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‘What I mean is, we dealt with it and we’ve moved on as much as you can after something like that. I think Cassie may be dealing with some delayed grief, though, and moving back here has brought it out of her over the past few months. I’m worried about her.’
Liam was suddenly vulnerable to Sophie. The worry was written in the lines on his face. Sophie felt as though she wanted to comfort him and take the worry away. It surprised her to feel so strongly that she wanted to make it better for him and Cassie.
‘That’s what I wanted to discuss with you today,’ Liam said. ‘How can I help her?’
‘She’ll be OK in time. It might be tough for a while but children are resilient. And we’ll do everything we can do here to support her. She might make it challenging for you, but talk to her. And if she’s reluctant, let her know that you’re there to listen, whenever she’s ready – even if it’s in the middle of the night, or maybe several months from now.’
Liam raised an eyebrow. ‘Months?’
‘It can take time for a child to deal with grief. Actually, it takes a long time for any of us to deal with grief.’ She swallowed to get rid of the slight tightness in her throat. ‘It can be hard. But when she’s ready to talk, she just needs to know that you’ll be there.’
Liam nodded. ‘That sounds doable.’
‘I don’t really feel like there’s anything any of us can really “do” at the moment but it would be good if you could keep in contact with us about any changes or anything you notice at home and we can do the same.’
‘That sounds perfect. Really, thank you,’ Liam said and looked at her with those hazel eyes that made her insides feel funny.
‘It’s nothing.’ Sophie smiled, suddenly nervous.
Liam stood to go, and she followed suit, opening the door to let him out.
‘Thank you, Mr Hawthorn,’ Sophie said, holding out a hand for him to shake. He took it, dwarfing Sophie’s hand in his own. She noticed Kate lurking in the hallway, and, wanting to divert any suspicions she knew she’d have to deny once Liam left, she withdrew her hand quickly.
‘Thank you, Miss Lawson. Really, thank you,’ he said, his voice sounding lower and more serious than she’d heard it before.
Sophie returned his smile. ‘Bye, Cassie, see you tomorrow,’ she called.
‘Bye, Miss Lawson!’
‘Come on, you,’ Liam said, scooping her up off the chair and heading out of the school building. Sophie watched them go.
‘Staffroom, now, please! I want to know everything!’ Kate said, pointing first at Sophie and then into the staffroom.
‘Give me a minute,’ Sophie said, ducking back into her classroom for a couple of deep breaths. She felt a little lightheaded and needed a moment. She looked at her hand where Liam had shaken it and tried to reconcile her feelings with the man who had been nothing but mean to her until recently.
‘Right, you,’ Kate said, crowding Sophie the minute she entered the staffroom. ‘Sit there,’ she said, pointing to the faded orange woven chair. ‘And tell me all of it.’
‘There’s nothing to tell,’ Sophie said, ready to deny everything. ‘We met to discuss Cassie, and that’s all we talked about. I think she’s working through delayed grief.’
‘Come on, Sophie. Don’t change the subject. What’s going on between you two?’ Kate asked, ignoring Sophie’s last comment and taking a softer approach.
Sophie knew what she was up to. ‘Nothing, honestly. He asked me on Tuesday to meet with him today to talk about Cassie. He finally acknowledged that something’s wrong with her.’
‘That’s good, I suppose,’ Kate said, appearing to give in. ‘Tea?’ she asked, pouring herself a cup.
‘Mmm, please.’ Sophie studied the notice board while she waited and tore down a few out-of-date posters.
‘It’s nice that he’s stepping up a bit. He’s been collecting Cassie after school recently instead of leaving it up to grandma, hasn’t he?’ Kate said, passing Sophie her tea.
Sophie ignored the question. ‘I don’t think this is him stepping up.’ Her clipped tone on ‘stepping up’ came out harsher than she’d intended.
The way Kate had spoken implied that until now Liam simply hadn’t cared about Cassie. As far as Sophie could see, that wasn’t the case. Liam wanted to be a good father; he was just struggling to know quite how to do it at the moment.
‘I think he’s finally able to acknowledge that Cassie’s working through some stuff and he wants to support her,’ said Sophie after some thought.
‘It’s taken him long enough,’ Kate said, flopping down into one of the staffroom chairs. ‘I think it was hard for him to admit that there was a problem.’
‘It sounds like maybe he didn’t want to admit it,’ Kate said. ‘These days, parents are so busy with their own lives that they just don’t see their children or their issues.’
