Page 28 of The Happy Family

‘You two do as your daddy says and get your coats on,’ she tells her grandchildren. ‘We’ll be sure to call you as soon as your mummy wakes up.’

‘But I want to be here when she does,’ Ruby whines.

‘Me too,’ Arthur replies before stuffing more of his grandfather’s crisps into his mouth.

‘Yes, but baby Jude needs to go home to bed, so be a good brother and sister and go and help your father with him,’ comes the thoughtful response, and I smile at Sadie’s mum because she is only trying to help, despite the difficult and awkward circumstances.

Sadie’s father stays silent, which speaks volumes, but thankfully, his wife’s words get my children moving and they put on their coats while I mouth ‘thank you’ to the woman who was previously my mother-in-law. Jude is still crying, not that it is doing the job of waking Sadie, though I step outside the room to give those inside it a little peace and quiet. Arthur and Ruby quickly join me and now we are ready to go home. But just before we can make our way to the car park, I see somebody I hoped I’d never see again.

What is he doing here at this hospital?

What is he doing here so close to my family?

‘Hey!’ I call out, and when he looks back, he quickens his pace. But that’s no good because that’s not going to change the fact that I have seen him, so I quicken my pace too.

‘Daddy?’ Ruby asks me, but I know they’ll follow me, so I keep rushing after the man, and my faster movements do the job of getting Jude to stop crying for a second.

‘Hey! What are you doing here? Are you following me and my family?’ I ask the man who is still trying to get away from me. But he is slowed down when a patient is pushed through the double doors on a trolley and he has to stop before he walks into them. That gives me the opportunity to catch him up, and whilst carefully holding onto Jude under one arm, I use my other arm to reach out and pull him towards me, letting him know that he is not getting away without explaining himself.

‘What are you doing here?’ I ask him again. ‘Tell me now before I call the police and have you arrested for stalking and harassment.’

The man who I first met outside my workplace when he approached me to tell me that he was on Gemma’s side in her opinion that Luna had framed her for the fire is now here.

That can’t be a coincidence.

It can’t be allowed.

‘Explain yourself,’ I snarl at the sheepish man who clearly thought he could be here without getting caught by me. ‘Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t have you arrested now?’

‘Because I haven’t done anything wrong,’ the man tries lamely.

‘Haven’t you? Then what are you doing here?’

‘Just visiting another patient.’

‘You really expect me to believe that?’

The man knows I’m not stupid, so he doesn’t try and keep up the façade.

‘Sadie might be waking up,’ he says, and I realise he must have somehow overheard the doctor when he was talking to me or Sadie’s parents earlier. How long has he been lingering around here? Obviously long enough if he knows the latest on Sadie’s prognosis, and I’m just mad that it has taken me this long to notice him. But I have had a lot going on since I got here, from getting the news about Sadie to Luna collapsing to trying to control my three children. No wonder I missed him. I’m observant but I’m not all-seeing.

‘Sadie has got nothing to do with you or Gemma or anybody else other than her family, who are here to support her,’ I say firmly. ‘So give me a good reason why you are here, eavesdropping on conversations and watching my family.’

‘You don’t get it, do you?’ the man replies, shaking his head as if I’m the one in the wrong. ‘This isn’t just going to go away. Gemma isn’t going to drop this. Luna has framed her and she will be caught; it’s only a matter of time. She certainly will be when Sadie wakes up and is on our side too.’

I cannot believe the level of this man’s delusion.

‘Who are you? Some guy who Gemma has got wrapped around her finger, doing her dirty work for her while she’s locked away? Did you write to her in prison? Send her a love letter after seeing her on the news? Did she write back and tell you that she’ll love you if you help her get out? Is that your sad story? Is that why you’re doing all of this for her?’

‘No, I’m doing it because it’s the truth. I believe Gemma, and Sadie believed her too, just before she had her “accident”. But it was no accident. Luna put her in this hospital, but Sadie is lucky. She’s still alive. Make no mistake, if Luna had done what she wanted to, Sadie would be dead now.’

‘Daddy, what is he talking about?’ Arthur asks me, and for a second, my heated discussion with this man had caused me to forget that my two elder children were standing behind me, well within earshot of everything being said by the adults. But this is obviously not a conversation they should be privy to, and I regret that they are having to listen to this upsetting nonsense. I regret that I am having to hear it all again too, but this is definitely the last time that I do.

I take a step closer to the man so he’ll be able to hear what I say when I lower my voice and prevent the two children behind me from hearing it too. Only Jude is with me, but thankfully, he is far too young to ever remember what his daddy is about to say to another person.

‘I’m going to give you one last warning,’ I say, my voice barely a whisper. ‘You stay away from me and my family, and you stop going along with Gemma’s delusions. If you don’t, it’s not Luna or anybody else you might have to worry about. It’s me, because if I ever see or hear from you again, you’ll be in this hospital for a very different reason next time.’

It doesn’t feel good to make threats of violence, but it feels as though it might be the only way I can get this man to listen to me. It seems to work, as he doesn’t say anything in response. He nervously takes a step back before departing through the double doors that he tried to scurry away through just before I caught him.