The Awful Child

The tragic consequences of a hopelessly spoilt child.

THE AWFUL CHILD

 

The heavy merciless rain had begun, when the day out for Albert, Blanche, and their children, Olivia eight, and Thomas seven, were walking towards the queue for the roller coaster. The rain hadn’t begun to come down in small drops as it usually did, but happened in a short moment, and it was as if the heavens had opened up, and the water shot down on those below. The theme park attractions were emptied in an incredible short time. The car park saw a tremendous amount of activity, with cars and all kinds of vehicles making as quick an exit as possible. The roads that led away, soon had long lines of slow moving traffic. There was no way the unhappy visitors would be home safe and dry in a short time. The visibility was poor, and made the situation more fraught. The afternoon spring sky became darker and darker, with no sign of a break in the clouds.

Olivia sat in the back of the car beside her brother Thomas. The two were playing on game machines. Olivia began to moan to her father, “Can’t you go a bit faster? It’s horrible sitting here with other people staring in at us, and you can tell Thomas, to stop banging his arm against mine.”

Thomas put his bit in, and said, “Olivia’s got her arms stretched out as far as she can. It isn’t my fault if she gets nudged by my arm.”

Blanche, the mother of the two moaning offspring, said, “Please be quiet. Can’t you see how bad the weather is, and the crowded road doesn’t help - and neither does your moaning? We’re not the only ones trying to get home as best we can. It’s just bad luck the rain came down when it did. At least inside the car we’re warm and dry.”

Olivia chimed in again, “But it would be better to be warm and dry at home.”

Neither of her parents took any notice of that comment from their elder child. Olivia was a law unto herself, and she got away with things, when other girls and boys of the same age wouldn’t have done.

One by one except, for Albert who was concentrating on driving, the other three fell asleep. First it was Blanche, and then Olivia, and Thomas in that order. Albert was happy that he didn’t have his ears being blasted with his wife’s and children’s voices. At what were taken to be the most dangerous spots on the road, there were groups of policemen trying in vain to maintain some sort of civility among the irate drivers. On and on Albert drove, putting everything he had into his wanting to get home as quick as he could, before the trio woke up and asked him where they were. It was a most unpleasant drive, and at times he felt like throwing in the towel, and stopping off at a motel or a pub with rooms, and spend the rest of the evening and night in warmth and comfort. But Albert wasn’t one for giving in to anything, he left his wife to do that.

Two hours after leaving the theme park, he saw the outline of the local church and drove up to his own front door. He woke up the rest of his family, and said, “Come on you lot. We’re home.” Blanche and the children clambered out of the car and they all rushed into the house. Albert went into the kitchen to get a beer, and a soft drink for the children, and Blanche a fruit juice. Albert went to get the television control panel, but as usual Olivia’s hand got there before his. She ran to the sofa and switched on the children’s channel. Albert was furious, and said, “Now, Olivia let me have the control, please,” but Olivia wasn’t going to have any of it, and held it out of his reach, and gave him a silly smile, as if to say, ‘How could you ask me to do that?’

Albert looked at his wife for support, but she rewarded him with an indulgent smile. Olivia could do no wrong in her mother’s eyes, and got away with too much in Albert’s opinion. Albert got up, and said to Thomas, “How about coming down the pub to see the match on the grand television there?”

Thomas jumped and said to his father, “Fantastic, Dad. I’ll just get my jacket.”

“Don’t expect us back soon,” Albert said to Blanche.

Father and son left the sitting-room without looking back, and went down to the pub for a warm and friendly evening, without having to put up with Olivia and her girly films.

 

“Go upstairs, please, Thomas, and ask Olivia if she’s ready for going to visit your grandparents, and say she’d better hurry or else she’ll make us all late,” Blanche told her son.

Thomas ran upstairs and banged on Olivia’s bedroom door. He got no answer, so he called out to her and tried the doorknob. The door was locked, “Mum, Olivia’s door is closed and locked, and I can’t open it. Can you come and help me.”

“It’s all right, Thomas, I’ll get it open,” Albert said, as he arrived outside Olivia’s room.

