In the struggle between warring parents, who will protect the child?

Matilda is Missing

CAROLINE OVERINGTON
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental. A Bantam book Published by Random House Australia Pty Ltd Level 3, 100 Pacific Highway, North Sydney NSW 2060 www.randomhouse.com.au First published by Bantam in 2011 Copyright Caroline Overington 2011 The moral right of the author has been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying (except under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian Copyright Act 1968), recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of Random House Australia. Addresses for companies within the Random House Group can be found at www.randomhouse.com.au/offices National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication Entry Overington, Caroline. Matilda is missing/CarolineOverington. ISBN 978 1 74275 038 5 (pbk.) Custody of children Fiction. A823.4 Cover photograph courtesy of Getty Images Cover design by Christabella Designs Typeset in 12/18 pt Sabon by Midland Typesetters, Australia Printed and bound by Griffin Press, an accredited ISO AS/NZS 14011:2004 Environmental Management System printer 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The paper this book is printed on is certified against the Forest Stewardship Council Standards. Griffin Press holds FSC chain of custody certification SGS-COC-005088. FSC promotes environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the worlds forests.

Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Chapter One

he last time I saw Frank Brooks was at Young and Jacksons, which is the pub on the corner of Flinders Street in Melbourne, and it was about three weeks before Frank died. It was Franks idea to meet. He called me after the disaster with the billboard and said, Why dont we have a beer, old friend? Now, youre probably thinking whoa, what billboard? Well, for now its best I say only that Frank called about the time my wife, Pat, did something that was pretty much out of character. Shed arranged to have a giant billboard put on the freeway, as part of a fight she was having with our son Brians missus. Brian is the youngest of our four boys. Hes coming up for forty now, and still in the same job he had when he left school. He works on container ships, down at the docks, at Port Melbourne.
3

Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

MATILDA IS MISSING

Brian was one of those boys who, instead of getting out of the house as soon as humanly possible, stayed at home with Pat and me until he was thirty. To my mind youre a bit old to be living at home when youre thirty, but Pat was all for it. A young man working as hard as he does needs a hot meal on the table when he gets home, she said. Like Brian couldnt have cooked his own meal? Hes not an invalid. In any case, he took advantage, paying minimal rent and getting his clothes washed and dried and folded, and saving money so he could travel to Bali and over to Broome. Hed trick up old cars and put mag wheels on them. At one point we had two-and-a-half cars on the street outside, and I had to say, Brian, its not fair on the neighbours. Just when I was thinking Brian would never move out, he met a girl, Nerida, and decided she was the love of his life. Now, I dont want to go scratching old sores, but its hardly a family secret that Pat struggles with Nerida, and has done from the very start. To my mind thats because Brian was Pats baby the youngest boy, and the only one still at home but thats not the only thing. They clashed. Some people just do. My Pats not posh. Like me, she grew up in Footscray with working-class parents. As a kid, Pats house was always as neat as a pin, and Pats the same as her mum, polishing the glass at least once a week.
4
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

CAROLINE OVERINGTON

I dont know how many families there are like that any more, but Neridas not from one of them. Neridas mother has never been married, and when our Brian met Nerida, she and her mum were living in Housing Commission. Taking hand-outs, is what Pat says about that. Brian met Nerida at a pub in Maidstone. Pat was fine with that. Pubs are where people meet these days. But Nerida wasnt at the pub with her girlfriends, having a dance or a counter meal. Nerida was pulling the beers. Shes a barmaid, Barry, is what Pat said. I remember the first time Nerida came to visit. Pat took one look at the black dyed hair and the six earrings in the top of the ear, and raised her eyebrows at me. But shes a good woman, Pat, and even when shes made up her mind about someone, shell still be polite. She took Nerida into the kitchen, saying, Lets have a cup of tea. Nerida followed Pat into the kitchen and pulled out a pack of ciggies. Pat said, Im sorry, Nerida, we dont allow smoking in the house. So Nerida headed for the flyscreen door and lit up on the porch. Shes standing there, half-in and half-out of the house, blowing smoke and waving a hand in front of her face, said Pat. And do you know what she told me, Barry? She told me she lives in Maidstone with a child who is four years old. I said, But how old are you, dear? And she said shes twenty. Which means she had him when she was sixteen, Barry.
5
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

MATILDA IS MISSING

Like an idiot, I said, Whos the father? Pat said, Dont you think I asked about that, Barry? Dont you worry, I asked about that. She said she has no idea. She said, Whoever it is, we dont see him. Its just me and Ethan. Whoever it is, Barry. I said, Well, Pat. A girl can make a mistake. Pat said, Do you know where she lives, Barry? She lives with the child, and with her own mother in Housing Commission in Maidstone. I think its fair to say that things went downhill from there. Have you really thought this through, Brian? Pat would say whenever she got the chance. Is this a serious thing? Brian would say: Stay out of it, Mum. But do you really think its fair to the child to Ethan to bond with him, and then disappear from his life? Pat would persist. Hes had enough traumas in his life, surely? Maybe you should back off a bit. Brian didnt back off. Six weeks after meeting Nerida, hed moved half his stuff over to her place in Maidstone, so he was half-living with Nerida, her mum and with Ethan. I really dont understand it, Barry, Pat said. I mean, what goes on over there? Its a horrible place. I invite Brian home for tea and he says hes busy. Busy doing what? What could I tell her? Nerida was twenty years old and Brian was a healthy young man. Probably they were having the time of their life, if you see what I mean. And it didnt
6
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

