To Catch a Butterfly Page 2

  Stevie removed the white towel from the rail and dried her feet, then stood on tiptoe and looked in the mirror. She ran her fingers across her forehead and touched the freckles on her nose.

  “Hello pumpkin.” William peered around the bathroom door.

  “We saw a dead cat today dad!” Stevie exclaimed, hugging him around the waist.

  “Did you now, didn’t bring it home did you?” William smiled down at her.

  “No, can I put a card in Mr Lewis’s shop window?”

  “What for?” William was at the sink washing his hands.

  “In case someone’s looking for it.” Stevie looked at the wet towel on the floor and suddenly remembered her mother’s warning. She quickly hung it back over the towel rail, hoping her mother would never notice.

  “We’ll see, now be a good girl and go and help your mum with the tea, it’s your favourite.” He leant down to Stevie’s ear “Shit with sugar on.” he whispered. Stevie giggled, sticking out her tongue.

  Marie dished up the dinner and sat down; Stevie looked at her plate and stabbed at a piece of carrot with her fork. She hated carrot; she looked at the pile of lettuce which was stained purple from the beetroot juice swimming around her plate. She hated beetroot. The only thing she liked in front of her was mashed potato which was also stained purple. And Stevie hated purple mashed potato.

  “Goodnight love.” William kissed Stevie on the forehead.

  “Night dad.” she leant over to her mother who was wrapped around her father on the settee, Marie turned her face for Stevie to kiss her cheek.

  “Night mum.” Stevie left the room and made her way upstairs to the comfort of her bedroom. She opened her schoolbag which lay abandoned for the summer holidays in the corner and took out her exercise book, and in fading light of the evening she penned a note to put in Mr Lewis’s shop window.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Catherine Stone indicated right, following the removal van into Whyteleafe Road glancing at the sign ahead ‘Fourbridge One Mile’ She had spent so long organising her return to England that she was ill prepared for the feelings she would have at this moment. Her cottage in Brittany had been remote; a place where only a handful of the locals had, in the years she’d spent there, spoken to her or even knew her name. Now she was back in Hampshire. Suddenly the screeching of brakes brought her back from dark thoughts as she realised the removal van had stopped in front of her. The bonnet of her old Volvo rocked up and down as it sat inches from the rear of the Bedford removal van. She sat shaking; staring ahead of her “God.” she whispered closing her eyes.

  “Nearly!” a face appeared at her open window, “You’ll have to back it up a bit love, so we can open the back of the van.” The removal man smiled cheerily at her and then frowned “You alright love?”

  “Yes, I’m fine, sorry.” Catherine re-started the stalled engine and slowly reversed the car.

  A moment later and she was standing in the hallway, looking around at empty rooms.

  “Where do you want this love?” she turned to see her precious easel being carried through the front door.

  “Could you put it in there for now please?” she pointed at the large front room and put a hand on the banister, “Actually, put all the small things in there for now and any boxes, I’ll sort them out later.”

  “Whatever you say, you’re the boss!”

  Catherine smiled falsely and began to walk up the stairs, she reached the landing and turned glancing into each room and then stood at the landing window, laid out before her was Whyteleafe cemetery. A thousand headstones gleaming in the sunshine.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Stevie pulled on her jeans and tied the laces of her favourite trainers. She folded the note she had written the night before and put it in her back pocket as she headed downstairs. She was met at the bottom by her mother and knew instantly by the look on her face that one, her father had already left for work and two, she was in big trouble.

  “What did I tell you about using the white towel?” Marie stood with her hands on her hips, “Well?”

  “I don’t know.” Stevie sheepishly ran her hand up and down the banister pole.

  “What do you mean you don’t know?” Her mother’s face was turning red.

  “I can’t remember.” Stevie watched as her mother turned beetroot.

  “I told you not to use the white towel didn’t I?” Marie’s voice got louder, “Didn’t I!?” She shouted into Stevie’s face.

  “I think so.” Stevie looked at the floor.

  “Oh you think so do you, so why then did you use it when I specifically told you not to?”

