Cutting the Cord , livre ebook

Troubador Publishing Ltd - Amanda Bateman

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120 pages

English

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One family in turmoil...The Arnolds aren't like many families, but then Elsie Arnold isn't like other mothers. Selfish to her core, Elsie's only concern is herself and her happiness, little caring abouther husband, Harry, or four children left behind in her wake. If a better option comes along, she has no hesitation about taking it.Caught up in the tornado that is their mother, her children try to come to terms with the consequences of her catastrophic decisions, especially Freddy who suspected thatElsie was up to no good and took her betrayal hard. Drawn back to the fold after being ostracised by their mother and their sister long ago, Harry's elder sister Bea finallyfinds the strength to return in order to help the brother she adores, despite knowing it means facing down her mother and sister at last. Meanwhile Elsie is leaving a trail ofdestruction across Europe. Is it time for all her scheming to catch up with her? And as a horrific accident orphans another distant branch of the family and another familymember receives some devastating news, a cloud continues to hover over the whole family. Will the Arnolds ever get a happy ending?A novel of enduring love and selfish desires, self-sacrifices and destruction,Cutting the Cordfollows the struggles and triumphs of one indomitable family trying to keep theirheads above water. Readers of sagas and well-written family dramas will root for the Arnolds and will enjoy the varied and poignant points of view offered in each chapter.

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Publié par	Troubador Publishing Ltd
Date de parution	05 juin 2019
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781838599621
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	5 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0100€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Copyright © 2019 Amanda Bateman

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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ISBN 9781838599621