CAROLINE OVERINGTON

help that Pat made it obvious not just to Brian, but to everyone that she didnt like Nerida. I cant quite put my finger on it, shed say, but I dont trust that girl. Id say: It hardly matters what we think, Pat. Neridas Brians choice. Six months into the relationship, Brian rang and said, Were coming over Sunday, Dad. Me, Nerrie, Ethan and Nerries mum. All of us. Pat said, What could this be about, Barry? Please dont tell me . . . Meaning: Please dont tell me theyre getting married. I remember Neridas mum, Cheryl, coming up the path that Sunday in leopard-skin stilettos. Pat was in the front room, looking through the blinds. Heavens! she said when she opened the door. How do you walk in those? Cheryl plopped herself down on a kitchen stool and twisted her foot around, saying, Arent they brill? Got em on sale. Run down and get yourself a pair, before theyre all sold out. How old was Ethan then? Im thinking not yet five. Not yet in school. He had black hair, cropped short, with a rats tail. Pat tried to engage him. Would you like me to cut up an apple for you, Ethan? Ethan said, I dont eat fruit. Pat said, Well, what about a drink then? Would you like some apple juice?
7
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

MATILDA IS MISSING

Ethan said, Coke. Brian said, Were getting married, Mum. It was one of those moments like you see on the sitcoms. Pat was holding two cups and saucers, and nearly dropped them both. I got up and pumped our Brians hand, saying, Well done, son. Cheryl opened her arms up theres quite a bit to see when she does that, if you get what I mean and said, Well, give us a hug, Pat! Were family! And Pat had no choice but to go into her performing hug. Discussions turned to the wedding. With no father of the bride around, Cheryl was offering to foot the bill. But she was on some kind of disability, or workers comp, and couldnt afford what Nerida wanted, which was the big white wedding. Pat tried to be diplomatic. Well, she said. I suppose in a way thats fine, because, you know, with Ethan and everything . . . Cheryl either had no idea what Pat was talking about Nerida couldnt have a big white wedding because she was a single mother or if she did, she didnt show it. Like her daughter, she was standing half-in and half-out the kitchen door, waving a cigarette with red lipstick on the butt-end, getting Ethan to fetch the lighter from where shed put it down outside, talking about how great the wedding was going to be. Youve raised a good boy in Brian, Cheryl said. If my
8
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

CAROLINE OVERINGTON

Nerrie hadnt seen him first, I might even have had a go myself! I rushed into the conversation, saying, In the circumstances, were obviously happy to help out with the costs, and, Ive got to tell you, I got in more trouble for that from Pat than Id got for just about anything in my whole married life. What you should have said was, we dont want them to get married, Pat said, after Cheryl had packed up her cigarettes and headed out the front door, on those spiky heels. What you should have said was, we think the two of them should wait, get to know each other a bit, before rushing headlong into something as serious as marriage. What could I say? There was a reason I didnt step in it was basically none of my business! I told Pat, Brians thirty years old. Hes big enough and ugly enough to take care of himself. Hes picked Nerida and, whatever we think, thats his choice. And he cant pick up the tab for the wedding. Thats a cost you dont want to lay on a young man at the start of married life. Pat said, You cant see whats happening, can you? Our Brians got a job. Hes got his Westpac Supersaver. Whats Nerida got? Nothing. So our Brian is the best thing thats ever going to happen to her, which is why shes getting her claws in. To Brian, she said, I know you think youre in love, but there are girls out there closer to your own age, girls with
9
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

MATILDA IS MISSING

proper jobs, careers. Have you thought about how youre going to pay the mortgage? Youre going to need somebody who can help with the bills. Brian said, Neridas not on the dole, Mum. Shes still got her job at the pub. Pat said, Well, thats lovely, Brian. Good for Nerida. Shes got a job in a pub. But its hardly ideal for a girl, is it, to be working behind a bar? Brian said, She likes it. Although I reckon shell give it up when she has a couple more kids. Pat was startled. More children? she said. Now, Brian, you wont want to rush into that. Brian said, Nerrie wants to have a dozen. And Cheryls awesome with Ethan. She reckons its the best thing having a grandkid. She cant wait to have more. I dont need to tell you that the wedding went ahead and it was a good one in the end. I stumped up for a spit roast and a keg, and plenty of beer was drunk, not least by me. Ethan looked good, in a suit from the Footscray Market with sneakers and a carnation. As for Nerida well, I thought she looked perfectly nice in her white dress. Its cream, Pat corrected me when I mentioned it. Definitely cream. Our eldest, Scott, gave the speech, saying it was about time Brian left home, given that hed started losing his hair. There was a cake and all the rest of it, including a bit where Nerida sat down on one of the fancy chairs, middle
10
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

