I didn’t realize I was staring with my mouth open until Hannah said, “Maddy, close your mouth or you’ll catch flies.”
I closed it and struggled to find the right words, but once again, Hannah came to the rescue.
She patted Fiona Danielson on the back. “Now, now. Maybe you’d feel better if you got it off your chest.”
Fiona sniffed. “I’ve known Leroy’s father my whole life. He was always a smooth talker. My mum used to say he could talk the cherries right off the tree.” She shook her head. “Well, she was right. I was pregnant with Leroy before I graduated from secondary school. But his father wasn’t interested in settling down, being a proper dad, and being saddled with a wife. Thankfully, I graduated before I was showing too much. I met James, Leroy’s stepfather … stepfather doesn’t express it well enough. He was more of a dad to Leroy than Edward ever was.” She paused for a few moments and then continued. “Anyway, James was stationed at Lakenheath Air Force Base in Suffolk, England. He was so tall and handsome and kind.” She smiled. “All the girls were jealous, but for some reason, he fell for me.” She paused and then quickly hurried on. “We got married and moved to the States. He didn’t even mind the idea of raising another man’s child. Leroy came along, and I didn’t think my life could get any better. Leroy was a chubby little thing, and James loved him so much … he loved both of us. He’s named after his dad, you know. James Leroy Danielson.”
I tried to imagine Leroy as a chubby baby, but I couldn’t. I was going to need to see a picture. “Wait, Leroy’s name is James?”
Fiona nodded. “His father said it would be confusing if both of them were James, and he hated Jimmy. So, we always called him Leroy.”
“Amazing the things you learn talking to someone’s mother,” Tyler joked.
“Please go on,” I said.
“Those first few years were amazing. But then James died. He was a pilot, and there was an accident.” She turned to stare at Hannah. “That’s why Leroy won’t fly to this day.”
I didn’t know Leroy was afraid to fly.
“Suddenly, I felt lost. I was a widow in a strange country with a small child. James didn’t have any family to speak of. And I didn’t know how to do anything except be a wife and a mother. I never went to university … girls didn’t much back then. Anyway, I felt overwhelmed. I tried to make a go of it for a few years, but it just got to be too much. That’s when I packed up and went home. Leroy didn’t want to go. He didn’t want to leave his school and his friends … but I didn’t know how else to make things work.”
I didn’t know Leroy grew up in the United Kingdom. I was really going to need to spend more time talking to him.
“Things in England were worse. My parents weren’t used to an energetic youngster running around the house, and kids can be cruel. They made fun of his American accent.” She stared at her plate. “He felt lonely and lost. So, I set out to find myself a husband and Leroy a father. I married the first man who asked me and looked able to support us. He was the town GP.”
“What’s a GP?” Hannah asked.
“General practitioner,” Fiona said. “Horace Lee-Smythe was the town doctor.”
I couldn’t help but think of the similarities. I used to want to marry a doctor too.
“At first, I thought Horace would be the answer to all of my prayers. He was a doctor from a good family. But I’d just gone from one bad situation to another. Horace drank. He drank a lot. When he drank, he got violent. At first, he just yelled, but it didn’t take long before it went from verbal abuse to physical abuse. He resented Leroy because he was another man’s son, and despite his medical knowledge, he blamed me for not giving him a son. Leroy hated it. He hated his stepfather, and he hated me for marrying him and not being strong enough to leave.”
April wiped away a tear and then reached over and squeezed Fiona’s hand. “Leaving an abusive situation isn’t easy. I know.”
The two of them shared a look that spoke volumes.
“It wasn’t long before I started drinking too. I drank to forget. I drank to give myself an excuse for all of the bad things that were happening.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
She paused for a few moments. “I was an alcoholic, so I deserved to be punished. It made the abuse my own fault.” She shook her head. “It’s taken five years of therapy for me to understand why I did what I did. Anyway, Leroy couldn’t stand it. He hated the way Horace treated me. He spent as little time as possible at home.”
“What about his biological father?” I asked.
“He had a gambling problem. He only remembered he had a son when he needed money.” She paused. “I went from one addict to another. At the time, I didn’t realize that gambling was going to be the lesser of the evils, but …” She shrugged. “Anyway, Horace and I used to argue all the time. When Leroy was about thirteen, he came home and interrupted one of our rows. Horace threw a bottle at me.” She pulled back her hair and turned for us to see her scar. “That’s when I got this. Well, Leroy flew into a rage. Honestly, I’ve never seen him so angry. He just lit into his stepfather like a tornado. I didn’t think he would stop … I thought he would …” She choked back a sob.
We waited until she composed herself enough to continue.
She took a deep breath. “One of the neighbors called the police. It took five of them to pull Leroy away. I guess all the years of pent-up rage and frustration all came out at one time.” She sniffed. “Horace was badly hurt, but he recovered. He put up charges against Leroy. He even tried to get him charged as an adult. He made false claims saying he was a juvenile delinquent and that he’d inherited his violent temper from his birth father. I was at my wit’s end when some of James’s friends from Lakenheath read about the incident in the papers. They paid for one of the best solicitors and involved the U.S. consulate because James was American and Leroy was born in America. I even put James’s name on his birth certificate. At the time, I didn’t think I’d ever see Edward again. In the end, the solicitors worked out a deal. I wouldn’t prosecute Horace for beating me if he reduced the charges against Leroy. Leroy spent a month in a youth detention facility, but then served six months of probation with community service. When his probation was up, he told me he was going home to the United States one way or another.” She shook her head. “One of James’s friends said he’d help him. I pleaded with Leroy not to go, but he was determined.”
“Who was the friend?” I asked. I would have bet money that I knew who she was going to name.
“Michael Portman.”
I would have lost that bet. “Michael Portman? He never mentioned that he knew Leroy or Leroy’s father, and Michael was in the Army, not the Air Force.”
“Michael Portman, Senior,” Fiona said. “Dr. Portman’s father.”
