Loneliness Trilogy Bundle Boxset (43 page)

-Yes, oh, yes! Now, she’s so active, it can be a task to get her to let us practice. I will load up some snacks tonight and we’ll take them tomorrow - we’ll be there at about seven-thirty, if that isn’t too early.”

“It’s perfect. Now, what kind of meals does she like? I know she likes chicken and her fruits and veggies…”

“Eggs in any form except poached. English muffins, toast and marmalade and bagels. Cold cereals. Hot cereals, except for porridge. Bacon. Fruit juices and milk. Sandwiches like egg salad, peanut butter and jelly. She is more accepting now of roast beef, although…the meat can’t be too strong. Uh, no ham, because she’s still getting used to that. Roast and mashed potatoes. Almost any veggie and all fruits. I’ll take biscuits for the next few days. You know how many to give her. Overall, mum, she accepts almost any food,” I say.

Marcus resumes speaking.

“I will call the security firm first thing tomorrow. I want to have security set up everywhere as soon as practical. I’ll ask the team assigned to your house to introduce themselves to you. And…thank you so much for consenting to mind Lizzie for us!”

So, it’s settled. Mum and dad will mind Lizzie for us at their house. We will be setting up security for our house, theirs and the studio. All because of Reverend Millie Smythe, who is supposed to preach love and acceptance - but, instead, she preaches intolerance and hate. Or, more accurately, she practices these.

The next day, we leave our house early. Marcus pauses at every turn, looking for Millie’s car. At my mum’s, we take Lizzie and her things inside - mum has prepared one of Lizzie’s favorite breakfasts! Lizzie is confused by the change in routine, so I tell her that her gran and grandpa will be taking care of her so she can play and run about freely.

She quickly accepts this - oh, to be a child again! She reaches to be put into her high chair so she can begin eating, so Marcus takes her and straps her into the seat. I give her a spoon and she digs in. While she’s eating, Marcus separates my dad from the group and quietly gives him an update on the situation. We both kiss Lizzie goodbye and tell her we will pick her up when it starts to get dark outside.

“‘Kay, mummy. Bye-bye,” she says just as she spoons more food into her mouth.

In the car, I marvel that she has taken the change so well.

“Why? We didn’t tell her of our fears, we simply acted to remove her from them and keep everyone we love safe. She’s with your parents, so she’s very comfortable. All she knows is she’s going to have fun and wear them out,” Marcus says with a twinkle in his eyes. “Besides, I am calling the security firm as soon as we get to the studio. I want to have everyone in place before dad confronts Millie, because I know what will happen.”

“She will get angry and blame everyone but herself,” I say.

“She will come after whoever she perceives to be behind that confrontation with dad and the vicar, when in reality, she should go after her attitudes,” Marcus reminds me.

At the studio, the boys are surprised when Lizzie doesn’t come bouncing in after me.

“Boys, we need to talk. I came to some decisions with Johanna last night,” Marcus says.

We sit in our accustomed semi-circle and Marcus starts the meeting.

“Okay, my dad and I talked last night. He spoke to the vicar of the church where Millie is a reverend. The vicar is not happy with her extracurricular activities and he’s going to talk to her and tell her to stop them. If she doesn’t, she loses this church posting. If she does, we’ll continue to watch her. Dad is going to tell her that her actions are splintering our family…”

“Hah! Marcus, you know she had at least one of these attitudes even before she left the U.K. to pursue her studies,” Laslow says.

“I know…if she doesn’t stop this course she’s on, dad will make her leave the U.K. His goal is to reduce the level of danger we’re facing. That attack outside this studio with the bat yesterday was only the beginning. She’s going to do more - I can guarantee that,” Marcus says.

“We can’t move studio again!” Tim says.

“No, we can’t. But…I am hiring that security firm we used while I was being stalked. This time, I am ordering teams for the studio, our house…and for Jo’s parents’ house,” Marcus says.

“Why Johanna’s parents’ house?”

“We are trying to make it harder for Millie to get to any of her targets. If we split them up, she’s less effective. Lizzie is being minded by her grandparents while we are here for the day. I don’t think Millie knows where they live, so…but I am still ordering a team for their house. I am calling them now,” he says.

“So, she won’t quit, will she?” Tim asks.

“No,” Laslow and Marcus both answer. “Once she gets an idea in her head, it’s like pulling a bone out of the mouth of a hound,” says Laslow.

“Dangerous,” says Marcus.

We begin practicing as Marcus places the call for security teams. Two hours later, we hear a knock at the studio door.

Marcus peers through the blinds and, when he sees a tall, muscular security officer, he opens the door, inviting him in.

“Let’s go back here and talk while they practice - oh, here are the other teams. Good! I can explain the situation to each of you all at one time…” Marcus leads the entire contingent of security officers to the small office in the back and closes the door so they can talk uninterrupted. Thirty minutes later, they come out. Two teams leave right away to head to my parents’ and to our house. The third team stays put as the officers move about the studio, noting weaknesses.

When our day’s practice ends, the security officers meet with all of us to explain the weaknesses they have found and how they propose to correct them.

