CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT.
“Four. Days.”
Jack emphasized each word with a heaving sigh and a grimace, not lost on his sister who threw him a sympathetic smile.
“Four days since I’ve seen Desiree.”
“And four days since the return of the bitchface.”
Jack scowled at Maureen. “You can’t say that out loud around here, Maureen. What if the kids hear you?”
“So what if they do? She is a bitchface.” Maureen’s airy reply, and equally as unconcerned expression brought a smile to Jack’s face, even as he tried to be stern with her.
“Maybe. But she’s still their mother, and they still owe her respect.”
Maureen snorted inelegantly. “Respect. Well, Jackie, sometimes you gotta earn respect.”
“Not from your kids. Kids respect adults. That’s the rules around here.”
Maureen murmured something under her breath that Jack didn’t quite catch, but from the mutinous expression on her face, he was glad that he hadn’t. He returned the conversation to what he actually wanted to talk about.
“Four days since I’ve seen Desiree.”
“You already said that.”
“Yes, but you didn’t respond.”
“What did you want me to say?”
“I wanted you to tell me to call her. Or go round to her place. Or do somethin’ rather than just parkin’ ass here.”
Jack actually did want Maureen to tell him what to do. He desperately wanted to speak to Desiree, to hear her voice even if she was angry, but with the way she left the other morning, he just wasn’t sure what the best course of action was to take.
She shrugged. “Not much point, is there? You won’t listen anyways. And if you ask me, you’re better off leavin’ Desiree alone until you’ve sorted out this thing with Susan. She can’t just come bargin’ in here whenever she wants, Jack. The kids’ routine is all out of whack. The twins are overtired, and Faith is getting all fidgety about not having time to study.”
“I know.” Jack rubbed his hand along the back of his neck. “But what do I do? They haven’t seen her for months. I can’t stop them seein’ her now.”
“You need to make some rules, Jack. Set some boundaries. Tell Susan she only comes in when she’s invited. And if she comes when she ain’t, send her off again.”
Jack sighed deeply, a sour expression on his face. “It’s gonna be messy.”
“Yup. But you gotta deal with it, Jackie. Otherwise that woman’s gonna be walkin’ all over you ‘til the twins turn twenty-one.”
“You get to be an adult at eighteen here, Maureen.”
“Whatever. She’ll be walkin’ over you ‘til then.”
Jack nodded. “You’re right. I’ll have a word with her later.”
It was the evening, and already past the boy’s bedtime, but Susan had come over every afternoon when school and daycare were finished and stayed until the boys couldn’t keep their eyes open any longer.
Jack had seen his sons become more fractious and irritable over the past days, and he saw the worry around Faith’s eyes, although she always welcomed her mother with open arms and hung off her every word.
When the twins were put to bed, strenuously complaining at the injustice of it all, Jack asked Susan if he could have a private word with her.
Susan seemed surprised. “Sure, Jack. Just let me finish up here with Faith first.”
“Actually, I reckon Faith has some homework she needs to git done.”
“Nonsense, surely you can let the homework slide while I’m here.”
“I reckon not.”
Jack noticed Faith looking between them as each of them spoke, and his heart broke a little. She was far too clever not to be able to read the subtle undertones of the conversation. And Jack knew her mind would be torn – on the one hand, she wanted to spend as much time with her mother as she could, and on the other, her own overachieving psyche was starting to stress out because she wasn’t completing the homework she had.
He smiled at Faith and kissed her hair. She smiled a tentative smile back and said, “I do have a bit of homework to do. Mum, do you mind? Just for tonight?”
Susan seemed taken aback. “No, that’s fine. I only came all the way over to Perth to visit you guys, but it’s okay. You do what you need to do.”
Jack silently fumed. How dare Susan play the blame game on Faith? Their daughter looked confused and vulnerable, not sure how she should respond. Jack jumped in to help her. He gave her a smile and kissed her hair. “Go on now. That homework won’t wait forever.”
“Okay. Goodnight Dad. Goodnight Mum!” She left the room in a hurry. Jack hoped that she would actually settle down and do some study, and not worry about whether she had just damaged her relationship with her mother. Susan was the master at manipulating people’s feelings, but Jack never expected her to try it on her own daughter.
Keeping his anger in check, Jack led the way into the kitchen, and indicated that Susan should sit at the table. He took a chair across from her, and jumped straight into the conversation he should have had four days ago.
“You can’t just keep droppin’ in like this, Susan.”
She was instantly on the defensive. “Why not? They’re my kids too you know.”