  “I forgot.” Stevie frowned, waiting for the slap across her legs.

  “You forgot?” Marie shook her head, “Well maybe I’ll forget to do the washing and you won’t have any clean clothes to wear, you can go around stinking like a pig, how about that?!” She pushed her face under Stevie’s. “Look at me when I’m talking to you!” She grabbed Stevie’s chin and thrust her face upwards.

  “I’m sorry.” Stevie whispered, her eyes filling with tears.

  “You’re sorry?” Just then the telephone rang, “Don’t you move.” Marie pointed a finger into Stevie’s face, “Don’t you move an inch.” Stevie watched as her mother walked over to the telephone, and quickly wiped a tear from her cheek.

  “Hello?” Marie answered cheerily, “Yes hello Doctor, oh has she? Yes of course I can, yes yes, no problem I’ll be there as soon as I can, okay bye.” Marie replaced the receiver and turned back to Stevie, “I’ve got to go into work one of the girls has gone sick.” She looked around for her handbag, “You be home by three o’clock, I’ll deal with you then.”

  “But I said sorry!” Stevie protested and then it came, straight across her face, the cracking sound of her mother’s hand, which almost took her off her feet.

  “Don’t you ever raise your voice to me you little bitch!” Marie’s words were spat through clenched teeth. She watched as Stevie steadied herself and sat on the stairs, her head in her hands, sobbing loudly. Marie’s hand stung and she suddenly realised the force of the blow may have left a mark on Stevie’s face, “Now come on that’s enough, we’ll hear no more about it.” she gently pulled Stevie’s arms outwards and bent down to inspect her face, she noticed dark reddening where her hand had connected. “Come on now, a big girl like you doesn’t cry, now go and wash your face.” she stood up, “Go on now, splash your face with water and that will be the end of it.” She waited until Stevie had reached the top of the stairs before collecting her things together and locking the back door. “Stevie don’t forget your key and remember to be in by three, have a nice time!” Marie called upstairs and paused; when there was no reply she quietly left closing the front door gently behind her.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “Laura, are you ready?” Rose Fielding called out.

  “Coming!” Laura emerged from her bedroom wearing her blue skirt, yellow blouse and black scuffed shoes,

  “Good girl.” Rose smiled up at her and watched her hair bounce up and down as Laura jumped down the stairs.

  “Have you got your pocket money, you might see something nice?” She removed Laura’s thin blue jacket from the banister and handed it to her.

  “Do I have to wear that? I’ll be hot.”

  “At least take it with you, just in case, they say it won’t be as hot as yesterday. Where’s your sister, I’ll bet she’s still in that bathroom. Elaine, come on, we’re leaving!”

  “Five minutes mum!” the muffled reply came from behind a closed bathroom door.

  “What are you doing up there?”

  “Nothing, I won’t be a minute!”

  Rose looked at Laura and raised her eyebrows, “I’ve got all this to come with you yet.” she smiled. Rose Fielding was proud of her daughters. She had raised them single handedly after their father had had an affair with an unsavoury sort from down the road and had left the family home. Rose had listened to his tearful confession and
had diplomatically sat him down and told him how it was going to be. She would raise the girls, he would pay nothing towards their upbringing and he would never show his stinking face again. And that’s how it was; Rose was left, working two jobs, sleeping three hours a night. Every day she convinced herself that all men were complete bastards and she would never again share her bed, her children, or her life with any man. She was a plump woman with brown curly hair and dark brown eyes and always smelt of warm lavender. She had brought her daughters up under her own father’s ‘three p code’ polite, prompt and presentable. Rose had often quoted his words when steering her girls through their childhood. She would always miss out the part where he said ‘It doesn’t matter if you’ve got shit for brains, if you stick to the three p code, you’ll always do alright in life.’

  Elaine finally made her entrance, “Why are you dressed for school?” She looked at Laura.

  “I need to see what her new shoes will look like with her uniform, now come on you two I want to pop into the doctor’s before we get the bus into town, let Doctor Knowles know about your little spell Laura.”

