I was expecting the big gates of the prison to swing open, but they didn’t. Instead on the dot of eight, the little Judas door opened, and she walked out carrying a little parcel under her arm.
“Mrs. Greene?” she looked at me briefly but carried on walking, so I tried again.
“Mum?”
She stopped and slowly turned round.
“I’m no one's mother,” she looked at me defiantly, daring me to say otherwise, so I obliged.
“You’re my mother, you know you are.”
“I’m sorry, but you must be mistaken.” but she made no attempt to walk on, she didn’t really have anywhere to go!
“Your name is Sally Anne Greene, you were convicted of manslaughter ten years ago for killing an abusive husband who used to beat you regularly if you refused to have sex with any of his scummy friends. You were guilty of that all right, you admitted so, you also said that in the same circumstances, you’d do it again.”
I hesitated and then said, trying very hard to keep my emotions under control. “And I don’t blame you at all.”
Her eyes softened and became moist.
“Not once Michael,” she said softly. “Not once did you ever visit me.”
“Get in the car mum,” I said as gently as I could. “Please and I’ll tell you why.”
“Where are you taking me?”
“Somewhere you can call home.”
We got into my old Volvo, and I whisked her away from the forbidding granite walls that had embraced her for the last ten years.
It was a long drive from the prison up to my home in the Midlands, long enough for a talk.
“I was in an orphanage mum, nobody wanted the son of a murderer. When those looking to adopt came to look over the kids, they always passed me by they’d obviously been told who I was.”
“Why were you in an orphanage?”
“Well your in-laws didn’t want me and nobody else offered.”
“In-laws huh, more like bloody outlaws, have you got any cigarettes?”
I passed her a packet over and waited until she’d filled her lungs with smoke before speaking again.
“They kept me until I was sixteen and then let me go after fixing me up with a job and a little flat, it’s not much of a job mum but I’m learning a trade and of course I’m earning.”
“They fixed me up with a bed in a hostel,” she said. “I’d only be in the way at your place.”
“Why go to a hostel mum?, I’m offering you a home, with your own room, a television and a bathroom.”
“A bathroom?”
“Yes, hot water and loads of nice perfumed bath salts, oh and a wall-mounted television with remote control.”
She threw the remains of her cigarette out of the window and looked across at me.
“Why are you bothering now, you haven’t bothered about me for ten years?”
“I was eighteen last week mum, before that, I was under the care and control of those running the home, they wouldn’t allow me to visit you, they even confiscated the letters I wrote. They said you’d be a bad influence on me and of course the prison governor had orders that I wasn’t to visit until I was eighteen.”
“They were probably right.”
“They weren’t right mum, they were a million bloody miles off the mark, they never understood why a little eight-year-old boy was crying in his bed every night.”
“I don’t suppose they ever considered that a young mum was crying in her cell every night either.”
No, I don’t suppose they did mum, would you like some breakfast?”
“Yes, I’ve got money.”
“Just allow me to buy you breakfast will you?” I pulled into a roadside truck stop, and we went inside.
“A full English?”
“What’s that?”
“It’s a breakfast mum, bacon, eggs, fried bread, beans, tomato, sausage and a cup of tea.”
“How much will that be?”
“It doesn’t matter how much it is, I said I’ll pay.”
“All right.”
The waitress took our order and brought us a cup of tea each.
“May I go to the toilet please miss?” she said to the girl, who looked surprised but nodded.
“Of course, it’s through there.” and pointed to a door; I leaned forward and said softly.
“Mum, you don’t have to ask if you can go, just go, you’re out now, you can do what you like.”
“I forgot, all right?” she snapped, but when she came back, she laid a hand on my shoulder and said simply, “Sorry.”
“S’okay mum,” I smiled. “It’ll take some getting used to.”
Our meals came then, and she looked at her's in wonder.
“I’ll never eat all this.”
“Just eat what you want and leave the rest.”
We ate in silence. I finished all of mine and to her own surprise mum managed most of hers before pushing the plate away.
“That was nice, can I have another cup of tea please?”
We both had another tea and then set off for home, mum slept for most of the way there and only woke up as I pulled up outside the old miner’s cottage where I lived.
“This is it, mum.”
“This is yours?”
“Well it used to be mine, but I share it now.”
“Who with?”
“I share it with somebody who I happen to think deserves better than the shit that’s been thrown at her in her life.”
“Can I have a look inside?”
“Of course mum, here, this is yours.”
I handed her a key, just an old-fashioned door key, but it was in a little leather fold over wallet fastened to a clasp with “MUM” embossed on it, she looked at it, and I saw her bottom lip beginning to tremble.
She put the key in the lock and turned it, then when she saw the big homemade banner stretched across the fireplace saying, “Welcome Home Mum,” the dam broke and she cried!
I tried to laugh it off at first, but instead, I found myself crying with her, sharing the emotion of the moment and we held each other just letting it all out.
Finally, we pulled apart and grinned shyly at each other.
“Sorry mum, I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
“It’s just so-- so nice.”
“Let me show you the rest of the place.”
I showed her the kitchen, complete with fridge, freezer, washing machine, tumble drier, microwave and an old wooden table in the middle of the floor, then I took her upstairs and showed her the bathroom complete with shower unit and bidet.
“Close your eyes,” I said. “And no cheating.”