Albert got out some instruments, and got the lock off the door, to discover that Olivia had managed to get a chain fitted at the top of the door, making it even more difficult for anyone from outside to be able to open it. Father, son, and mother got inside Olivia’s room, and saw that she hadn’t even slept in her room. There was nothing out of place, and nothing to reveal where she might have gone. “Have you any idea about this?” Albert asked his wife.

“She never mentioned that she wasn’t going to stay home this weekend.  I assumed she would be here as she always is. I haven’t a clue where she might be.” Blanche sat down on Olivia’s bed and began to cry.

“You can stop that and think, and get your act together. Have you any idea who her friends are?” Albert asked Thomas.

“No, Dad, Olivia says I embarrass her, so she never tells me anything about herself or her friends.”

 

They all went downstairs to the kitchen, and Albert rang the police, giving them any information he could. The police went round as quickly as they could. By the time they got to the house, Blanche was like a wet rag, and Albert was angry with his out of control daughter, who always had everyone in the world running around her, and ruining things for everyone, while she remained as cool as cucumber. There was something definitely wrong with Olivia, and according to Albert, it was Blanche who spoilt her too much and by never saying, ‘No’.

When the police arrived, they asked Blanche whether she knew anything at all about where Olivia might be. Blanche said she didn’t have a clue. The police went up to Olivia’s bedroom and one of them began looking through her clothes and books, while the other one searched through her computer. “May we take this to the station where an expert can go through it?”

The family and the two detectives went downstairs, where they both received a piece of cake and a cup of strong coffee.

“Does Olivia often go off by herself, or is this the first time? Did she show any sign that she didn’t want to visit her grandparents?” The detectives, asked both parents the same questions.

Albert said, “Whatever you want to know about Olivia and her behaviour, you’d better ask my wife, she’s the only one who has any contact with her. She never takes any notice of me, and her brother is invisible to Olivia. She’s my wife’s ‘mini-me’.”

Blanche’s face went quite white, and she felt silly not knowing where her ten year old daughter could be. Albert stood up, and said, “I’d better tell my parents that we shan’t be going over to see them, and say who’s responsible. They won’t be very pleased. Why should they be? The whole weekend has already been spoilt.” Albert went out of the kitchen to ring his parents. He felt anxious, but at the same time annoyed that Olivia could be so selfish.

The police left a police woman called Andrea in charge, in case Olivia turned up.

 

The morning went on its way, with cups of tea and coffee continuously being made and drunk in a half hearted manner. No one was really interested in imbibing, but it helped pass the time. As the middle of the day approached, Albert, aware of the fact that Thomas was always being ignored by the presence of his sister, said to his son, “What shall we order for lunch? We have to eat no matter what. Going without food won’t make her walk through that door any quicker.”

Thomas who’d been making a tremendous effort in keeping cool for his mother’s sake said, “Let’s ask the police woman because Mum isn’t good for choosing food at the moment.”

Albert went over to the police woman and asked her what she would like to have for lunch. She said, “A large burger with a salad, and an ice cream to follow, and sparkling water to drink.”

“I think that’s what we’ll all have for lunch, what do you think, Blanche?”

Blanche who was lying down on the sofa with a wet cloth covering her face muffled, “That’ sounds OK by me. I’m not much in the mood for food.”

“That sounds fine, Dad,” Thomas said.

Albert got on the phone to the local burger restaurant and gave in the order. He didn’t want to ring the police station with Andrea being in the house, it made it look bad for her, as she was the one in charge of them.

The four of them sat in the sitting-room and ate the take away there, in the warmth and comfort. When they had all finished eating, Albert said, “Who wants to watch a film?”

They all said, “Fine,”

Blanche went back to the sofa, and covered her face. Thomas, Albert, and Andrea cleared away the packaging, and Albert made some more coffee. Albert was very careful in his choice of films, because of the situation.

Later on, at about five o’clock, Blanche got her act together, and went into the kitchen to make cakes. The house smelled of spices used in the baking, and gave it a smell that was rather comforting, and of cause - completely false.

 

Two hours later, when the cakes were cooling down on trays, the front doorbell rang. “It must be the police,” Blanche said.

Albert went to the door.

 “Good evening. We’ve brought Olivia home. She’s had a wonderful time. Haven’t you, Olivia?” a tall thin woman said.

“Would you please come in, and explain what’s been going on?”

