‘I always knew you were innocent,’ said Kathy with a dramatic depth to her voice. ‘I told everyone. My Jase isn’t into drugs. It’ll be that Mia, putting him up to it. But I couldn’t prove it, of course. Was it really Lawrence Harville behind it all?’
‘It really was,’ said Jenna. ‘Bastard. I hope he gets put away for a long time.’
‘He’ll wriggle out of it,’ predicted Jason. ‘Mia’ll be too scared to say a word against him, even if Kayley isn’t.’
‘I won’t be!’ said Jenna.
‘I bet they don’t even call you,’ said Jason. ‘He’s got good lawyers.’
‘So have I.’
‘You could’ve told me,’ wailed Kathy, apparently not happy to be left out of the conversation. ‘Your own mother and you couldn’t find a way to tell me whether you were alive or dead. I’ve been to hell and back, I have.’
‘I’m sorry,’ said Jason. ‘I know. But I thought you’d know I was OK. You know me. I can look after myself. I’ve had to.’
The last words were a little pointed, a little resentful, but not quite enough to shut Kathy up.
‘I’ve had it hard,’ she said. ‘You two can’t imagine what it’s been like for me. I’ve been let down in life, let down by everyone I ever knew. Even you, son. It’s like a slap in the face.’
‘Yeah, well, I’m back now, so everything’s sound, right?’ Jason sounded bored. ‘Where’s Bowyer?’
‘In the garden, I should think. He deserves a treat, too. Let’s have a little party, to celebrate your freedom, shall we? I’ll get some food and drink in.’
‘Sounds nice,’ said Kathy. ‘And I can get to know my boy’s new lass. At last he’s started to punch his own weight with the girls.’
‘Mum, I think you ought to be getting home,’ said Jason. ‘You know what you get like when the booze is flowing.’
Kathy didn’t take kindly to the suggestion.
‘How dare you? Your own mother! I can’t celebrate seeing my own son, what I thought were lying dead in a ditch, come back to life? You’re heartless, that’s what you are. Just like your dad.’
‘Oh, not this again, Mum.’ He turned to Jenna. ‘Whenever I do something she doesn’t like, I’m just like my dad. Convenient, isn’t it, that I can’t exactly argue, because I don’t know who the bastard is.’
‘The truth’ll come out, one day,’ said Kathy, rising from her seat and downing her glass of wine in one. ‘Believe you me.’
‘You don’t know who he is,’ said Jason, sounding bored. ‘It could be any number of fellas. Probably some loser with a wife and six kids of his own. I’ve probably played darts with him at the pub.’
‘You talk to me like that,’ said Kathy, now full of wounded dignity, pouring herself another glass. ‘But you’ll eat your words one day, you’ll see.’
‘I’ll give you a lift home,’ offered Jenna, alarmed to see Kathy necking back the second glass in one.
‘Don’t you trouble yourself,’ she said, the wounded dignity now so insistent that she was quite stiff with it. ‘I can walk. I’m still a capable human being, whatever he has to say about it.’
She banged down her glass and shuffled out of the kitchen, followed by Jason.
‘You’ll come and visit your old mum sometime, will you? When you’re not too busy with your love life?’
‘I’ll come round tomorrow. Stop being such a drama queen. Jesus. Anyone’d think it was you who’d just got out of prison on a false charge.’
She flounced out, banging the front door behind her.
‘Oh dear,’ said Jenna. ‘I hope she’ll get home all right.’
‘She’ll be fine. Two glasses is nothing to her. This was what it was like growing up. Everything was always about her. All “poor me” and veiled hints about some bollocks made-up story she’s dreamed up about how I came to be.’
‘That must have been hard for you.’
‘Yeah, well, it weren’t a picnic, that’s for sure.’ He swigged moodily at his wine, then his face softened as he looked properly at Jenna. ‘But fuck that. It’s just you and me, now, and this big old house. And I don’t think we’ve had our proper reunion yet, have we? Come here.’