. What do you want Father Christmas to bring?’ While Molly thought about this, Tess said quietly to me, ‘Aneta is in –’ and she named the psychiatric unit in the city hospital. I nodded. ‘Their solicitor has been in touch. Filip is asking for contact, just for him. We’re considering it, but I want to hear from the police first.’
I nodded again.
‘Can I see Mummy and Daddy?’ Molly asked.
‘Not for now,’ Tess said. ‘Cathy will tell you if that changes.’ Clearly Tess had decided not to tell Molly their mother was receiving psychiatric care and I thought that was the right decision. Mental illness can be difficult for adults to understand; it would be virtually impossible to explain it to a three-year-old, and Molly didn’t need to know. ‘OK?’ Tess asked Molly, and she gave a small nod. I thought it was time to change the subject.
‘I was thinking it would be nice if Molly went to nursery a few mornings each week,’ I said. ‘I could take Kit to a toddler group so they both get used to playing with other children.’
‘Excellent idea,’ Tess said positively, and smiled at Molly. She took a notepad and pen from her bag and made a note. ‘Do you have a nursery in mind?’ she asked me.
‘There is a good one attached to our local infant school, but I know they have a waiting list.’
‘Looked-after children can usually be found a place,’ she said. ‘Give me the details and I’ll speak to them.’
I told her the name and address of the nursery, then as she wrote I quickly googled their contact number on my phone and read that out. ‘They also run a toddler group one afternoon a week where the parent or carer stays. There isn’t a waiting list, I checked. I was thinking of taking Kit to that. Obviously, Molly would come too.’
‘Fine with me,’ Tess said, and made another note. ‘Anything else?’ she asked. Both children were playing again.
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘I’ve received this letter from the allergy clinic at the hospital.’ I passed her the letter. ‘You remember a referral was made that time I had to take Kit to the hospital and he was kept in overnight?’ She nodded as she read the letter.
‘He doesn’t need to go to this, does he?’ she asked me, looking up.
‘No, I don’t think so. He’s not allergic to anything.’
‘Other than vomiting linctus,’ Tess said cuttingly.
‘Exactly. If you are OK with it, I thought I’d phone and cancel the appointment.’
‘Yes. The children have been through enough unnecessary medical tests, they don’t need any more.’
She handed back the letter and I put it to one side to deal with later.
‘Can we have our mobile phones?’ Molly now asked me.
Tess looked at me, horrified.
‘Toy ones,’ I clarified.
She laughed. ‘For one moment I thought –’
‘I know. But surely no one gives a child aged three a real one?’
‘You’d be surprised.’
‘Can we have our phones?’ Molly asked again.
‘Yes, OK, but we’ll put the volume on low,’ I said.
I retrieved the toy phones from the cupboard and turned down the volume on both before handing them to the children. They began pressing buttons and the recorded messages, sounds and music played as Tess and I talked. She asked me about the children’s routine, their development, general health and well-being, which was a standard part of most social worker visits, and took notes. Finally, she said, ‘All that’s left is for me to have a look around.’ It’s usual for the social worker to check the foster carer’s house when they visit, just as the supervising social worker does. ‘Are you going to show me your bedroom?’ she asked the children.
‘Yes,’ Molly said, and took it as a sign to turn up the volume on her phone and on Kit’s. It didn’t matter. Tess and I had finished talking.
Tess took Kit’s free hand and I took Molly’s and the four of us walked around the house, in and out of the rooms, to the nursery rhymes coming loudly from Kit’s phone and the voice counting to twenty from Molly’s.
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