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For my wonderful Dad.
Miss you so much.
Forever in my heart.
Always on my mind.
Contents
ELSIE Friday, 13th December 1963
HARRY Saturday, 30th July 1966
FREDDY Christmas 1969
FREDDY Summer 1970
ELSIE
DEREK
THE TWINS Saturday, 22nd August 1970
HARRY & JACK
BEA Monday, 21st September 1970
GEORGE
JANIE & BEA
ELSIE June 1971
JACK March 1976
ANNE April 1976
ELSIE June 1976
BEA, HARRY, JANIE & MEGAN August 1976
DEREK October 1978
HARRY
ELSIE November 1978
TOMMY
JANIE
JACK Dec 1978
JANIE June 1980
JACK May 1982
HARRY June 1982
TOMMY
DOUGLAS
DEREK
ELSIE
BEA August 1982
AFTERNOON TEA
JANIE Christmas Eve 1982
ELSIE Christmas day 1982
JACK 29th December 1982
CHARLIE & GEORGE
JANIE
MEGAN 10th January 1983
JANIE 1st February 1983
BEA 28th February 1983
GWEN, MAVIS & JANIE Wednesday, 30th March 1983
BEA Easter Sunday 1983
JANIE & HARRY Friday, 22nd April 1983
GEORGE June 1983
JOSEF Bangkok, June 1983
MEGAN & JANIE Sea View Cottage, June 1983
HARRY September 1983
ANNE December 1983
GEORGE & HARRY January 1984
JANIE March 1984
CHARLIE March 1984
ELSIE & HARRY May 1984
JOSEF July 1984
JANIE August 1984
Acknowledgments
ELSIE Friday, 13th December 1963
Elsie May Arnold opened her front door and ventured out into the snow. With her pregnancy almost at full term she knew she was taking a risk, but Elsie loved a risk and she certainly didn’t like to be told what to do! So, carefully planting each footstep down, she made her way into town. The usual five-minute walk, however, took her fifteen. The snow and ice were more treacherous than she had first thought, and she’d almost ended up on her backside more than once. Finally, she was safe inside McGregor’s, the local shop, which sold everything from eggs and bacon to hammers and nails. Elsie headed straight over to the record section. The Beatles’ latest release was at Number One in the charts and she was desperate to own it. She was just leafing through the singles when a familiar voice called her name.
“Elsie Arnold, what on earth are you doing in here? You should be home in the warm, not out in this terrible weather in your condition,” Mavis McGregor almost shouted at her as she strode across the shop towards her. Mavis not only owned the shop with her husband, Robert, but was the local midwife. Elsie had hoped she’d be out on her rounds, not helping in the shop today.
“I needed the fresh air and some time out,” replied Elsie. “The kids have been driving me crazy and Harry’s flat out at the garage so he’s not much help. So, I decided a little walk into town would do me good.”
“I understand what you’re saying, Elsie, I really do, but this is no weather to be out in your condition. You could easily have fallen and who knows what consequences that would have had!”
“I know, Mrs McGregor, and I put on my good boots with all the grip despite knowing the snow would ruin them,” replied Elsie. She really wanted to tell the nosy old bat to mind her own business but with the baby due any time she really did need to keep her onside.
“Well, I guess no harm has been done,” began Mavis McGregor. “You finish your shopping then I’ll walk you back, okay?”
“Thank you,” Elsie replied. She really didn’t fancy the idea of been escorted home like an errant child but if it shut her up and kept the peace she’d go along with it. Elsie spent several minutes more in the record aisle before heading off to the grocery section. If Mrs McGregor was going to be walking home with her she might as well make good use of her Elsie chuckled to herself. She then proceeded to load her basket with potatoes and tinned goods. Within a few minutes the basket was full and weighing Elsie down. She made her way to the counter, struggling with the laden basket, when a sharp pain shot from the middle of her lower back right round to the front, causing Elsie to drop the basket and fall to her knees clutching at her swollen stomach. Before she managed to catch her breath from the first sharp pain another followed, hot on its heels.
“Mrs McGregor,” Elsie screamed out. “Mrs McGregor come quick, the baby is on its way.” Elsie screamed out again, as yet another contraction racked through her. This was Elsie’s fourth child and with each birth the labour had become quicker. Freddy, her eldest son, had arrived after ten hours of labour. Anne’s labour had only been half of that and Charlie had arrived within two hours! Odds on, this baby would be born within the hour! Elsie let out a gut-wrenching scream as the urge to push engulfed her.
“For fuck’s sake, will someone fucking help me?” screamed Elsie. Within seconds, Mrs McGregor, along with her husband, were either side of her, helping her to her feet. Elsie screamed out again as an even more violent contraction shot through her. The latest scream seemed to bring the other customers running to help lift and move this mad woman into the back storeroom before they were greeted with more expletives and ear-shattering screams.
No sooner had the helpers laid Elsie on the storeroom floor and made a quick exit than Elsie had an even more compelling urge to push and this time she didn’t ignore it. With a hellish scream, Elsie pushed down for all she was worth. The pain was leaving her exhausted, but she had no choice but to summon up every ounce of strength she had and push again. With this last push, out came the baby, straight into the capable arms of Mavis McGregor. Elsie laid her head down on the floor and offered up a silent prayer, asking that the baby would be just like her other children. Meanwhile, Mavis went about her job, cleaning the little one’s airways, delivering the afterbirth and cutting the cord. All the time, Mavis was struck by how milky-white this new little girl’s skin was and what a vivid shade of red her mass of hair was. After all, Elsie was a true blonde and Harry had the blackest hair she’d ever seen. Two of their children had their dad’s colouring, while the other had white blonde hair. But this baby had bright red hair. Maybe those rumours of Elsie playing away from home weren’t rumours after all, thought Mavis. Maybe this little girl was going to be the undoing of Elsie Arnold, she thought. There was only one way to find out, so, wrapping the baby in a towel and making sure that her hair was clearly visible, Mavis, with her back to Elsie, urged her to sit up and prepare to hold her new daughter. Elsie propped herself up against a crate for support and made ready. Mavis turned with the child in her arms, its red hair shining out like a beacon. The look on Elsie’s face confirmed what Mavis had suspected. It was a look of sheer horror. Elsie’s prayers had not been answered. Elsie took the child from Mrs McGregor’s arms and sent up another silent prayer. This time, she prayed that Harry wouldn’t chuck her and her new daughter out in the cold.
While Elsie cleaned herself up a little, Mavis sent for Harry and then made a pot of tea for them both. Elsie was now sitting in Robert’s armchair in the shop’s back office, breastfeeding the little one. They looked like the perfect picture of a mother and child, but Mavis knew differently. Elsie Arnold was anything but a loving mother. The only person Elsie May Arnold truly loved was herself. Mavis was interrupted from her thoughts by a knock at the back door. Now it was show time! Harry had arrived. Mavis placed her cup on the office desk and stole a quick glance at Elsie as she made her way across the room to open the door. There wasn’t any need to tell Elsie who was knocking on the door, as the look on her face confirmed she’d already guessed. Elsie took a deep breath and braced herself, ready for whatever Harry was about to throw at her.
Harry strode across the room without uttering a single word to either Mavis or Elsie. The baby had stopped feeding, obviously sensing something was scaring her mother, and began to cry. Immediately, Harry scooped the crying child up into his arms and turned his back on both women to take a good look at the new baby. He instantly saw that his worst fears were being confirmed. He’d hoped against hope that it would turn out to be his baby Elsie had been carrying. But the red locks confirmed it was the mechanic he’d hired at his garage. He’d caught them at it in his storeroom back in the spring. Harry stared down at the crying baby