Act one - Chapter one
Tammy felt a tickleon the end of her nose. With her arms tucked away underneath the duvet, and feeling far too cosy to scratch it, in true Bewitched style, she wiggled it, just like Samantha the Witch used to do from her beloved childhood sitcom.
Itch gone, she squirmed around, trying to find a more comfortable position on the small two-seater couch—her new bed for the last ten days. But then the tickle started again. Tammy reluctantly pulled out an arm and rubbed at the tip of her button-shaped nose—a nose her social worker had told her looked exactly like her mother’s.
Tammy really hoped the reference was true. However, the only way the social worker would know such a thing was from seeing a photograph of her mother, and as far as she was aware, the only photo that existed of her parents was the one Tammy had, which was a worn-out dog-eared one.
In the photo, her mother was holding Tammy in her arms and looking down lovingly at her newborn baby daughter. Her father stood proudly at her mother’s side with his arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders and a smile spread across his face that could light the way home for a thousand fishing boats returning to harbour on a foggy morning.
It was the only possession Tammy had of her parents—the only image, to her knowledge, that proved they had existed and were not just a figment of her imagination.
Occasionally over the years, she had dreams she was sure were memories of her brief time with her parents. There were dreams of them feeding squirrels in the park, or dancing around the sitting room to music on the radio. But she couldn’t be certain of whether they were real memories or just made up to satisfy her craving to know more about them.
Tammy had lost them twenty-three years ago when they perished in a gas explosion and house fire when she was just four, so any snippet of information about them was like finding a diamond in a snowdrift.
If it hadn’t been for the fact she was poorly in hospital with meningitis, she too would have perished alongside them. It had been a miracle Tammy wasn’t with them on that fateful day. But the universe had different plans for Tammy.
She was later told by her social worker that her mother had slept alongside her at the hospital every night since she’d been taken in, refusing to leave her side, but at the insistence of the hospital, had finally gone back home with her father to freshen up and get some clean clothes ready for Tammy’s discharge.
She’d been fostered after that and spent most of her childhood and teenage years in three long-term placements. It was a happy childhood, but deep down, she always knew it differed from her friends.
The nose tickle returned, Tammy stuck out her bottom lip and blew up at it this time, her arms too warm below the covers to scratch at it. After a restless night, getting hamstring cramps three times, her body refused to wake up yet.
A small childish giggle made her open one of her eyes to be greeted by a mischievous grin, a splatter of freckles, and a shock of red hair.
‘Toby. Where’s your mummy?’
The hushed and clearly annoyed voice of Evelyn coming from the hall made Toby’s smile instantly vanish. ‘Toby! Have you had my lipstick again?’
Tammy heard her friend Evelyn unsuccessfully tiptoeing in high heels on the laminated hallway floor. Toby heard it too and sucked in a shocked breath, running to hide behind the full-length curtains that grazed the floor beneath the window. Tammy opened her other eye and turned to look at the door as it creaked open. Evelyn’s face appeared around it.
Evelyn’s eyes widened when they rested on Tammy and her hand shot to her mouth, but it couldn’t stifle the laugh escaping through her fingers. ‘Oh no. I’m so sorry Tammy. That little rascal has been in my make-up bag again.’ Evelyn looked around the sitting room before her eagle eyes rested on the twitching curtain.
She stormed into the room, over to the curtains, and yanked them open. Tammy hissed like a vampire about to meet its demise and raised her arm to cover her eyes.
‘Sorry mummy, I was just playing.’ Toby’s small innocent voice could melt an iceberg. He reached his hand forward and offered Evelyn a mushed-up lipstick and an eyeshadow palette that looked as if a crow’s talon had been raking at it.
Evelyn’s shoulders dropped. ‘Oh Toby, you little imp, that’s my brand-new lipstick.’ A strangled moan came out of Evelyn’s throat. ‘And look at the state of you. You’re going to be late for nursery now and your sister will be late for school.’ Evelyn scooped Toby up and turned her head to look at Tammy. ‘Sorry, Tammy. I’ll try to keep him out of here tomorrow morning.’
Tammy sat up and rubbed the back of her neck. She felt as though she’d done eight rounds with Mike Tyson. ‘It’s fine Evelyn. I don’t mind. It was your sitting room before I took it over. I really appreciate you putting me up like this. I’m just sorry it’s an inconvenience for you all.’
Evelyn blanched. ‘You arenotan inconvenience, Tammy. If that...ex-boyfriendof yours hadn’t been such a—a...’ Evelyn walked towards the door as she spoke. ‘Well, I’ll not say what’s on my mind because little ears are listening, buthe’sthe one who should have been out on the streets after what he did to you—turning your life upside down like that overnight. Don’t you worry about a thing. You can stay here as long as you need to Tammy.’
‘Thank you. You and Tim have been so kind, but I won’t put you out for much longer. Hopefully, I’ll hear back from one of those jobs I’ve applied for today, and then I’ll be able to get a deposit for a new apartment.’
Evelyn’s eyes matched the sympathetic smile on her lips, and it made Tammy’s chest go tight. ‘You arenotputting us out, Tammy. I just wished I had an extra bedroom to offer you instead of my couch.’
Nancy moaned from the kitchen, complaining, ‘Mommy, this toast is burnt.’
Evelyn’s eyes rolled. She pulled her mouth into an over-exaggerated smile. ‘Besides, you’d be missing all thiswonderful chaosif you weren’t here.’ Tammy laughed. Evelyn dropped her head to the side to look around, a squirming Toby fighting to get out of her arms. ‘You know the drill, Tammy. Help yourself to whatever you want in the fridge.’ Tammy opened her mouth to object, but Evelyn shook her head to stop her. ‘And no. I don’t want to hear you offering to pay again.’ She winked at Tammy. ‘And Tammy, I’d consider taking a shower before you take any Zoom interviews today.’ Evelyn giggled just like Toby had earlier, before disappearing through the door.
Tammy threw the duvet back and rose gingerly from her couch-bed, stretching out the kinks of her spine as she did. Walking over to the mirror above the fireplace, her mouth dropped open when she saw her reflection.
She looked like a bad version of the famous Blue face painting by Pablo Picasso. Toby had used her face as an artist’s easel. Tammy laughed at first, but then she looked around to the small couch that was now her bed, and tears brimmed on her lower lashes.
Tammy didn’t want Evelyn to see her crying. She had been more than supportive by offering her somewhere to stay. In fact, all her friends had. Tammy had gone from one friend to another, couch surfing since her split from Richi, but always moving on before she outstayed her welcome at her generous and kind-hearted friends’ homes.
This morning, Tammy felt that the time had come again. Although she knew Evelyn would turn red in the face denying the fact, they both knew that having a grown woman sleeping in the family sitting room was inconvenient—for everyone.