CAROLINE OVERINGTON

of the dance floor, and Brian went under her dress to get her garter off. It was done. They were married and into a place of their own. Brian put the deposit down. He paid the mortgage. Thats what a man does. Besides which, three months after the wedding, Brian announced that Nerida was five months pregnant. Pat took it pretty well. Its wonderful news, Nerida, she said. If you need any advice or anything, you can ask me. Dont be shy. Were family now. To which Nerida said, Well then, can you hire me a semitrailer to haul my arse around? Doctor says Ive put on thirty kilos already, and Im barely past the halfway mark. Pat said, Well, youre eating for two. More like Im eating for five, Nerida said. Im, like, craving the weirdest shit. Hot chips and Maccas burgers and those apple turnovers, and peanut butter, and bacon. Im sending Brian out in the middle of the night to get me ice-cream, jelly snakes, whatevers on sale at the servo, which is the only thing whats open at midnight. Its doing his head in! Pat said, Well, perhaps you should try to get some vegetables . . . and the smoking? Are you going to give up the smoking? Brian interrupted. Dont tell me you didnt smoke, Mum, with us lot. Well, it was different in the sixties, Brian, Pat said. We didnt know. You cant say that now.
11
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

MATILDA IS MISSING

Nerida said, First few weeks, the smell of it had me retching. Couldnt handle it. And thats not on, because Im working in the pub and everyone is fagging. So I forced a couple down and Im good again now. Six months into the pregnancy, Nerida was still smoking and the size of a house. Shed come over for tea on Sundays, saying, Check out the size of me! Doc says I better stop eating or hell have to take me down the docks to weigh me. Im, like, alright, me hubby works there, no worries! The more she did that kind of thing, the more I liked Nerida, but Pat, who was standing serving, said, More vegetables, anyone? Three months on, Brian called again one night, saying Nerida and the baby were in the hospital. Shes had him already? asked Pat. Brian said, She nearly dropped him in the dunny! Nerrie thought she needed a poo and he was half into the bowl! Half out before we even got into the car! She said, Id better keep my legs crossed or Ill have him on the freeway. Pat pushed me out of bed and ordered me to drive her across town, to the public hospital at Sunshine. We found Nerida sat up in bed, with Ethan eating potato chips, and a baby boy swaddled in a crib. Take a look, Pat. Its another bloody boy! Nerida said. Right through the pregnancy, everyone was saying to me, Dont worry, its gonna be a girl. Youre all out in front, and that means a girl. What am I gonna do with all the pink stuff I got given?
12
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

CAROLINE OVERINGTON

Im not sure Pat was listening. To be clear, when that little boy was born she already had five grandchildren our eldest, Scott, had three kids, and the other boys had one apiece but this was Brians first and, as Ive said, Brian was Pats baby. What will you call him? she said. It was like she was in a trance. Im buggered if I know, Nerida said. I had my girls names all picked out. I was that sure it was a girl, I cant tell you. I was right out in front, wasnt I, Brian? And when youre right out in front, they reckon its a girl. Shows what they know. Well, what was your fathers name? said Pat, to which Nerida replied, No way is my kid getting named for that idiot. Well then, Brians grandfather my father was Herbert. Bert to his friends, of course, but Herbert is lovely, dont you think? I watched Neridas face. She seemed to think Pat was joking. Then she saw that Pat wasnt joking, and that amused her even more. Bert, like Bert and Ernie? she said. Thats a top idea, Grandma Pat! They didnt call him Bert, obviously. He went without a name for a week and then, after they got him home and settled, Brian called to say they had called him Jett, and because he had a thick mop of dark hair, like Neridas even before she dyed it, his middle name would be Black. So, Jett Black Harper Harrison.
13
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

MATILDA IS MISSING

I passed this on to Pat, expecting her to say, I do hope youre joking. But shed already lost her heart to that little baby. I really like that, she said. Jett Black! Its got a nice ring to it. And with his hair, its going to suit him well. The weeks after Jett was born, it was like Pat was a first-time grandma again. She took a heap of pictures of him, stopped her old friends in the street, saying, Would you like to see a picture of my grandson? See his dark eyes? Lashes like a foal, hes got. Long lashes, like a foal. Nerida didnt bother with breastfeeding Jett The little bastard split my nipples, she said so Pat was allowed to babysit Jett from pretty early on. Well get our own bottle sterilising kit, and you wont have to worry about anything, Pat told Nerida. Ive got a lot of experience with little boys, Brian included! So dont worry. I know what Im doing. It wasnt like Nerida needed convincing. You want him, you have him! she told Pat. Youd think Id have remembered what its like to have a baby around. Like, with Ethan, he can get himself up and get a bowl of Coco Pops, or whatever. Now Im back in bottles, nappies, and the bloody crying, it never stops. Dont get me wrong, hes dead cute and all that, but Jesus, he carries on. Well, I dont mind at all, Pat said. Its my pleasure to help. By the age of two, Jett was spending as much time at our place as he was with Brian and Nerida and to say that
14
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