“Once we have strengthened everything, we will be here every day, beginning before you arrive and leaving after you leave. We will patrol the area several times a day. Mr. Hadley has shown us a picture of Millie Smythe. We will be looking out for her every day that we are here. Mrs. Hadley, after speaking to your husband, we do believe that Millie does pose a danger to you - please do not leave your home alone - in fact, do not travel anywhere alone. Allow Mr. Hadley to take you where you need to go and, if need be, allow us to escort you. As for you men, the same goes for you. Millie’s attempt to break into the studio may be an escalation of her efforts to…get to you. Why, only she can say. It isn’t our job to know that. Our job is to protect you lot. If you see anything that concerns you, no matter how trifling it may seem, please bring it up. We will check it out and let you know what came of our investigation. We are professionals. Many of us have military or law enforcement backgrounds and we will do everything to ensure that this studio is as safe as it can be.”

After our meeting, we all go our separate ways, thinking soberly about the security team’s information. At mum’s, I see the security team, walking to and fro, looking into the garden and all up and down the street for potential danger. Inside the house, I greet a happy Lizzie.

“Mummy! Eat chicken and veg-veggies!” said Lizzie, raising her arms to me.

I scoop her up, realizing just how much I missed her at the studio. It won’t be easy being separated, but I understand Marcus’ desire to make it more difficult for Millie to get to us as a family - bringing Lizzie here instead of taking her to the studio is truly safer.

“She did very well, Johanna. She ate everything I put in front of her. I put her in bed for a nap and she slept for two hours. No nappy or clothing accidents. I can’t wait to see my Lizzie-girl again tomorrow!” mum says, taking Lizzie’s cheeks in between her fingers and pinching gently.

“Thank you, mum! She looks very well, indeed! Are you ready to come back to visit with gram and grandpa tomorrow?”

“Yes!”

Marcus finishes talking to the security team assigned to my mum’s and dad’s. He gestures to my dad and sits down with him and the security officers.

“Everything looks good here, but for the front gate. It’s too easy for someone to open from the outside, so I recommend you find a way of strengthening this,” the officer says.

“D’you have any recommendations?” my dad asks.

“Go to a good hardware shop and find a gate lock like this. We can install it for you so we know it’s on correctly.”

” Sounds good. Okay. I’ll pop round a hardware shop this week, then,” says my dad.

At home, I take Lizzie upstairs for her bath as Marcus meets with our security team. I expect that we will have very few issues, as we have already had a security team protecting us several months ago. After I kiss Lizzie and set her into her crib, I go back downstairs.

Marcus has gotten a quick dinner for us and seen the team out for the night. We have a night security team now patrolling the house, so I don’t feel as vulnerable.

“D’you feel a little more secure now? I can tell you, I do. We have 24-hour security here, so when my dad confronts Millie, we won’t have to worry as much. Here’s some dinner…”

Marcus has heated some vegetable soup and grilled bread. Along with the hot tea, this fills me and makes me feel comforted.

After my shower, I am downstairs with Marcus when we hear a now-familiar horn blaring at the back gate.

“Not going out, Jo. I’ll let security handle this. I will, however, look at what’s going on, if you’d care to join me,” Marcus says.

Sure enough, our neighbors pour out of their houses, irritated that “she” has come back. The security guards converge on her car and the knot of men. We watch from the kitchen window. The activity outside cause our motion detector lights to come on, making it easy for us to see what is happening. Neighbors yell at Millie; Millie gives as good as she gets; security guards make her shut up and listen to the neighbors. Oh, and because the guards know what Millie looks like, they know she’s up to no good. They ask her to tell them why she is there - and, of course, she refuses. They make her leave. I suspect that the only thing that does make her leave is their promise to call the police. She guns her car’s engine and pulls away, threatening to run over some of our neighbors.

“Stay inside. I need to find out what they all said,” Marcus tells me.

After putting on a jacket, he lopes to the gate and confers with the neighbors, apologizing to them. The security guards tell him what happened. Five minutes later, he is back inside.

“She wouldn’t say why she came by, so I suspect she wanted to stir up more trouble now she’s out of jail. Our neighbors are rightfully upset - it’s a school night and kids have gone to bed. I’m calling dad,” Marcus says.

After he finishes talking to his dad, I learn that Andrew has not yet spoken to Millie. He is waiting until he finds out if Millie is going to cooperate with the vicar’s rules.

I really don’t want to say anything against Millie, so I hold my counsel. However, I have my doubts that she will comply with the vicar. Besides…

“What’s tomorrow’s date?” I ask.

“August 23rd, why?”

“Oy! I completely forgot! I have a midwife appointment at four-thirty tomorrow afternoon!”

“No worries. We’ve been pretty occupied here, so I’m not surprised you forgot,” Marcus says. “I am taking you. Just call your mum and let her know.”

“How could I forget that?” I mutter to myself as I storm off to the phone.

“Mum? I just remembered that I have a midwife’s appointment late tomorrow afternoon. We’ll pick Lizzie up when I’m done, okay?”

“Oh, that’s fine. We’ll play games with her after she eats. We bought some children’s books for her, so we’ll read to her,” mum says.

“Thank you! I forgot, and I don’t know why,” I say.

“Well, look at what - who - you’ve been dealing with. It’s no problem, sweetheart. Take care of your appointment and Lizzie will be here when you finish.”

“Thank you, mum.”

We leave practice thirty minutes early so Marcus can get me to my midwife’s appointment. I am close to halfway through my pregnancy and the baby is growing fast.

“Everything is developing just as it should be. You’re at a good, healthy weight, by your account, you’re eating everything you need and, save for the stress with your sister-in-law, you are sleeping well. Try not to let that family situation stress you out any more than necessary. Continue to eat as you have; drink lots of water and milk and continue taking your vitamins. You’ll start feeling Junior wiggle before too long! And I will see you one month from now,” Gwen says. After she gives me a hug, Marcus and I leave.