Albert, Blanche, Andrea, and Thomas, together with Olivia, the strange lady, and her daughter, all went into the sitting-room.

“Where have you been, who with, and the police are still looking for you. What’s been going on?” Albert said. The unknown woman was Mrs. Lawley, and her daughter was Anna.

“I’m afraid it’s all my fault,” Mrs Lawley said.

“No. It’s Olivia’s fault too. I know she’s only young, but she has no sense of responsibility. She should have told us about spending the day with you and your daughter, but she said nothing to anyone, and we’ve still got the police checking out on friends and members of the public.”

“She told us that she had told you about my invitation, and so I didn’t think of checking with you, whether it was true or not,” Mrs Lawley replied.

“You still haven’t said where you took Olivia,” Albert said.

“We’ve been to an ice rink birthday party. Olivia said, you’d agreed,” Mrs Lawley replied.

Albert stood staring at he unknown couple in front of him, and said, “I don’t understand how you could have been so irresponsible with someone else’s child.”

Mr and Mrs Lawley stared back at Albert, and Mrs Lawley said, “It wasn’t really planned, but happened in a moment. You must know where the ice rink is, don’t you?”

“That’s not the point. She’s our daughter, not yours,” Andrea joined in.

Olivia couldn’t bear it any longer, as she saw the possibility of losing her new friend, and her generous parents disappear from her life.

“Mummy, Daddy, nothing’s happened. We went to the ice rink party. That’s all. I think you’d better go home now. It’s getting late,” Olivia almost pushed her new friend and her parents out through the front door.

Anna said to Olivia, “If you want to get in touch with me, you’ve got my number on your phone. See you soon when the water’s gone down a bit. Bye.”

“Bye, Anna. Thanks for a nice day,” Olivia said to her new friend.

The Lawley  family were soon inside their car and went off home.

Olivia went into the kitchen, unaware of the presence of the police woman and the others, and helped herself to some cake. Albert watched his daughter as she did that. He went up to her, and said, “You’re not having any of those cakes. You’ve upset your mother and your grandparents, and ruined everyone’s day. So you don’t deserve any goodies, and knowing you, I don’t suppose for one minute, you’ve gone without any goodies today!”

Olivia turned to her mother and said, “What’s the matter with Daddy? He’s worse than usual.”

Blanche said in reply, “You know, Olivia, you should have let us know what you were going to do today, and not let us ring the police. We’ve had police looking for you all day. Then you arrive back home as fresh as a lark, without a word of apology about how you let everyone down. Well, what have you got to say for yourself, young lady?”

Olivia said “I’m tired, so I’ll be off to bed now. Anyway, I’m home safe and sound. Good night, Mummy.” And with those words, Olivia walked up the stairs to her bedroom. When she got to the top they heard her scream, “What’s happened to my bedroom door?”

The other three members of the family went to her room and saw her staring with mad eyes, hollering her head off. “What’s going on here with my room?”

Albert, who by that time was well and truly sick of the way things had turned out on what could have been a good day, shouted at his daughter, “The door to your room had to be broken down so that we could see if you were still in bed, and not just having us on. We needed to see if you were ill or not.”

Olivia turned on her father, and said, “How am I supposed to sleep in a bedroom without a door.”

Blanche stepped forward, and said, “Never mind, Olivia. You can sleep in the guest room until the door is repaired.”

Albert was nonplussed, and said to Thomas, “Come on, Thomas, Let’s go and get something to eat.”

 

The next day, Olivia and her parents went to the police station, Andrea who was no longer needed at the home said her goodbyes and left to get information about her next job. Olivia was asked by the police who had already spoken to her parents during the course of the weekend about the people she had spent the day with. Olivia told them how she knew Anna, and she had been invited to the party at the ice rink. The police found it very difficult to understand how such a young child could be so sure of herself, and not a bit concerned about how worried her parents had been at finding her absent. What puzzled the family and police, was how she had not even slept in her room the night before her. That meant the Lawley family or at least Anna, must have encouraged Olivia’s bad behaviour. The police said they would be paying the Lawleys a visit. The police gave Albert and Blanche a very serious talk, “What has taken place over the weekend with your daughter, is worse than serious. She’s only ten years old, and seems to think she’s got the right to live her own life. We see her type of child getting into trouble all the time, because she’s been allowed to do as she pleases from a very young age. I’d like to think we’ll never see you here again. In the meantime, keep a strong hold on her.”