CAROLINE OVERINGTON

arrangement suited Pat is to understate it. To be honest it suited me too. Grandkids well, its not like having your own, is it? Its better than having your own. You dont have to worry so much. And you can give them back! And Jett was a right little character. When he started to walk, for example, Pat bought him a Superman body suit: red underpants painted on the outside, the kind of thing our Brian would never have been seen dead in. Jett put it on and, I swear, you couldnt get it off him, not even to wash it. Hed sleep in the thing. Hed walk down the supermarket with it on. Not at all embarrassed. Ive got to tell you, it was hysterical. Then, when Jett was three, and Ethan going on for eight, Nerida came around and flopped herself down in the armchair, saying, I cant bloody believe this. Im up the duff again. Are you sure? said Pat, which was a fair enough question. Nerida had been saying since Jett arrived that she wasnt interested in having another baby too much bloody hassle and shed never lost any of the weight shed put on with Jett, so I wouldnt have been able to tell if she was pregnant again or not. Thats what the doctor reckons, she said. One in the oven, five months cooked. Of course, it was another boy. Is that all you Harrisons have? Nerida complained from the hospital bed. Youve got four, Pat. Scotts got three. Now Ive got another two. Dont you reckon a girl
15
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

MATILDA IS MISSING

might have been nice? What the hell am I going to call him? Weve got no boys names. They decided, in the end, on Baxter. I dont know, but Im told thats a name from somebody on Neighbours, or maybe Home and Away. As with Jett, Pat offered to take him a couple of nights a week, pretty much from the get-go. You catch up on sleep, she said. Nerida took no convincing at all, and so, within five years of Brian meeting Nerida, and Pat deciding she didnt like her, all three of Neridas kids Ethan, Jett and the new baby, Baxter were in our house three nights a week. You reckon she didnt love it? She loved it! Now, Im trying to remember how old the kids were when the marriage ultimately did go south. From memory, Baxter Bax had started walking, so maybe he was one, or even a bit older, which means Jett would have been, what, four or five, and Ethan maybe eight or nine? Probably it doesnt matter. The main thing is that I was home with Pat one night, feet up, watching telly, when Brians Holden came up the road, and onto the nature strip outside the house. What on earth is he doing? Pat said, looking out the blinds. Why doesnt he park by the kerb? The minute Brian got out of the car, I could see what the problem was. He couldnt find the kerb. Drunk as a skunk he was, so much so he couldnt get his old house key in the lock.
16
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

CAROLINE OVERINGTON

Im gonna stay here a while, he said when Pat opened the door. But what on earth has happened? said Pat. Dont ask, he said, and started down the hall, bouncing off the walls as he went. Pat turned to me. Go and talk to him! she said. I went down the hall into Brians old room. He was face down on the bed, with his Blundies still on. I said, Whats gone on, Brian? He muttered, but his face was in the pillow and I couldnt hear it. Say again? I said. He lifted his head and said, Nerrie doesnt want me any more. Shes gone and done the dirty. Ah, Jesus, Brian, I said. Thats no good at all. Shes a moll, he said, and threw up on the bed. Now, theres obviously quite a bit of pain involved when a marriage breaks up and I couldnt hang anything on Brian for getting drunk like he did that first night. It didnt actually bother me too much when he kept drinking night and day, for something like a week. My feeling was: let him be. Well find out soon enough whats gone on. But Pat isnt the type to let a sleeping dog lie. What exactly had happened, she wanted to know? Was this a one-off, with Nerida, or had she met somebody else? Did she want Brian to take her back? Was Brian going to do it? Its not your business, Mum, Brian would slur, drunk again. But actually, it was Pats business. Shed organised
17
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

MATILDA IS MISSING

her life around caring for Neridas boys, and suddenly theyd stopped coming. I dont see what your problem with Nerida has to do with me, shed say to Brian. I dont see how it means that the boys cant still come here, like they used to do. Brian said, Nerries got the shits with me, Mum. I said some stuff to her. Let her calm down. To me, Pat said, I cant stand this, Barry. What have I done wrong? Absolutely nothing, thats what. Why isnt she bringing the boys around to see me, at least? Pat, I said. This is one of those situations where were going to have to wait and see. This is your fault, Barry, Pat said. I told you from the outset this girls no good. But you wouldnt listen. Wouldnt warn him off. Now look first chance she gets, shes off with someone else. And who gets punished? Me. I said, Theres no warning kids off their choices, Pat. You know that as well as I do. The main thing is for us to stay out of it, and see what happens. I might as well have been talking to a wall. Shes going to take you for everything, Pat told Brian, not two weeks into the separation. I notice shes still in the house, Brian. That house has a mortgage on it, and youre going to have to pay that mortgage, unless you want a black mark on your credit rating for the rest of your life. Brian said, Mum, Ive told you. Stay out of it. Pat said, Well, you tell me, Brian. What did she put into that house? Not one cent, thats what. And shes going to
18
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

