Married Daughter paid Husband, and me a visit.
‘I have just been to see Laura. I’m worried about her. Can she come home Mum, live with you and Dad?’
Husband and I had a chat. We were reluctant to offer our house as home to Laura again. But we loved her, we worried about her, we wanted to support her. I wanted to make her better.
Off I went to collect Laura, to ask her to come home.
Black bin bags could wait to be packed. ‘Grab a few things Laura,’ I said, ‘We’ll come back for the rest.’
Her mobile phone rang. She answered. A friend of Mr Big I Am.
I snatched the phone off her, took out the SIM card, and destroyed that little piece of innocent plastic. She did not kick up a fuss, or complain of what I had done. She wanted to come home, with me.
The next day, Laura and I went to the phone shop to purchase a new SIM card. We came home with a new phone number. She contacted her friends, people she knew, updated her number with them.
She texted her new number to Mr Big I Am when I was out of the room.
I have lost count of the different mobile phone numbers Laura has had. All of these new numbers had found their way to Mr Big I Am.
We had a routine for a while, Laura stayed with us during the week then went to her place at weekends. All was good.
Gradually Laura moved back to her own place, said she wanted her freedom, wanted the responsibility of being alone, needed to do her own thing. Away from our prying eyes.
I missed her, all over again.
addictchild 