Page 57 of Amazing Grace

Grace’s heart melted once more now she knew that her son was safe and that within hours she could hold him in her arms again.

‘Can you pass me back to the nice police lady please, sweetie?’

The policewoman explained that she’d seen a young boy sitting on his own in his school uniform when she and her colleague were grabbing a coffee at Knutsford Services on the M6. They thought it was strange so just kept an eye on the situation. When they saw that he’d been there for quite a while and no one appeared to be with him, she spoke to Archie, who said that his dad had gone to the toilet a while ago, and that he’d been told not to move. Her colleague had then gone into the toilets and located Mark. He was locked in one of the cubicles, crying, and the police officer had had to climb over the top to open the door and get to him. Mark had admitted that he’d taken his son out of school without the consent of his mother and that he knew it was the wrong thing to do but didn’t know what to do next. He said he’d messed things up big time, but he’d thought he wanted to get back at his ex-wife. They had taken him and Archie to the offices in the service station and put them in separate rooms while they rang her.

Listening to the whole sorry story in the policewoman’s soft northern tones calmed Grace’s fears a little, but she couldn’t feel totally relieved just yet. Not until she had her boy back in her arms once more. But at least she knew now that he would be safe till she got to him.

Vinnie put his foot down, driving far faster than he should, while Grace explained what PC James had told her, until she was interrupted by the shrill ring of her phone. It was Lorraine.

‘Grace. What’s happened?’ Lorraine sounded bemused to be hearing from her partner’s ex-wife and Grace couldn’t blame her.

‘He’s taken Archie, Lorraine. Why would he do that? Why would he do that to me?’

‘Oh, Grace, we had a huge row last night on the phone. He was in a foul mood when he called me. I’d had far too much to drink and so had he. I told him that I was sick of him and sick of playing second fiddle to his ex-wife. Sorry, Grace. I told him I wanted him gone. I tried to call him this morning but he hasn’t returned my calls. I think you’ve borne the brunt of it.’

‘Well, I think I’m probably the one who put him in the bad mood he was in, Lorraine. But right now, I know where they are so I’m going to fetch my son. Good luck with everything.’

‘You too, Grace. I’m sorry. I never meant for you to get hurt in all of that.’

‘Well, perhaps you should have thought about that before you started shagging my husband behind my back.’

Grace ended the call. The only thing that mattered now was seeing Archie safe and sound.

* * *

Vinnie’s car screeched to a halt at the entrance doors to the service station just under an hour later, and Grace hardly waited for the wheels to come to a stop before she opened the door, jumped out and ran in. There, sitting at a table near the door, was Archie with a policewoman. Her heart was pounding as she stopped, took a breath and slowly walked towards her son, trying not to panic him.

‘Mummy!’ he yelled when he saw her. ‘It’s my mum,’ he explained to the police officer, who smiled at Grace. Archie threw himself into Grace’s arms and burst into tears again. Grace did the same. They hugged each other like they never wanted to let go.

‘Miss Carnegie, we need a word with you in private when you’re ready. Take your time, though. I think this little man is very pleased to see you.’

Grace nodded and turned round to see Vinnie, who had now parked the car and was standing behind her.

‘Grace, why don’t I take Archie into the shop to get some sweets and by then I’m sure you’ll be right back. Archie, Mummy just needs to go and have a chat with your daddy and this nice lady.’

Archie smiled up at Vinnie and put his hand in his and Vinnie ruffled his hair. Grace’s heart soared with love for them both and then sank with sadness as she realised what she’d thrown away.

They walked past a room where, through a tinted window, Grace could see Mark sitting with his head in his hands. She took a deep breath and walked into the room. Seeing her, he stood up and walked over to her. He was just inches away from her and she wanted to throttle him but held herself back.

She stayed silent for a moment, not knowing what on earth to say to him, then all her emotions came rushing to the fore.

‘Mark! What the hell were you thinking?’

‘I don’t think I was thinking, Grace, I just needed to get away. After you left the restaurant, I spoke to Lorraine and she told me that she didn’t want to be with me any more either. I can’t be on my own, you know that. I just flipped and decided that I needed to get away and wanted to be with my son. If you hadn’t pissed me off last night, none of this would have happened.’

He didn’t even mention the word ‘sorry’ in his explanation and Grace was now seething. Before she knew it, she’d slapped his face. She’d never in her life laid hands on anyone before, but the rage inside her was just too much. The police officer, who was also in the room, looked away.

‘You bloody bitch! I could do you for assault.’

‘Do it then, Mark. Go on, do it! And I’ll do you for kidnapping. See how the education authority reacts to that, shall we? See if you’d ever be able to work again with children, let alone be a head teacher.’

Mark’s expression changed as he realised how much trouble he could be in. He clearly hadn’t thought about the repercussions when he planned his little escape. As reality kicked in, he hung his head in shame. Not because of what he had done to Grace and Archie, but at what it could have cost him.

‘I’m sorry, Grace!’

‘Are you, Mark? Are you really? Do you know I could quite happily kill you right now with my bare hands? You need to realise now thatthis is it. We areover. I’ve tried so hard to be reasonable with you. You come to my house as and when you feel like it, demanding to see Archie when it suits you, and I’m even good enough to invite you for dinner, all because I want the best for our son. Then when I stand up to you and do something for myself, that’s the right decision for both of us, this is how you repay me. I will never, and I meannever, forgive you for this, Mark. What sort of a father would do this to his own son? He’d be better off without you in his life, but I wouldn’t do that to him. This ends now, Mark.Do you understand?’

Mark said nothing. His face looked ashen. He clearly saw the truth in her words.

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