CAROLINE OVERINGTON

walk off with it. Given what shes done, you should ask her to move out, and you stay there with the boys. To which Brian said, As if Id do that, Mum. But whats going to happen to me? said Pat. Ive gotten into a good routine having those boys here. Theyre used to me. Its not fair on them being snatched away from their own nana. And I count Ethan in that. Im planning on talking to Nerrie this weekend, said Brian. Do you want me to ask her if I can take the boys bring them here for a couple of hours? What do you mean, ask her? said Pat. Theyre your kids! Even Ethan, hes practically your own child! You dont have to ask permission to see them! Stop interfering, Mum, Brian warned her again. But Pat couldnt. What I dont understand, Brian, is why when youve done nothing wrong, youre the one being punished. Neridas called quits on the marriage. Thats fine. But why does that mean that you have to ask permission to see your own children? Brian said, I can see them when I want. Its just Nerrie doesnt want me taking them out of the house. Shes mad as an axe with me. Im in no frame of mind to see her either. Im just letting things settle. Pat said, I can see that weve youve got no claim on Ethan. She holds the cards there. But Jett and Baxter theyre our flesh and blood. It doesnt seem right to me that Nerida decides when we can see them.
19
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

MATILDA IS MISSING

Brian said, Im not going to say it again, Mum. Stay out of it. The weekend came and went, and Brian didnt bring the kids over. I asked Nerrie, he said, on the telephone, from his old house. She said its best they stay here. Im just sitting with them. Say hello on the phone. Bax, say hello. Its Nana. Say hello. Pat said, But Brian, Ive cooked the chook. I cant tell you how that broke my heart, to hear Pat say: But Brian, Ive cooked the chook! Because that was always a tradition in Pats family to have a roast chicken on a Sunday afternoon. I remember the first ones she cooked for me, right after we got married. And she cooked chicken every Sunday after that, even when it was expensive, and even when, because of the four boys, we had to buy two. Only when the boys moved out did Pat give the cooked chook away. Too much fuss for two people, shed say, and you cant get a half-decent chicken in the supermarket these days. But then one afternoon, she made chicken soup for baby Baxter this must have been before he was onto solids from a real roast chicken. He ate two bowls, Pat told Nerida. Good and nourishing. There had been a wishbone with the carcass. Pat wiped it down on her apron, and showed Jett how it worked. He loved it. So the next Sunday, Pat made another chicken
20
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

CAROLINE OVERINGTON

soup and, as the boys got older and needed more than just soup, the cooked chook came back. What am I supposed to do with the wishbone? Pat said, after shed put the phone down. Well put it in Tupperware, I said. The boys can have a good fight over it next time they come around. And when will that be? said Pat. A few days later, I heard her talking over the fence. You wont believe what happened. My daughter-in-law knows I love to see those boys on a Sunday and now shes stopped them from coming. Can you believe that? What a mean thing to do. Id say a month or so went by before Brian did finally bring the kids all three of them over for a cooked chook on a Sunday. Pat wanted to know what had brought on the change of heart. It was only later that we found out Nerida had broken up with the bloke shed left Brian for, and she was actually begging Brian to take her back. He told her straight: Im sorry, Nerida, its not going to happen. Shes done it once, he told me. A leopard doesnt change its spots. I thought that was pretty brave of him, because whatever had happened between them, Brian still loved Nerida. In any case, Nerida was a free agent again, and it wasnt long before she figured out that if Brian didnt want her, some other bloke probably would, and she was ready to go out partying.
21
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

MATILDA IS MISSING

It suits her to have the boys stay here when shes not home, said Brian. Which is fine by me. So Pat had the boys again, and she was over the moon. Shed get up early and make hot porridge, which was something they never got at home, and she let them stir Milo into milk, or else shed sit them around her feet while she was at the sewing table, and let them play with the jar of buttons. She took them to the movies, to see Monsters Inc. or Toy Story, and let them polish the silver with a rag from the ragbag. So, everyone was travelling along great, and to my mind everything would have stayed great, if only Pat could have stopped with running Nerida down. What must it be like for them, their mother out at the pub every other weekend? shed say to me. Id say, Shush, Pat, because the boys were often well within earshot, and anyway, kids listen out for that kind of thing. Pat would say, Oh, come on, Barry. Does she think the children dont know why theyre staying with us? Because shes out all night on the booze? To the boys themselves shed say, Wheres your mummy tonight, I wonder? Not here with you! Or else shed tell them, If Mummy gets cross with you, you come and stay with Nana. Nana wont get cross with you! Nana loves you. Then there was the way Pat behaved with Nerida, when they were doing the handover of the boys. Pat might pack Jetts pyjamas into his backpack with a note pinned to them
22
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

