Chapter 6: Lori - The Foster Child

Like the rest of the house, the guest bedroom we sleep in is warm, thanks to the two radiators, and the height of luxury with fitted wardrobes along one wall, a huge king-size bed and a thick memory foam mattress. I fall into a deep sleep within minutes and wake up feeling really refreshed. ‘Morning.’ I turn to cuddle Jacob but to my surprise his side of the bed is empty. Perhaps he’s in the bathroom.

I message him but there’s no reply, so I get up and go to the bathroom, it’s empty. I’m guessing that Jacob got up early and went for a walk. He does that sometimes. He likes to clear his head.

I pull on my fleecy duck egg dressing gown and go downstairs. Mum is in the kitchen, already dressed in jeans and a warm jumper, dropping two thick slices of bread into the toaster. She glances over her shoulder at me. ‘Morning, love, did you sleep well?’

‘Like a log. Have you seen Jacob?’

‘He’s out in the garden. He’s been up about half an hour or so. Want a coffee and some toast?’

‘Please. I’ll just go and say hello to Jacob.’ I open the door and the cold hits me. There’s definitely a chill in the air today. I shiver and pull my dressing gown closer.

‘I think you’d better get dressed first, love. You’ll catch cold,’ Mum says.

I peer out, then I see Jacob walking around the corner from the garage.

‘Morning, sleepyhead. It’s a bit cold for you out here in just a dressing gown.’ He strides over to me and gives me a hug. ‘Let’s go inside, shall we?’

‘Couldn’t you sleep?’ I ask as we walk back into the kitchen.

‘I always struggle in a strange house, so I thought I’d have some fresh air. Love the garden. So many plants, and those rose bushes by the front door are so tall. Shame they aren’t in flower.’

‘It is, they’re quite a spectacular sight. They’re white roses and there are usually lots of blooms on them. They look really pretty,’ Mum says. ‘Are you ready for breakfast now, Jacob?’

He nods. ‘Please.’ He turns to me. ‘You go and have a shower and get dressed in some warm clothes, Lori. I’ll bring the coffee and toast up to you.’

I was actually going to sit and have a chat to Mum while I ate my breakfast. I guess Jacob is right, I should get showered and dressed. It’s thoughtful of him to bring my breakfast up to me, besides I’ll have plenty of time to chat to Mum later.

‘Okay, thanks,’ I say and go upstairs for my shower.

Elliot is at work until lunchtime so after a leisurely morning me, Jacob and Mum wrap up warm and have a walk around the village. It’s so picturesque with its honey-coloured stone cottages – some of them with thatched roofs – and the old church that Mum informs us dates back to the twelfth century. Past the church we come to an apartment block, with a double wooden door entrance. ‘These look fairly new,’ I say.

‘Yes, they’ve only been built a few years. Apparently there was a lot of opposition at first. People were saying that it spoilt the character of the village so they had to alter the plans a little,’ Mum explains.

Then the front door opens and Violet comes out, dressed in a mid-length grey coat, belted casually around the waist, jeans, red boots and a red beret. She looks effortlessly classy. ‘Hi, were you coming to see me?’ she asks.

‘You live here?’ I ask in surprise. I didn’t expect her to live in such an upmarket place. Those flats can’t be cheap. I’m glad to see that things have turned out so well for her.

‘Yes. I rent a flat here. Thanks to Anita and Chester, the Taylor-Browns, you must know them as you work at the school’– this was directed at Mum – ‘they’re friends with the landlord and put in a word for me. They even got me a discount.’ She smiles. ‘They’re lovely inside, I have to keep pinching myself.’

‘Oh yes, I’ve met Anita, she’s head of the PTA and a school governor,’ Mum says. ‘It’s very kind of her to do that for you. Are you close to them?’

‘Anita’s one of my clients at the hairdressing salon, and I babysit for Tilly and Caleb sometimes,’ Violet replies. ‘They’re very good to me. Almost like substitute parents.’ She pauses. ‘I’d invite you in but I’m in a hurry. Anita wants me to look after Tilly this afternoon.’

‘No problem. Lovely to see you again,’ Mum says.

Violet waves and hurries off.

‘It’s good to see that Violet is doing okay, isn’t it?’ Mum remarks. ‘I’ve often thought about her.’

‘Me too,’ I confess. I can see things clearer now that I’m older, and I realise that Violet wasn’t completely to blame. She was only a child too.

We walk around a bit more, then Jacob spots a pub across the green. It looks steeped in history and the hanging sign says it’s called The Wandering Sheep.

‘This looks interesting. Shall we pop in for a bit of lunch?’ Jacob suggests.

‘Good idea.’ Mum glances at her watch. ‘Elliot will be home soon. I’ll message him and see if he wants to join us. We had talked about going out for lunch and we’ve not been to this pub yet. Elliot said he lived like a recluse until I moved in, he was so focused on doing up the cottage.’

She sends Elliot a text then we go inside. We’ve just grabbed a table when Mum gets a text back. She reads it and smiles. ‘He’s on his way home and is going to join us. Is it okay if we have a drink and wait for him before we eat?’

‘Sure. I’ll go and get them. What do you want, Cora? I know Lori will have a lemonade, she never drinks in the afternoon.’

Actually I wouldn’t mind a glass of wine, but Mum asks for a lemonade too so I decide to have the same.

