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Again I wondered, what have you done?
Duckworth smiled, shook his head.
‘We just want to check a few facts, that’s all.’
‘Okay.’
‘Where did you and Mr Melgren meet?’
Another pause. My mother tilted her head, scratched the side of her neck.
‘Back in Massachusetts. He was over in the States looking for work.’
This was news to me. I’d always assumed they met the night she and Linda went out to ‘let their hair down’– not that my mother was in the habit of picking men up in bars. As far as I knew, Matty was the first boyfriend she’d had since my father.
‘And you reconnected when. . .’
‘He moved to London shortly after we arrived, got in touch.’
‘Were you involved with him romantically in Massachusetts?’
‘I was seeing someone else.’
It occurred to me that she hadn’t quite answered the question, though it wasn’t till a lot later that I put the rest together.
‘And you told him you had a daughter when you met again in London? A lot of men would be put off by that.’
‘Not Matty.’
It’s true, I wanted to tell them. But the words stuck in my throat.
‘Are you engaged to him?’ Duckworth asked.
My mother flushed again.
‘We’re going to get married.’
‘So, you’d set a date?’
‘Well, I mean, we talked about it. But. . .’
Jones smiled. His eyes were kind.
‘Some guys take a while to settle down.’
My mother nodded gratefully.
‘Yes, exactly.’
‘Did he live here?’
‘He stayed over a lot, but he likes his independence, says it’s good to have space.’
‘So how exactly would you characterise your relationship?’ Duckworth asked. His tone wasn’t as warm as Jones’. More businesslike. To the point.
‘We spent a lot of time together. He was always wonderful with Sophie.’
I wanted to tell them exactly how wonderful, to put what I’d done right, but still I couldn’t speak.
