Memory Scents by Gayle Eileen Curtis Read Free Book Online Page A

were unaware of her other life.
                  It had been on a day a few months previously when she thought her head would explode like a ticking bomb. It had scared her, what she might do to Tim, she’d become so distressed. So she’d called on Dora to look after him for a few hours. And it was like someone had turned a tap on. She’d run to the park that day, sobbing all the way there in the rain, wanting so desperately for things to be different.
                  That day had been the first of many and a tiny spark of an idea had ignited in her head. She decided that in order for her to be able to function in her role within her family, she would go out whenever she could. So, Daphne approached Dora with an agreement. Dora was paid extra to stay on and look after Tim and she wasn’t to breathe a word of it to anyone. If Jack ever asked, she would just tell him that she’d been out visiting or shopping and Dora had agreed to baby sit. He had no idea how often or how long she was out; he was always at work. She couldn’t tell Jack she wanted a Nanny because he’d then enquire where she was going. Dora just thought that Daphne was having an affair, one that she was glad of because it was lining her pockets and her lifestyle.
                  The agreement worked for many years and Daphne was eternally grateful for the lifeline she’d been thrown. It had saved her from committing suicide and taking her son with her. It had only meant to be until Tim started school full time but then Daphne had found herself calling on Dora during the school holidays.
     
                  Daphne became a familiar face to people after a while, visiting the same places. Frowning, inquisitive looks had turned into cheery hellos and a brief passing of time. Those people knew her as Daphne and no one else and she found this immensely liberating. She’d picked a town roughly fifteen miles away where she could safely immerse herself. No one there had any idea that she had a son and a husband at home. They knew nothing about her, thought she was a loner. She liked it that way, it was comfortable and familiar and it made her feel whole and complete.
                  There was no guilt involved for Daphne; she knew she needed this life to be able to continue with the other one. Leaving either life wasn’t an option for her. She’d made her bed and she would lie in it, now, more comfortably than before. Had she been aware of what Tim was going through while she was away from him, she would have felt very different.
                  And as Daphne now sat on the bench sipping her tea and enjoying the peace, her son was sat in a pitch black, damp cellar, wishing for the entire world that his mother would come home and rescue him. 
     
     
    *
     
     
     
     
     
    Norfolk 1998
     
                  “There was no need for you to tell Chrissie all that nasty business about the murdered children. What on earth were you thinking? She’s only just moved in and she’s trying to get used to the place. Thanks to you, she’s probably frightened out of her wits!”
                  “Oh shut up, you stupid woman! Someone was bound to tell her. You know what the gossips are like in the village, I’ve done her a favour.” Tim said, opening the fridge door to see if there were any leftovers to quell his hunger. Drinking beer at lunch time always made him hungry, even if he had already eaten at the pub.
                  “And what makes you think that you were the right person to relay that information?” Grace searched his face for any sign of a nervous reaction.
                  “Just being neighbourly. If I’d have left it to the gossips she would have heard some half baked story more frightening than the truth, which would have had her packing her bags and leaving. At least what I’ve told her is a matter of fact, without all the