CAROLINE OVERINGTON

saying, I managed to wash these, Nerida, but there wasnt much I could do about the holes. Nerida would get on the blower and say, I really dont appreciate what youre incinerating, saying you had to wash the boys clothes. Pat would say: It isnt incinerating, Nerida. Its insinuating. And Im not insinuating anything. Im merely saying that Jett came to us with his bottom hanging out of his pyjama pants, and while were talking, Baxter didnt have a toothbrush. Are you teaching him to brush his teeth? Because it looks to me like theyre turning green. Nerida would say, I tell him, Pat, and he forgets. And Pat would say, Well, of course he does. Hes a child. Thats why youre supposed to remind him, Nerida. And on it would go. Now, Im not an idiot. I get that Pat was trying to show loyalty to Brian. She couldnt believe that Nerida had gone and done the dirty. Didnt she know how lucky she was, to end up with somebody like our Brian? All of which is perfectly understandable: a mum is always going to side with her boy in a situation like that. But to my mind theres got to be a point at which you bury the hatchet, or else youll make things even worse. To his credit, Brian could see that. He tried to reason with his mum, saying, Youve got to stop running Nerrie down. Its going to get to the point where it gets back to her, and then shes not going to let the kids come here. Pat said, Well, she wont be able to do that. I talked to
23
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

MATILDA IS MISSING

Carol down at the hairdressers and she told me things are different these days. I mean, we may have no legal right to see Ethan, but youre the father of those boys, and Im the nana, and the way the law is now, Nerida has no right keeping them away from us. Then came the day that Jett went home from our place to his mum and said, Whats a gold-digger? Why do you want to know? Nerida asked. To which Jett, poor kid, said, Nana says youre a golddigger. Nerida was on the phone in seconds. I could hear her, shouting down the line, Im a gold-digger, am I, Pat? Thats what youre telling my own kids about me? Well, Ive bloody well had it. You think you can poison my kids against me? You cant, because you wont be seeing them any more. Pat got a bit of a shock, obviously, that Jett had done exactly what Id told her hed do one day, but she still thought she had the upper hand. I think youll find, Nerida, that you cant holus-bolus take the kids away from me. You can stop Ethan from coming, maybe, if youd want to be that mean. But Jett and Baxter well, Im their nana, and grandparents these days have just as many rights as parents do. You might be their nana, Nerida said. But Im their mother, and as their bloody mother Ill decide who theyll see. Pat tried to brush it off. Shell send them back, she said. Mark my words, Barry, the first opportunity she gets
24
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

CAROLINE OVERINGTON

to go down the pub, shell be on the phone to me, saying, Pat, please can you take the boys? I thought, maybe yes, maybe no. Maybe Nerida would just say, Brian, you come here and mind the kids. Maybe her own mum would say, you go out, and Ill mind the kids. Maybe shed decide, to hell with this, Id rather pay a babysitter. In any case, Nerida didnt call again that weekend, meaning Sunday came and went with no cooked chook. Pat tried to get Brian to intervene, but he refused. I told you to lay off it, Mum, and you wouldnt give up, he said. Now its come around and bit you on the bum. Well, thats fine, said Pat, but Neridas not punishing me. Shes punishing those boys. Brian said, Come off it, Mum. Pat said, I just need to know that theyre alright! Brian said, Theyre alright. Just leave things be. You might think Pat would have taken that advice, but no. A day or so later, Brian caught her on the telephone to Jett at Neridas house, saying something like, Nana wants to see you but your mummy wont let her! What the hell? he said, taking the phone. Hey, son, he said. Yeah, yeah, I miss you too. Yep, Im gonna see you soon. Say hi to Bax. Say hi to Ethan. Alright. I love you. Good night. He put the phone down and turned to Pat. Honestly, Ive never seen him that angry. Im banned from having my own kids in my own
25
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

MATILDA IS MISSING

house, he said. Keep this up, Mum, and shell cut me out altogether. But she cant do that, Brian! Pat insisted. You ask anyone, the laws not like that any more. Its all changed! Youve got rights, Brian. Fathers these days, theyve got rights! Brian said, Mum, Ive told you, its not your business. I know theres going to be people out there saying, well, actually, Pats got a point. Maybe Brian should have been fighting harder to see the boys. But Ive got to say, I agreed with Brian. I thought he was doing the right thing letting the boys stay with Nerida, and trying to keep the peace with her, even though he felt like shed busted up his family. And I thought Pat should stay out of it too. Dont get me wrong, I love the woman dearly, but she has a tendency to make things that much worse. Why dont you at least go and see a lawyer, Brian? she said. My friend Carol, her boy went through the same thing. The exact same thing! His ex-wife was trying to lay down the law, push him around, take him for all he had, but he got a lawyer and they went to court, and he ended up with custody. He ended up with custody, Brian! Im telling you, you can do the same. Brian wasnt much interested in getting a lawyer, or in going for custody of the boys. Hed already told me, No way known am I going down that path into the Family Court. Ill work out a settlement with Nerrie, the boys will stay with her and Ill see them as often as I can. Thats the right thing to do.
26
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

