Five
‘You’re safe,’ I reassured Jade. ‘You’re with me – Cathy.’
‘Oh yeah,’ she said, now fully awake and realizing where she was.
‘That’s quite some ringtone,’ I said. ‘I nearly jumped out of my skin.’
‘I usually put it on silent at night but I fell asleep.’
‘I know you did, love. You must be exhausted. Let me help you unpack and then you can have an early night.’
Jade nodded and swung her legs off the bed. Tyler was still on the other end of the phone and Jade said to him: ‘I’ll phone you later, Ty. I’ve got to unpack.’
She closed the phone and put it on the pillow. She looked pale and tired, and my immediate concern was for her to have a good night’s sleep. ‘What time do you usually go to bed?’ I asked as she yawned.
‘Any time, really. It doesn’t matter. It was difficult sleeping in a single bed with Ty.’
I’d have thought it would have been impossible given the size of Jade’s bump, and contrary to what Jade said about bedtime not mattering, it did matter. I knew that in pregnancy it was just as important to have enough sleep as it was to have a good diet; otherwise the expectant mother could become run down.
‘I think you could do with an early night,’ I said. ‘How about you go to the bathroom and have a wash and change while I unpack your bag?’
‘Do I have to have a bath?’ Jade asked, as a small child would.
‘No, I think that can wait until the morning if you’re very tired. Just have a good wash and do your teeth, then have your bath tomorrow. You’re not in school, so there’s no rush in the morning.’
Jade nodded and yawned again.
‘Are your nightdress and wash bag in your bag?’ I asked.
She nodded, but remained sitting on the bed and making no move towards the holdall.
‘Shall I find them for you?’
‘Yeah, please.’
I unzipped the holdall and her wash bag and towel immediately came into view. I took them out and passed them to her. ‘Do you have a nightdress or pyjamas in here?’
‘I use those pink leggings and that T-shirt,’ she said, pointing to the items in the holdall.
I took out the wash-faded pink leggings and a very large pale pink T-shirt, on which was emblazoned a bright pink pig. I thought one of the first things I would buy Jade would be some maternity nightwear, which would be more comfortable and make her feel good.
‘You know where the bathroom is?’ I asked, passing her the leggings and T-shirt.
‘Yeah. You showed me earlier.’
I smiled. ‘There’s toothpaste and soap in there. Call me if you need anything. I’ll unpack the rest of your bag while you’re in the bathroom.’
I gave Jade my hand and helped her off the bed, and she ambled out of the bedroom and to the bathroom while I set about her unpacking. Jade didn’t appear to have any maternity wear at all but there were two more pairs of black stretch leggings and two big sloppy jumpers, which I supposed were just as good. They were clean, although bobbled from being worn and washed repeatedly. There was also a bra, some pants and six soft toys. Indeed most of the bag had been taken up with the cuddly toys: two teddy bears, a panda, a kangaroo, a monkey and a lion. They were clearly childhood favourites, for they were well worn and ear-chewed. I thought it said a lot about Jade that, being essentially a child herself, she’d packed these cuddly toys to the exclusion of practical items like more clothes. At the very bottom of the bag I found the antenatal appointment card that Rachel had mentioned. Opening it, I saw that Jade’s next appointment was scheduled for Wednesday at one o’clock, which was a good time, as it meant it didn’t clash with me collecting Paula from school.
I folded Jade’s clothes into the chest of drawers, arranged the toys on the bed and then zipped shut the now empty holdall. It would be useful to take with us tomorrow when we went to Jade’s house to collect some more of her belongings. I noticed there’d been no photograph of her family in her bag and I’d suggest to Jade she bring one from home. I’d found before with children I’d looked after that in all but the severest cases of abuse from parents, a child usually finds it reassuring to have a photograph of their natural family with them and on show.
I heard the bathroom door open and then Jade’s footsteps on the landing, and she reappeared. She was wearing the pink leggings and T-shirt that acted as her nightwear and, having had a wash and brushed her hair, she looked a little fresher, but she still looked tired.
‘I’ve put my dirty clothes in the laundry basket in the bathroom,’ she said.
‘Thanks, love. I do the laundry each morning. I’ve put your clean clothes in this drawer,’ I said, pointing. ‘And your cuddly toys are on the bed. You’ve got quite a collection there.’
Jade looked at her toys and smiled. It was the first time she’d smiled properly all evening and her whole face lit up. I thought she should smile more often, but then she was probably very anxious and worried about the future.
‘I love my cuddlies,’ she said touchingly, sitting on the bed and stroking the panda. ‘They’ve all got names. These are Bert and Betty Bear,’ she said, touching the two bears. They’re named after my aunt and uncle who died. The panda is called Chi Chi. I got her when I went to the zoo with the school. The kangaroo is Hoppity and the monkey is Melvin. My brother called him that. And the lion is Simba from The Lion King. I love that film.’
‘So do I,’ I said, smiling. ‘We all like our cuddlies here too, even Adrian, although he wouldn’t admit it.’
Jade nodded. ‘I’m going to buy my baby lots of cuddly toys. I’ve already started a collection at home.’
‘Have you started buying the other things you’ll need for the baby too?’ I asked. ‘There’s a lot to prepare for.’
‘I have some nappies but that’s all,’ Jade said. ‘I haven’t had much money. But now I’m in foster care I get an allowance, don’t I?’ And it crossed my mind (somewhat unkindly) that maybe this was the reason Jade had come into foster care. She wouldn’t be the first teenager to put herself in care, or whose parent(s) had purposely made her homeless, aware the state would find her somewhere to live, pay for her keep, and also give her an allowance. However, Jade quickly added: ‘But that’s not why I’m in care.’
‘Good. Because the allowance isn’t much. As soon as I receive it I’ll pass it on to you. But it’s only enough to cover essential items.’
‘Rachel said I need to get essential items and not spend any more on baby toys.’
‘Yes,’ I agreed. ‘There’s a lot to buy. Usually the hospital gives you a list of what you need at one of the antenatal appointments.’
‘They might have,’ Jade said nonchalantly. ‘But I’ve lost it.’
‘No worries. We’ll get you a copy when we go for your appointment next week. I was also thinking we could go shopping together one day – buy you some maternity clothes and also some baby things. You want to be prepared well ahead of time.’
‘Yeah,’ Jade said. ‘Ty’s not interested in shopping, and Mum’s always busy.’
I felt that although Jade was tired she was in the mood to talk, so I sat on the bed next to her. ‘Being a mother keeps you very busy,’ I said. ‘Your mum has your younger brothers and sisters to look after.’
‘Yeah, I know,’ Jade said.
‘Do you know