The Stolen Child I started to get, but my mother I haven dealt with yet

Chapter 11: Truth and de-viller

'Well, Gloria and I were walking up the street with the dogs when we saw you ....kinda pop out of nowhere.....at least, it appeared that way. You were so busy with all your packages you didn't see him coming.' Who coming?' Jamie enquired. 'The boy on the bike,' Tony said. He handed her a cup of tea and then sat himself down on the chair opposite her bed. 'He smashed into you pretty hard and you fell back and landed with your head onto pavement. 'The sidewalk,' Gloria corrected her husband. 'Ya right, anyways we ran over to you and you were unconscious. ''That's when I ran back to the B&B, the dogs yapping alongside of me as if they were blowing their trumpets to announce my arrival, Gloria said. I ran into the house and called for your friends, they came storming down the stairs one after the other and when I told them what had just happened, Jack here, shot out of the house to see what he could do. Eileen had their little boy hangin on her hip so I invited her into the sitting room....you know, walking up and down those stairs with a toddler on you hip takes its toll. We waited for a bit and then Tony and Jack appeared on either side of you while they half walked...carried you into the house......by this time you were conscious again, but babbling about Indians and teepees.' And then,' Tony continued,' when we had entered the house, the little boy saw you and set off wailing at the sight of you, which set the dogs off to join him in unison, what a kafafel, let me tell you,' Tony said shaking his head with a grin on his face. 'That's when Jack here, ' Gloria motioned with her head in Jerry's direction, ' helped you with your stuff up the stairs and then about two hours later we heard you screaming.' At this point the room fell silent, a long minute of utter silence. Tony was sitting on the chair across from her bed while Gloria stood beside her husband looking intently at Jamie as if she were scanning her up and down to determine if there wasn't some kind of unseen damage done to her caused by the fall. Jerry stood on the other side of the room by the window. He too was looking at Jamie, examining her. Jamie could hear Sam in the other room and Emma voice as she was speaking to him, clearly calming him. Then Jerry cleared his throat and asked Jamie if she was feeling any better. Jamie took a sip of her tea and looked up from the cup to Jerry and said, I'm fine. Really!' It must have been the fall. I just had a bad dream. A meal and a good nights sleep will make me right as rain.' She then turned her attention back to the cup of tea. At which Tony slapped his hands on his knees and stood up. He looked at his wife and nodded in the direction of the door that indicated that it was time for them to go. They walked over to the door and as Gloria stepped out onto the hallway landing she stopped abruptly and turned to her husband. It seemed that this couple were a fine tuned engine that worked and lived well together because without any words that passed between them, Tony understood why his wife had stopped and what her look meant. Her turned to face Jamie and said, ' we'll bring you some dinner tonight, okay luv. You needn't worry about paying us for the meal, it's on the house. You just rest now.' And with that he departed the room quickly. Jerry walked over from the window to the door and closed it behind the couple as he heard them descend down the two staircases. He turned towards the bed, took a few steps and sat down. He leaned himself forward with his arms bent, his elbows were resting on his knees, he was looking at the floor when he said, ' What happened today James?'

Jamie took another sip of the warm liquid and then placed the cup on the night table beside her bed. She sat herself as upright as possible in the bed and then looked at Jerry. I .....it's......there were some men in the shopping mall in Margate.' At these words Jerry shot up and looked at her with a shocked expression. He then put up his hand to indicate that she should wait, he stood up and headed to the door. He opened her door, went to the room where he, Emma and Sam were staying and returned with Emma and Sam, closing Jamie's room door quickly behind them. Sam saw his mom laying in the bed and shot out his arms to her. Jamie responded swiftly by taking Sam from Emma's hold enveloping him in a passionate squeeze. It cost her great restraint to hold back the floodgate of tears that was building up inside of her. Emma and Jerry waited a few moments before they attempted to start up this tenuous conversation. After a bit Jamie loosened her grip on Sam and then looked up at her friends. Jerry and Emma sat down on her bed. Emma sat as close as possible to Sam and Jamie, taking her friends hand in hers while Jerry snuggled up close behind his sister so that the threesome could talk. After a moment Emma ventured out with a cautious remark. ' The dream was....bad, you .....something bad happened today.' Emma's question was not so much a question as it was a statement. She held a steady gaze on her friend. Jamie was looking down at her son, holding his little hand, caressing it gently as he laid with his back against her body. He sat half sitting, half laying on his mother's lap, content and still. She looked up from him back at the faces of Jerry and Emma. She nodded to them. Jerry continued,' you just said that there were some men in Margate this morning.' This time it was Emma who shot up, just as her brother had done a few short minutes ago, her demeanor becoming more anxious.