It was only a few steps into her bedroom, she trusted me, and I said. “Open them, mum, this is your room.”
Everything in it was new, the big double bed, the dressing table with three mirrors, the built-in wardrobes, the flat screen television on the far wall opposite the bed and the bedside cabinets. The light dimmer hanging just above the bed, everything, it had cost me quite a bit of the six hundred grand I’d won on the national lottery only about ten months ago, but I considered it worth every penny!
“I don’t know what to say,” she said as she looked around, “It looks like a room fit for a princess.”
“Or a Queen.” I smiled, and I told her about my big win, “I own this place too mum, no mortgage either.” I added proudly.
“There’s just one more thing I want to show you.” And again I led her downstairs and pointed to an envelope on the mantlepiece.
“No tears this time, promise?”
“I promise” she smiled and promptly burst into tears as she opened it and saw the money inside.
“You promised,” I chided her, but she shook her head.
“Too much Michael,” she said. “All this is far too much.”
“OK then mum, show me your worldly possessions.”
She pointed to the small parcel she’d been clutching when she left the prison.
“You need clothes, makeup, girly things.”
“True but I don’t need all this to buy them with do I?”
“Mum,” I took her hands in mine. “Have you ever had a thousand pounds before?”
.“No,” she said softly, “I’ve never even seen that much before.”
“Well go out and treat yourself and put the rest in your purse,” I smiled. “After you’ve bought one.”
“Michael I can’t keep taking from you, I need to pay my own way, get my own things, I’m sure you understand.”
“Of course I do mum, but you’re here now, nobody’s going to be putting pressure on you, nobody’s going to be ordering you about. Take your time, get yourself some retail therapy, enjoy the garden, get some sun on your back.”
“You’ve got a garden?”
“Yeah come on, I’ll show you.”
I grabbed her hand, and we went out of the back door onto the little patio where I liked to sit at night with a drink and a good book or just to look out over the hills at the rear of my little cottage.
“This is beautiful Michael.”
“Yes,” I agreed. “I like it out here.” I pointed to a pile of bricks in one corner.
“Those are for a barbecue, I’m going to build one.”
“The grass needs cutting.”
“I bought a mower off e bay, it should be here any day now, let me show you where the postman leaves my mail.”
There was a big black box beside the gate to the garden with a hinged lid, I lifted the lid and picked up a couple of letters for me.
“I just think that a letterbox would spoil the door.”
“You’re very organised aren’t you?”
“Me organised? You must be joking mum, I lurch from one crisis to another every day.”
“Well, it looks to me like you’ve spent your winnings very wisely.”
“I don’t know about that mum, there was another little cottage down the road a bit, I bought that one as well.”
“Two cottages, wow.”
“Well it’s just a heap of bricks really, but I’d like to rebuild it eventually.”
“You’ll do it then,” she smiled. “I know you will.”
“I wish I had your confidence, do you want to go shopping?”
“Oh yes please, where can I leave some of this money?”
“Hide it somewhere in your bedroom.”
“Good idea, but you should get a dog, you know in case of burglars.”
“I might do now you’re here, it wouldn’t have been fair before.”
It was only about a mile to the shopping mall, so I dropped her off and told her I’d meet her in an hour in a pub I pointed out to her.
“Okay,” she smiled as she opened the door, “There’s just one thing though.”
“What’s that?” I asked, and she leaned across and kissed me softly.
“Thank you, Michael, thank you very much, what you’ve done means everything to me.”
“Go shopping mum,” I said wondering why my voice sounded all croaky.
She was well over an hour, but what the hell?, it was her first time out by herself in over ten years, when she finally reappeared she was carrying what looked like a ton of bags which I helped her to load in the boot before she got in.
“Oh thank God that’s over,” she said. “I could hardly believe the prices.”
“There’s something on the back seat you might like mum,” I said, and the little cardboard box gave out a yelp as she reached for it.
She opened the box carefully like a child unwrapping a present, and suddenly a little pink tongue was licking her face.
“Oh you’re gorgeous,” she squealed as the tiny German shepherd pup squirmed in her embrace and did it’s level best to lick her face off.
“Oh Michael, I’m in love, isn’t it tiny?”
“His name’s Oscar mum, he’s six weeks old, but apparently he’ll grow into a very big dog.”
“He’s lovely, I love him already.”
“Well I don’t think he’ll be much of a guard dog just yet, but it’s a start.”
“Well, I think he’s brilliant.”
Then she proceeded to tell him just how much fun they were going to have, but funnily enough all Oscar wanted to do was sleep!
It took us half an hour to unload all her stuff from the car and carry them indoors mainly because Oscar kept trying to trip us both up.
Then we carried all the bags upstairs to her room, and by the time we’d finished I was ready for a drink.
“Want a drink mum?” I asked. “I’ve got lager, vodka, and brandy.”
“I’d love a brandy please Michael.”
“Okay, why don’t you draw yourself a bath and I’ll bring one up to you.”
“Ooh yes, we only had showers in there.”
“Well fill it with whatever perfumes you want and enjoy it, I’ll bring you a drink up and then I’ll cook us a steak each.”
“Oh wow, a girl could get used to this.”
I smiled and went down for our drinks, she was in a fluffy white bathrobe when I returned. I was struck by how small she was, she smiled her thanks as she took the brandy from me and sipped at it delicately.