  “Okay.” Laura didn’t mind these trips to the doctor’s surgery now that there were no more needles or tests at the hospital. She liked the pictures on the waiting room walls, one showed the whole island and every time they went, she would see how quickly she could point out Southlands, where she lived.

  “Right, let’s be off then.” Rose ushered her daughters out of the front door, blinking in the brightness of the morning sun.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “Adam, what time is Stevie calling for you?” Beth Daniels turned to look at her son who was studying the card she had prepared for him to put in Mr Lewis’s shop window, her hands were red from washing the breakfast dishes and a collection of bubbles balanced precariously from her elbow.

  “Nine o’clock.” Adam continued to admire his mother’s handiwork.

  “It’s nearly ten are you sure she said nine?”

  The doorbell rang and Adam jumped off of his chair and ran to the front door, “Come in.”

  Stevie walked into the living room smiling, “Hello Mrs Daniels.”

  “Hello Stevie, would you like some juice?” Beth peered around the kitchen door, “Good grief, you’re all red, are you alright?” She wiped her hands on a tea towel and stepped over towards Stevie, bending down to touch her cheek with the back of her hand. “I suppose you ran all the way here?”

  “Yeah.” Stevie smiled again, blinking frantically to hide tears that began to well up again.

  Beth stood upright and turned back into the kitchen, “You kids, I don’t know, running everywhere, I wish I had your energy.” She opened the fridge and removed a carton of juice, momentarily staring at it as she wondered how or even if she should try to ask Stevie about the finger impressions across her face. Finally deciding she would say nothing, not in front of Adam at least. She poured out two beakers and set them down on the living room table, where Adam was proudly showing Stevie the card, she took it from him and looked hard at it trying to concentrate on the words, trying to think of anything that would take her mind of the throbbing in her face. She remembered the note she had written, folded away in her back pocket. Adam’s one was much better, written on proper card all neatly, ‘VERY SORRY IF IT BELONGED TO YOU BUT A CAT WITH NO COLLAR WAS FOUND DOWN BARROW LANE LEADING TO BLACKHURST RIVER. UNFORTUNATELY IT HAD DIED, DETAILS HAVE BEEN LEFT WITH MR. LEWIS’

  “My dad said we shouldn’t bury it.” Adam took a gulp of his drink and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

  Beth returned to the kitchen and listened to them chatting, she had always liked Stevie, her initial concerns that Adam had chosen her and Laura as his best friends instead of other boys had long since diminished. Even the other kids at school had got bored of calling out ‘Adam Daniels is a girl!’ at every given opportunity and had concentrated their jibes at others. First it was Darren Hughes, the fat kid with large moles dotted over his face, then Jonathan Mayfield with carroty hair and an acute stutter and finally Susan Laurel, forced to wear her brother’s hand me down shoes, brown leather with blue toecaps. Two sizes too big.

  Beth slowly dried the dishes, every now and then looking over her shoulder at Stevie and Adam, imagining them growing up and wondering if their friendship would last through their teens. Her jaw tightened as she thought about Stevie, she thought of conversations they had had, and remembered Stevie always speaking of things her father had said and done, but hardly ever mentioning her mother. Beth had met them both and had always been undecided about Marie, not knowing if she was shy or just plain bloody ignorant. What parent would raise a hand to their child in this way? She unconsciously shook her head and decided to speak to Adam’s dad later that evening.

  Beth and Peter Daniels had met in school; it had been the perfect teenage romance. He was smart, quiet and disgracefully handsome. She was tall, slender with long brown hair and ocean blue eyes. They had dated throughout senior school during which time Peter had proposed twenty two times, Beth turning him down on every occasion but always with the same promise. If he asked her again when she turned eighteen she would accept. So on her eighteenth birthday on bended knee, with an engagement ring balancing on the stem of a white rose clasped between his teeth, he asked her to be his wife and she finally and graciously accepted. That very rose now sat pressed into a frame which hung in their hallway. Beth had always told Peter that if ever there was a fire in the house, it would be the one thing that she would have to save. And Adam of course. And probably Peter, who Beth always said would be cowering in a corner somewhere screaming like a little girl for someone to rescue him.