“A fact you conveniently forgot when you picked up and ran off to Sydney.”
“But I’m not in Sydney now, I’m in Perth.”
“And how long are you here for really, Susan?” Jack leaned forward over the table. “I mean really. How long are you stayin’?”
“I don’t know.” Susan was breezy and affected unconcern.
“Well, for however long you plan to stay, we need to make some rules so the twins’ routine isn’t disrupted like it has been, and so that Faith gets time to do the things she needs to do.”
Susan sniffed. “Faith doesn’t need to study. You know that.”
“Yeah, I do, but Faith thinks Faith needs to study.”
“And you’re saying that my presence disrupts everyone so much that I need to have, what, visiting hours?”
“Pretty much, yeah.” Jack leaned back and crossed his arms across his chest. Now negotiations would begin in earnest.
“No. I’m quite happy doing what I’m doing, and I don’t see that it’s disrupting the kids that much.”
Jack’s mouth fell open, but he managed to close it just as quickly before responding coldly, “The boys go to bed at seven. Before that, they eat and have a bath. From now on, they will be doing those things at that time.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“Well how about this, Jack. I sue for custody of all of them, and then I get to see them whenever I want.”
Jack paled. “We’ve just got everythin’ back in workin’ order after you left, Susan. Why would you come back now and fuck it all up again?”
“There is another way.”
Jack hoped he was wrong, but he had a strong suspicion that this solution would be even worse than the first one. “Go on.”
“We could get back together.”
Jack exploded with a bitter short laugh. “Hold your horses. There is no hope in hell that’s going to happen, Susan, so get it out of your mind.”
“Why not? The kids need a mother. You could get rid of the nanny. It could be in name only. You wouldn’t have to sleep with me, and I could see my kids whenever I wanted.”
“No.” Jack nearly roared the word, making Susan jump. He swallowed, then took a couple of deep breaths to bring his temper back under control. “You will never be livin’ in the same house with me ever again Susan. Do you understand?”
“Perfectly. Expect to hear from my attorney.” She stood up.
“Wait. We haven’t figured out your visitin’ hours yet.”
Susan’s anger finally seeped through. “I will visit my children whenever and wherever I want, Jack Duncan, and you can’t stop me.”
“Oh, yes I can. This is my house, my home. You only get to come here when I say you can come here.” A frosty glare was his only response, so he continued. “From now on, you’re welcome here between four and five-thirty on weekdays and on Saturday afternoon from lunchtime to six.”
“Make me.” She spat the words at him as she gathered herself to leave.
“Oh, I will,” he called at her departing back. He heard the door slam, and the poor house shuddered under the impact.
“That was pleasant,” remarked Maureen, strolling into the kitchen, coffee mug in hand.
“No, no it wasn’t.” Jack ruffled up his hair, blowing out a breath he didn’t realise he had been holding. “What it was was clear. She’s going to sue for custody, Reen.”
“Well, that’s a hurdle we’ll overcome when we run into it, Jack. In the meantime, at least she knows you’re serious about the visitin’ thing. I think that’s important, not only for the kids, but also for you.”
Jack frowned. “Me?”
“Yes, dumbass. Do you really think it’s good for you to have Susan skulkin’ around your house all hours of the day and night? Let me answer that. No, it’s not.”
Jack nodded in agreement, then smiled. “I’m glad you’re here, Reen. I just couldn’t imagine goin’ through this without you. How did you know?”
“Know what?”
“That I’d need you right now? That hoppin’ a plane to Perth was exactly what I needed you to do?”
“Oh, that.” Maureen tapped the side of her nose. “I have the gift, little brother.”
“The gift?”
“Of second sight of course.” By now, Maureen was chuckling, which Jack, a measure of relief washing over him, echoed.
“Right.”
“Okay, so the next order of business is to get that young woman of yours back into your life.”
“Yeah, I’m not so sure that’s going to be as easy as all that.”
“Why, because you were dumber than a box of hammers?”
“Well… well, yes, but you need not be so blunt.”
“It’s my charmin’ Texan way, brother. You just need to call her. Explain. Apologize. And I mean grovel at her feet. Charm her into takin’ you back.”
Jack shook his head, his lips compressed. “I don’t think that’ll work. She’s gonna want to be sure she can trust me.”
“Well, good luck with that, Jackie. Trust, once lost, is a difficult thing to win back.”
“Don’t I know it.” Jack put his elbows on the table and his chin in his hands. “And the hardest part? I really don’t know how I’m going to do it.”