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to the coast with my parents. I hadn’t seen Laura since I’d been invited to her house for tea to say goodbye to Gina. I assumed all was well. It had crossed my mind a couple of times to telephone her for a chat in the evening, but then the time had disappeared and it was too late to phone. Although I didn’t have another foster child, I was on standby. A social worker had telephoned and said she was trying to bring a teenager into care but she’d run away. She’d asked if I could take her at short notice when they found her – they would bring her straight to me – and I said I could. I’d be told more once she was found and was with me.

      It was early on the Saturday evening at the end of that week and I was in the living room with Adrian and Paula. We were on the floor playing Snap. Adrian and I were trying to teach Paula the game. She was too young really, but she wanted to join in. The telephone rang and I answered it in the living room. There was a short silence before a half-familiar voice said, ‘Cathy, I’m sorry to disturb you. It’s Geraldine.’

      ‘Oh, hello,’ I said, surprised. ‘How are you? Is everything all right?’

      ‘I’m sorry to bother you on a Saturday night,’ she said, ‘but I need your advice.’

      ‘Yes,’ I said, puzzled. ‘I’ll help if I can. Is it urgent? Or could I phone you back once the children are in bed?’

      There was another pause before she said, ‘I was wondering if I could come and see you. It would be easier to talk face to face rather than over the telephone.’

      ‘Yes, of course,’ I said, concerned. ‘Is Laura all right?’

      ‘It’s partly about Laura, yes, but I’ll explain when I see you.’

      ‘All right. Would you like to come here this evening? About eight o’clock?’

      ‘If that is convenient with you.’

      ‘Yes. I’ll have the children in bed by then. I’ll see you at eight.’

      ‘Thank you, Cathy,’ she said stiffly, and hung up.

      It was clear from her tightly controlled manner that she’d carefully planned what she needed to say. Given that she was not a person who easily shared her feelings or asked for help, I appreciated that whatever she wanted to talk about must be very serious indeed.

      I returned to sit on the floor and play with the children, but my mind wasn’t on the game as I ran through the possible reasons for Geraldine wanting to see me. She’d said it was ‘partly’ about Laura, and I hadn’t pressed her as I respected that she preferred to talk in person, which I understood. At seven o’clock, when we finished playing, I took Paula upstairs for her bath and bed, and once she was settled I fetched Adrian. As I lay propped on his bed beside him, having our little goodnight chat, I told him that Kim’s grandma, Geraldine, was coming later, just in case he heard the door go and wondered who it was.

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