‘It’s so lovely to see you again, darling. How are things? Are you coping okay with the course?’ Mum asks.

‘It’s hard work but it’s what I want to do.’ I lean forward and keep my voice low. ‘What do you think of Jacob? You do like him, don’t you?’

‘He seems very pleasant,’ Mum says. ‘And you look happy.’

‘I am. And you look happy too. I adore this village. It looks an amazing place to live.’

‘It’s terribly quaint, isn’t it?’ Jacob has returned with the drinks now and sits down beside me. ‘What a coincidence that your former foster daughter lives here too, though.’ He takes our drinks off the tray and puts them in front of us. ‘How many children did you foster?’

‘Only the one, Violet. Lori was lonely and wanted a sibling, but I couldn’t have any more children so we decided to foster,’ Mum says, picking up her glass of lemonade and taking a sip.

‘You only fostered once? Were you so upset when Violet went back to her parents that you decided not to do it again?’ He takes a sip of his beer, his eyes fixed on Mum.

‘She didn’t go to her parents, not at first. She went back to the children’s home,’ Mum replies. ‘It didn’t work out. We couldn’t keep her.’

Jacob is staring at Mum in disbelief. ‘You sent her back? That poor kid!’

Mum looks really taken aback, and I bristle at his attitude. How dare he judge us. He has no idea what it was like.

‘You don’t know the situation, Jacob,’ I retort, and he turns to me, his eyes sparking. He hates me challenging him.

‘It’s not something we wanted to do, or did lightly, Jacob,’ Mum says defensively. ‘As Lori said, it was a difficult situation.’

‘Hi, everyone okay?’ Thankfully, Elliot has arrived and bends down to kiss Mum on the cheek.

‘We were talking about fostering. Those children’s homes can be brutal, can’t they?’ Jacob asks Elliot. His stare can be quite intense at times, it’s the ‘journalist’ in him, he can be a bit interrogative, but Elliot doesn’t seem to feel uncomfortable.

‘So I’ve heard.’ Elliot sits down next to Mum. ‘Now, have you had a look at the menu? I’ll go and get myself a drink when I order the meals.’

Subject successfully changed, we all look at the menu and make our choices.

Elliot decides to go for a steak pie, and so does Jacob. ‘You’ll want something lighter, love,’ he says to me. ‘You know what you’re like with pastry.’

Which is true although I do love a pie. So, I plump for an omelette and Mum has lasagna.

We’re tucking into our food when a couple stop at the table to say hello. They look in their late fifties, the woman is average height with short hair, wearing a jumper and jeans while the man is tall with dark-sprinkled-with-grey hair and a trim beard and moustache.

‘Hello, Lori, lovely to see you here.’ The woman looks straight at me. ‘I’m guessing this is your daughter, I can see the resemblance.’

‘Hi, Gabby. Yes, this is Lori and her boyfriend Jacob. And this is my partner, Elliot.’

‘Pleased to meet you all. This is my husband, Scott,’ she says. ‘Are you all going to be spending Christmas together too?’

I’m just about to reply that me and Jacob are spending Christmas together in his flat in Exeter, which is what he said he wanted to do, when Jacob replies. ‘That would be great. I’d love to spend a few days in this gorgeous village.’

I can’t believe that he’s practically invited himself here for Christmas! I shoot a look at Mum, who is glancing at Elliot, eyebrows raised. He gives a little nod.

Gabby hasn’t noticed. ‘You’ll have a great time,’ she continues. ‘There’s a lot going on over Christmas. I’ll send you the link to the village Facebook page, Cora, so you can see all the events. And if you message me your phone number, I’ll add you to the WhatsApp group too.’

‘We’ll be going to all of them, Gabby adores Christmas,’ Scott adds good-humouredly.

‘So do we!’ Cora agrees. ‘Thanks, Gabby. I’d appreciate the info.’

‘You’re welcome. We’ll leave you to eat your meal in peace. See you on Monday, Cora.’

‘I’m sorry, did I jump the gun there?’ Jacob asks as Gabby and Scott walk off. ‘You two might have Christmas plans. Forget I said anything.’ Jacob puts his hand on mine. ‘We’ll have a great Christmas just the two of us in my flat, won’t we, Pumpkin.’

Elliot smiles at us both. ‘You’re both very welcome to stay with us. Cora and I haven’t made any plans at all.’

Mum nods. ‘We’d love you both to spend Christmas with us.’

‘Really? That’s great. Isn’t it, Lori?’ Jacob turns to me and I smile.

I could hug Jacob. Me and Mum have always spent Christmas together. It’s so kind of him to consider me like this. I know that he wanted us to spend our first Christmas just the two of us, but it means a lot to me to be with Mum.

Jacob might be a bit intense, and he does tend to take over a little. But he’s so kind-hearted and he adores me. I know he does. He made a beeline for me as soon as he saw me, and he’s the kind of man who women flock around. I’m so lucky that he’s chosen me. And that he wants to spend Christmas with me and my family. He’s made a special effort with Mum and I think she likes him. He seems a bit edgy with Elliot, but that’s Jacob’s way with men who are a bit richer or have a better job than him. He hates to think that another man looks down on him so is defensive. And of course, Elliot doesn’t look down on him, he’s not at all like that. And Jacob must like him otherwise why would he want to spend Christmas here?