 

It was only to be expected, that Albert and Blanche would split up, with Thomas going to live with his father, and Blanche keeping Olivia. Albert had done his best to convince Blanche not to give in to Olivia, but his words had fallen on deaf ears. 

 

Over the years, Blanche had some extraordinarily unpleasant experiences with Olivia. She had no sense of time, and had Blanche in tears when her daughter decided to stay over at friends’ houses, and go to school straight from the other homes.

 

Eventually, Blanche met Herb, who was an estate agent, and had helped her to acquire a new house on her divorce from Albert. Herb after much thought married Blanche although he had many doubts as regards Olivia’s behaviour and how Blanche pandered to her. Olivia wasn’t too keen on Herb, because he adored her mother. She was jealous at having to share her mother’s affections. When her strategies didn’t work she told her mother, “Herb peeks at me when I’m in the shower.”

Blanche didn’t believe that at first, but as Olivia was so persistent, in the end she asked Herb what was going on.

“There’s nothing going on. Olivia suffers from an inflated imagination, and invents whatever story she can, to keep you to her. She’s got too much power over you, and that’s why Albert left.”

“Herb, you’ll have to go. I can’t have Olivia saying things about you, even if they’re exaggerations.”

Herb decided to move out to a new flat, “I’ll always be here for you, and don’t forget it. One day, Olivia will give you a tremendous shock. She’s never done what she’s supposed to, and never co-operates in the home. Just be careful and keep a close eye on her That’s all. Bye.”

 

While Blanche was having a miserable time, wondering what to do with Olivia and her non-functioning behaviour, Herb had moved out of her life.

 

Albert and Thomas went to live in another house, and they both got on well. Albert wasn’t keen on starting a new relationship, and was slow about getting to know women. When he met Antonia, he felt he had found someone he might be able to be OK with. Thomas was the one who encouraged his father and Antonia to make it official and get married.  The three of them got on well, and there were no rough edges, as there had been when Albert and Thomas had lived with Blanche and Olivia. Albert felt sorry for Blanche, as regards Olivia’s bad treatment of her mother, but at the same time knew she had asked for it. For the next few years following the divorce, Albert, Thomas and Antonia lived tranquilly. Blanche had to bear the problems she had with Olivia’s disobedience alone.

 

Olivia spent Friday and Saturday nights away from home. Sometimes she didn’t turn up till late on Sunday evenings. She didn’t pay any attention to her studies, and the school was forever ringing up Blanche at work, and asking her what was going on with her daughter. Nothing bothered Olivia, and she didn’t seem to mind about the haranguing she got from both teachers and her mother.

 

When she was eighteen, it had to happen. Olivia met up with someone, who, if Albert had been in her life, would have been given his marching orders immediately. But Albert wasn’t to find out, until one night on the television he saw his daughter’s face, as she was being arrested for trying to rob a bank with her new boyfriend. They were both armed, which added to the seriousness of the situation.

 

Albert rang up Blanche, and demanded to know what was going on with Olivia

Blanche said, “She’s been getting more and more out of control all her life. I’ve never known what to do with her.”

“I don’t remember you ever having made an effort to get her under control. It was the other way round, she had you under her thumb. Now you see the result. She’s going to prison, and I suppose you’ll be forever going to visit her,” Albert said.

“Oh, no I shan’t. I’m emigrating. I can’t take any more. She’ll have to stand on her own feet from now on, as she made the decision to go out with that boy, after me telling her not to.”

Albert was surprised at his ex-wife’s attitude, and said so.

“I’ve done so much for her, including losing you and Thomas into the bargain. Well now I’m done. I’ll be leaving soon, to start a new life. I’ve still got some good years ahead of me, to find another man if I want one. I’ll let you know where I am, so Thomas can come and see me, if he likes.”

 

Olivia was imprisoned for ten years, and by the time she was released she was a young woman with a past. Nobody had visited her during that time. She couldn’t understand what had gone wrong. And she never did. Her time in prison, had only served to make her feel sorry for herself.

 

Deep down inside, she was still - an ‘awful child’!