The Marriage K.L. Slater (classic romance novels TXT) 📖

there. It was surprising how peaceful it felt when the hustle and bustle of the town was so close. It was a dry, fine day but cold, as you might expect, in late October.

‘When I saw you sitting there in the hairdresser’s, I knew I had to speak to you,’ Mavis said, owl-like behind her round metal-rimmed glasses. ‘What a whirlwind this must have all been for you. Tom getting out of prison at last and then you finding out he’d married Jesse’s mother.’

Her blunt manner would have probably annoyed me a few days ago, but now her candour was a relief from the sly looks and overly polite conversation I’d encountered from neighbours. As Tom’s ex-teacher, Mavis was someone who’d warned that Tom should be vigilant about blindly following Jesse’s often impulsive behaviour when they were younger. I still had doubts about an incident Tom took the rap for when they were fourteen. The idea that he’d forced Jesse to trespass in a local factory beggared belief. Somehow I’d managed to keep Robert from finding out about that.

I trusted her implicitly.

‘I’m not going to deny it was a shock, Mavis. They’d embarked on some justice programme that brings victims and perpetrators together. From what I can gather, after growing closer over time, they got married in prison without telling anyone.’

‘Shocking.’ Mavis frowned. ‘I take it Tom hasn’t fully explained it all to you?’

‘Sort of, but I’m not convinced. It doesn’t make sense to me.’ I sighed, not really knowing where to start. ‘Robert doesn’t want to talk about it. He doesn’t care, if I’m honest.’

‘I see,’ she said. ‘Well, I’m happy to listen.’

I shivered in the cool breeze and looked down at my feet as I considered this. Mavis certainly wasn’t known to gossip, her closest confidant was her little dog. It would be such a relief to discuss it with someone else, and she had always seemed to want the best for Tom. I had Audrey to talk to, of course, but Audrey seemed distracted at the moment.

‘This programme at the prison, it’s called restorative justice and it’s all about the victim’s family working together with the criminal to finally begin the healing process,’ I began.

Mavis said, ‘I would imagine that’s rather a tough process to go through for most people.’

‘Quite. But Tom and Bridget have both said it was during this time they grew close and fell in love. It delves deep, I think. Gets them talking about and working through their feelings.’

‘And who instigated this programme?’

‘The prison staff asked him if he’d be interested and Tom said he was. It all grew from there.’

‘Hmm,’ Mavis pondered. ‘May I ask what your thoughts are, Jill … about what happened that night in 2009?’

I paused a moment, surprised that she was referring back to the actual night of Jesse’s death. It was a while since anybody had.

‘Obviously I only know what Tom told me, and I believe that unreservedly,’ I said. ‘Jesse had been knocking back the drink and bad-mouthing the security team in Movers. Unsurprisingly, that got the boys thrown out of the club. Jesse was determined to try and get back inside and Tom tried to stop him. Jesse turned nasty and pulled a knife, so Tom did what anyone would do in that situation. He defended himself.’

‘He punched Jesse very hard,’ Mavis said carefully.

‘Yes, but it was just the one punch. Jesse slipped and fell and the rest is history, as they say. Tom didn’t know he would crack his head on the concrete.’

‘I read that the judge was particularly harsh in his sentencing because Tom was a boxer,’ Mavis remarked.

I nodded. ‘They consider a boxer’s hands to be lethal weapons, you see. Apparently, they always deliver a tough sentence.’

‘Did you appeal against the judge’s decision?’

‘Yes, of course, but we lost. Instead, I focused on Tom’s release, every hour of every day, and then he floors me with the news he’s got married in prison to Bridget bloody Wilson.’

‘Certainly, that must have been quite a blow,’ Mavis said kindly.

I’d been hoping that chatting to Mavis would somehow help me feel a bit brighter about the situation, but I felt lower than ever. Harry pressed against my legs, his furry body warm and comforting.

‘I don’t know what to do,’ I said. ‘I can’t really do anything at all, but I’m struggling to accept that. I keep thinking there must be something, because this whole thing seems so off.’

‘I’m a big believer in listening to your gut, Jill. Sometimes, when your gut says stay out of something rather than get involved, it’s not easy to do but it’s the best thing all round.’

I nodded, but it was much easier to say this sort of thing than actually do it.

‘My gut is doing the opposite,’ I told her. ‘It’s screaming at me to do something. Anything. I want to get involved in my son’s life while everyone else is telling me to back off.’

‘As I recall, Jesse had a girlfriend,’ Mavis said thoughtfully. ‘She was pregnant when Jesse died.’

‘That’s right,’ I said, surprised that she seemed to know so much. ‘Her name is Coral.’

‘And you’ve met her?’

‘Oh yes, we knew her back then, too. She used to hang around with the boys when they were younger. I saw her again a few days ago, at Bridget’s house. Understandably, she was a bit cautious, with me being Tom’s mother, but she made it clear she disapproves of the marriage too.’

Mavis nodded. ‘Would you like my advice?’

‘Of course.’ I reached down and scratched the back of Harry’s long neck. ‘You know I have a lot of respect for you, Mavis, and it helps to get the perspective of someone not directly involved.’

I expected her to tell me to get on with my life, to try to swallow my resentment and work at growing closer to Tom and Bridget. Instead, she said, ‘Speak to Coral. That’s my advice.’

I frowned. ‘Why Coral?’

‘Well, it seems to me that all the time Tom has