Читать книгу Our Collective Life - JD Kennedy - Страница 31

“Dianne, it is a pleasure to see you, I haven’t seen you in quite a long time.” David said, when he realised who was with him. “I take it the mother has been around, if you are out here? Did she come down for a visit?” The doctor knew that Di was specifically created to interact with the mother and rarely came out now, except for when there was contact with the mother.

“It has been a trying few days, Doctor.”

“How so?”

“Well, we have had big things happening, and so I have had to be out here more than normal, babysitting the body. As well as that yes, the mother has been contacting us again.”

“I am interested in hearing about both those things. Can you tell me about them? Either of them?”

“Well, the mother has been trying to see us, trying to arrange a time to come down. I feel like I am trying to juggle too many things, with keeping the Collective safe yet also dealing with the mother. And as I am sure you can understand, the two things do not go together.”

David clucked sympathetically. “No, I can imagine they don’t. So, how have you been handling it?”

“Not well, to be honest. The other day I just deleted her messages again, I couldn’t chance either Jo or Josephine seeing it and making plans to see her. It just isn’t a good time for them to be doing that.”

“You don’t feel a visit with the mother could be handled right now?”

“No, I don’t. It is just too much at this time.”

“Why do you think that is the case, do you know?”

“There is so much noise within at the moment. I was going to talk to Trudi, but…” Di trailed off, and went silent.

“But?” David prodded gently, knowing he still had to step somewhat carefully with Dianne. He hadn’t had anywhere near the contact with her as he had with other members of the Collective, and so in many ways, he felt like he was still getting to know her.

Di shrugged, obviously not ready to answer. David made a mental note of it and put it to one side, hoping to get back to it before the end of the session, or at least before Dianne left.

“Anyway, the mother has a bee in her bonnet about seeing us. She keeps pushing and pushing, so I guess I have to try to make it happen, although it is the last thing I want to do.”

“I gather it isn’t easy trying to arrange that?”

Di gave a little laugh. “No, not easy at all!”

David looked at her, “Why do you try so hard to make it work with her?”

Dianne looked puzzled, “Well, it’s my job. I am here to see the mother and try and keep her happy. Well,” Dianne added “as happy as possible, anyway.”

“I know that isn’t easy.”

“It can be tricky, as I constantly have this battle between keeping her happy, and keeping the Collective safe from her.”

“It sounds like a fine line to be walking.”

“Exactly! Nobody understands how difficult it is. As I said, my juggling skills are still somewhat lacking. When we have the times of not contacting her, our life is so much easier. I mean, I don’t get as much time out here, but life is better, that’s for sure. Yet every time we cut contact, she won’t accept it. She keeps sending postcards and letters, things like that.”

David nodded, he had seen that happen in the past. The Collective made the decision to have a break and not have contact with the mother, but she simply wouldn’t let them go and hounded them until someone relented.

“Do you like the mother at all?” David always wondered this, but had never had the opportunity to ask Dianne as he so rarely saw her.

Dianne was momentarily distracted by the fact that someone had actually bothered to ask about her thought or opinions. Finally she answered “Do you know, nobody has ever asked me that before? But in answer, no, I don’t and I think that is what makes my job all the harder. I can see the games she plays and the drama she likes to cause. But it is my job to keep things running as smooth as possible with her. The others get aggro with me because they think I like to have contact with her, but that isn’t true. I do it because it’s my role in life, nothing more.”

“And how are things within for you? I know you spend a great deal of your time with the teens. How are they?”

“They’re struggling at the moment. For some reason they are all being haunted by memories which is one of the main reasons I don’t want them seeing the mother right now. It has been hard to intervene in time to stop Josephine making plans to see her.”

“Josephine used to be the one to…” David struggled to find the words, and his brow furrowed for a moment while he thought. “…bow to the mothers will and demands all the time, wasn’t she?”

“Yes. Jo couldn’t cope with all the demands the mother placed on her, so Josephine would be the one to step in when the whole ‘I’m sorry, I’m such a bad daughter, you are such a wonderful mother, I’m sorry I let you down’ was needed.” She seems to genuinely feel for the mother and feels things were only so bad because we weren’t a good daughter to her.”

“Mmm. That is in such opposition to the majority of the Collective, isn’t it?”

“Sure is! I don’t know where she gets that from, but she is pretty adamant that the mother did her absolute best, and it was us who let her down, not the other way around.”

The conversation naturally lulled. David changed topics going back to what they previously touched on, asking “So, you said you were going to talk to Trudi, but it didn’t happen?”

Dianne nodded “There have been a lot of things going on at the moment, not just with the teens. I didn’t want to bother her yet.”

“What has been happening?”

“There was a meeting within and they talked about some issues.”

“You weren’t there?”

“No, I was out here, babysitting (the physical body). Oh, I nearly forgot!” Dianne rummaged around in the Collective’s bag, producing a neatly folded piece of paper. “I have a letter for you.” She handed it over to David, who thanked her and took it.

“From Trudi?” he asked, without opening the letter. Trudi nearly always communicated with David via a written letter.

“Yes. You can read it now, I don’t mind. Honest.”

“Well, I want to keep talking to you, if you don’t mind,” David said, not looking at the letter.

“You know me, I won’t be here long anyway. I do what has to happen and then I go back in. It’s ok, it’s the way it is, and I don’t mind.”

“Do you know what is in the letter?” David asked.

Di shook her head, “I have no idea, I am just the carrier pigeon. But please read it, it is obviously important.”

David nodded and, after thanking Di for her time, he unfolded the letter.