CAROLINE OVERINGTON

Pat couldnt understand that. If you try to do things yourself, youll lose the lot! she said. Go to court! Everybody says its different now: you can get back everything you put into that house, and, play your cards right, you might even end up with the boys! Brian wouldnt have it. Im perfectly happy to have the boys live with their mum, he said. Shes a good mum. And theres Ethan. No courts ever going to give me Ethan, so what am I going to do, take my two and leave him? Im not going to do it. Itll make him feel second best. Hell be without his brothers. Its not right. Pat said, And what about me, Brian? Brian said, You made that bed, Mum. You lie in it. Ive told you before, if you could just cut it out, things might improve. And could Pat cut it out? She could not. She told Brian, Ill take it to court myself. A grandmother has her rights! Of course Brian wouldnt have it. You drag my kids through Family Court, Im not going to forgive you. To my mind, there was a clear message there; he was dead serious about it. I dont know if hed heard too much from mates of his whod walked that route gone to court and been ruined or whether it was that he didnt want to lose a load of money in a lawyers picnic, or what, but he was dead set against court. However, Pat knew where the boys lived, and she knew where they went to school, and I suppose I realised that she was seriously off her rocker about things when she started
27
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

MATILDA IS MISSING

getting in the car at 7.30 am to park by the side of the road where the school lollipop lady was, to see if she might see Jett crossing the road. Just a glimpse of him! shed tell me. I just need to know hes alright. Of course, you cant go hanging around the school crossing for hours on end, not even if youre a lady of a certain age and Pats going to kill me for saying this with silver hair. Before long, people got suspicious who was Pat, and why was she sitting there for an hour every day? and they started to gossip, and so of course Nerida got wind of it and told the school to tell Pat to back off. They told me I had to move! Pat said when she came in that day. They came and rapped on my window like I was some kind of pervert! They said, You cant sit here. Its like spying. Its not right. I said, Dont tell me whats right. Whats not right is my not being allowed to see my own grandchildren! Oh, Pat, I said. And I didnt even see the boys! she said. I didnt even see them, let alone say a word. Now, you might think that given Pat and me have been married forty-odd years, I would have been able to predict what was going to happen next, but Ive got to tell you, it took me completely by surprise. She thinks she can lock me out of their lives, said Pat. Well see about that.
28
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

CAROLINE OVERINGTON

A day or so later, I found her out on the front porch with her gardening knee pads on, bending over an old sheet from the linen press. By her side she had a can of black paint from the shed, and in her hand she had a small paint brush. I said, What in heavens name? You shush, Barry, said Pat. I looked over her shoulder. She was writing, JETT AND BAXTER HARRISON, WE LOVE YOU, NANA AND POP. I said, What on earth? Pat said, Dont you interfere. Im going to wait for it to dry and then Im going to hang it somewhere where theyll be able to see it. Maybe on that cyclone fence across from their mothers house. Im going to make sure those boys know whats really going on. I said, Pat, this is madness. Pat said, Thats right, Barry. You take her side. Everyone else is. Why not you? I said, Pat, its not about sides. Its about what is normal behaviour. How embarrassed are the boys going to be, seeing that? And how is Ethan going to feel? Pat said, You dont think it hurts me, Barry, to have no claim over Ethan? It hurts me. Not much I can do about it, but it hurts me. But our boys our blood and bone, Jett and Baxter they are actually family. Ive got a right to see them. She waited for the sheet to dry, bundled it up and drove off the next morning, planning to pin the thing with clothes pegs to the cyclone fence. Ten minutes later, the manager
29
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

MATILDA IS MISSING

of the brick works, of which the cyclone fence was a part, came and told her to take it down. This is about my grandchildren, Pat said. I dont care what its about, he said. That fence is owned by a multinational corporation. You dont have permission to stick a bed sheet on it. Theyve got rules about how the site has to look. Id hoped that Pat would settle down after that, that shed see what a goose she was making of herself, but thats not the way her mind was working. She was thinking, Okay, if I cant put a sign on the fence because its considered vandalism, how can I put one up thats legal? And thats when she went down to the freeway, where there was an old billboard that often had nothing on it except a sign saying Advertise Your Business Here!, and she got in touch with the people who owned it. Can you make up the billboard so it says whatever I want? she said. Well, sure, the man said, probably fooled by Pats sweet-lady voice. We do that kind of thing all the time. What do you have in mind . . . is it a fete or something? No, no, its a message for my grandchildren, said Pat. I want to broadcast to the world how much I love them. You mean, for their birthday? No, no, just for all the time! said Pat. Well, thats a nice thought, the man said. You send me the words you want to use, and a picture if you like. Do you have a computer? Do you know how to send a JPEG?
30
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