  Beth smiled to herself, the truth was Peter Daniels was the bravest, smartest and most wonderful man she had ever known and he provided very well for his little family. And she believed in her heart that Adam would grow up the same, like father like son.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Marie Buchanan was flicking through the appointment book, the telephone receiver tucked under her chin, “Doctor Knowles is back from holiday on the twenty first, I can fit you in at four o’clock. Okay Mrs Sullivan we’ll see you then. Okay bye bye.” She replaced the receiver and penned in the appointment. Outside the surgery Rose Fielding was talking to Kathy Martin, the young widow who everyone had by now stopped crossing the road to avoid, for fear of saying the wrong thing. Her husband had died of a heart attack a year earlier, at only thirty nine, while playing football in the local park.

  “We’re doing okay Rose, you know good days bad days, I’m just trying to keep things as normal as possible for the boys. We just take one day at a time.” She smiled and Rose smiled back.

  “You’re looking really well considering.” There was the hint of an awkward silence until Kathy stepped in, “Well how are you anyway?” she looked at Laura and Elaine, “Looking after your mum?”

  The girls smiled politely, nodding in unison.

  “We’re just popping in to see Doctor Knowles.” Rose discreetly tilted her head towards Laura and Kathy knew that meant she had had a ‘little spell’.

  “Doctor Knowles is away on holiday, I think Doctor Stiles is covering for her.” Kathy looked up the road to see her bus approaching, “Oh my bus, I’ll see you Rose, bye girls!” and off she ran towards the bus stop, her arm outstretched and her hand waving in a joint gesture of waving goodbye to Rose and her daughters and ensuring the bus driver spotted her.

  “Mum, I don’t like Doctor Stiles.” Laura tugged at her mother’s arm “Can I stay out here and you go and see him?”

  “No darling, you need to come in with me, we won’t be a minute."

  From the surgery reception desk, Marie looked up and spotted Rose walking in, a comforting hand wrapped around Laura’s shoulder, closely followed by Elaine.

  Marie clasped her hands together and gave a cheery welcome, “Hello Rose, Laura, Elaine, how can I help you?” She smiled brightly, falsely. Marie never could take to Rose, always knew everyone
else’s business. Nosey bitch.

  Elaine scooped up a magazine and plonked herself onto a vacant chair, Laura headed for the map on the wall.

  “Hello Marie, is the Doctor very busy? I just wanted a quick word.” Rose glanced at Laura.

  “He’s with a patient at the moment and he’s got two waiting.” Marie smiled again.

  “Could we wait, I just wanted a quick word?”

  “Yes, of course, he shouldn’t be too long, is it for you or the girls?”

  “Laura, little spell yesterday.” Rose whispered, “Just need to update the doctor.”

  “No problem, I’ll get her card out ready.” Marie replied, thinking quickly as Rose went to walk away. “Yesterday was it? Stevie never mentioned anything, mind you, she usually comes home full of stories.” Marie took a quick breath. “I wonder what’s true and what’s not half the time, she comes in covered in mud and bruises but never remembers where’s she got them, fell out of a tree or ran into something or other, she came home yesterday with a big mark on her face, I think she makes it up half the time, kid’s eh?” She raised her eyebrows.

  “Oh my girls know better than to tell lies, the truth always come out in the end I say to them.” Rose tapped the desk and Marie resisted the urge to drag her over it. The telephone rang and Rose turned to join Laura. Marie grabbed the receiver and squeezed it hard staring all the while at Rose, who the fuck did she think she was? “No I’m afraid the Doctor’s fully booked today.” Marie snapped, Rose Fielding and her fat arse, wrapping her kids in cotton fucking wool, “Yes, well I’ll book you in for ten o’clock tomorrow, goodbye.” Marie pressed the receiver down hard deciding not to write the appointment in the book. Fuck them. She looked around the waiting room, kids with snotty noses clinging onto their mother’s arms, a little girl sitting on the floor piling up building bricks until they fell, then starting all over again, Rose Fielding praising Laura for spotting all the places on the map. Marie’s jaw tightened. Fuck them all.