CAROLINE OVERINGTON

Provided the picture quality is up to scratch, well make it look great for you. Pat can use a computer. Who cant these days? So she emailed a photograph of Jett and Baxter to the billboard company. I want you to blow it up as big as you can, she said. And the message on it should read: BAXTER AND JETT, NANA AND POP LOVE YOU. A week or so later, the bloke called back, saying, It looks great, and its ready to go up whenever you are. Pat told him, Well, how about next Wednesday? When she put the phone down, she said, Thatll give me time to warn A Current Affair. I said, A Current Affair! Are you mad, Pat? Youre going to get us into trouble. Its got to be against the law to put a big picture of the kids up there for everyone to see! Pat said, If theres a law against a grandmother telling her grandkids how much she loves them, Id like to see that law. I was that tempted to tell Brian what his mum was planning. Maybe the only reason I didnt was because it was a struggle getting my head around the idea that shed actually do it. But do it, she did. Up the billboard went, and everyone in Melbourne saw it, not just because it was on a busy freeway but because pictures of it were broadcast all over the TV. Pat had made good on her threat to call A Current Affair. Id hoped that they might say: Oh, thanks, love,
31
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

MATILDA IS MISSING

but thats not really our thing. A granny fighting over her grandkids its got to be the most common story in the world when youre dealing with divorce. But how naive am I? What they actually said was, What a brilliant idea! And can we offer to pay half the cost in exchange for an exclusive interview? Would you really? said Pat. Thats incredibly generous. Not at all! they said. What youre doing is very brave! And, if you think about it, youre not just speaking up for yourself. Youre speaking up for grandparents all over Australia who find themselves missing out on their time with the grandkids when their own kids get divorced. What youre doing, its granny power! A Current Affairs right behind me! Pat said when she put down the phone. Unlike you, Barry, they get exactly what Im trying to do. I told Pat, Theyre not behind you, or right behind anyone! Its the story theyre after. They dont care for the rights and wrongs of it. Im telling you now, this is going to make things that much worse. Theyre coming to get me, Pat said. Theyre sending a car! And so they did, and they did an interview with Pat on site weve still got the tape, which has Pat in front of this bloody enormous picture of Jett and Baxter and it was so windy Pat had to shout. Her hair was lifting, which made her look half-mad. Exclusive tonight on A Current Affair! Heartbroken granny fights for her grandchildren, and for YOURS!
32
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

CAROLINE OVERINGTON

That was how they introduced the story on the program that night. The first shot was the reporter, facing the camera with the billboard behind him, saying, A Melbourne grandmother has taken her fight to see her two grandsons to the streets of Melbourne, erecting a giant billboard on the freeway near where they go to school to show them how much she loves them, even if their mum wont let them see her! Pat was in the next shot, yelling over the traffic: I love my grandchildren and I want them to know that. I realise some people might think this is a bit extreme, but when a couple breaks up, the children shouldnt be made to suffer. Why shouldnt my boys be allowed to see their nana? Next up was an interview with a lady from Relationships Australia, saying, This does seem extreme, and we cant comment on any individual cases, but certainly its often the case that grandparents are the first ones to get cut out of the picture when a couple breaks up. But, you know, grandparents do have rights in court, and it seems to be that court might have been a better option here. Talkback radio was next to pick the story up. Who saw that story on A Current Affair last night? said the bloke who does the morning shift on 3AW. I cant say I necessarily agree with this nanas methods, but Im sure theres more than one grandparent out there who understands how upsetting it is when the family breaks up. Now, weve obviously got to be quite careful taking calls on this, but are you in a situation, or do you know of a situation, where
33
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

MATILDA IS MISSING

the grandparents are fighting for access to children after a divorce? Give us a call now. Quite a few grandparents did phone, saying, Were in exactly that situation, and its absolutely heartbreaking. Weve been to that many lawyers and had that much advice, and we feel we cant get a good hearing. I just wish wed thought to do what this ladys done. Other people called saying, You can go to court if you want, but it wont get you anywhere. The only people who win in court are lawyers. I dont know whether Nerida saw the billboard, or the story on A Current Affair, or if she only heard about them. I do know that she wasnt at all shy about going to court. She was at the Family Court that same day. Her lawyer how she could afford a lawyer, I dont know, but maybe shed organised Legal Aid told the judge that the children had been horribly embarrassed by the billboard, so much so that they didnt want to go to school because everyone was laughing at them. The point of this exercise, in our submission, your Honour, was the public humiliation of the boys mother, the lawyer said. The song and dance the story were being told is that this was all about the rights of grandparents, but what right does a grandmother have to embarrass her grandchildren, and their mother, in this very public way? There is a forum for this type of dispute, and its this court, your Honour, not the citys freeways. The court agreed and, without even hearing from us, the judge made an order that the billboard had to come
34
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

CAROLINE OVERINGTON

down, which was one thing. What was worse was that the judge said Pat had showed such poor judgement that she wouldnt be allowed to see the grandkids not just Ethan, but also Jett and Baxter without the express approval of Nerida, who was never going to give it. It was about then that Frank got in touch. Barry Harrison, he said down the phone into our old answering machine. Frank Brooks here. Why dont you and I have a couple of beers?

35
Copyright Caroline Overington 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.