Married By Christmas by Scarlett Bailey Page B

stick up the bum. Now, let me get this straight, the wedding isn’t completely off, it’s just postponed while Tom gets someone to track this stripper down?’
    ‘Yes, well try to at least,’ Liv said, trying to remember exactly what Martha had told them earlier that afternoon, clearly relishing every terrible moment. ‘According to that dreadful Martha woman, UK law states that because Tom hasn’t seen or heard from her for more than five years he can divorce her without her consent, but he has to show a judge that he’s
tried
to find her and with a reasonable amount of effort and time, which isn’t looking her up on Facebook or Twitter, which she isn’t on, anyway, not under her last known name, Tom says. Even under Nevada law, where he could get the marriage annulled without her signature, the law
still
requires him to do a due diligence search for her, which takes at least six weeks. And the wedding is only a week away. The only way he could get everything sorted in time would be to take the papers to her and get her to sign them in person, which he can’t do because …’
    ‘He doesn’t know where the slapper is,’ Angela finished for her, adding sadly, ‘
What
a pickle. Poor Anna, I bet she’s in a state. She hasn’t called me.’
    ‘I’m so worried about her, Mum,’ Liv said. ‘You remember, when she first came to stay with us, that first Christmas? When she was still so quiet from living in the care home, still missing her mum, even after what she did to her. Remember, how she sat there with that little pinched white face, while we all pulled crackers around her and showered her with presents she didn’t want, because all she wanted was her mum? Remember how I begged you to take her in for the holidays because she was just so … broken? And what started out as a two-week stay ended up as for good, you and Dad jumping through hoops to be approved as foster carers, everything we went through to see her finally rebuild herself, fragment by fragment?’
    ‘I do remember,’ Angela said fondly. ‘And I’ve never been more proud of you, putting a girl you barely knew before yourself at Christmas time and taking her in so willingly as your sister. And I’ve never regretted it for a moment. Anna is as dear to me as you and Simon, if only she felt like she was part of our family, as if she could lean on me and your father. All these years and she still says “thank you for having me” after she’s been for a visit, like she’s just a guest and not our daughter.’
    It was true, although Liv, Simon and her parents had taken Anna into their hearts, it was always Anna who remained slightly apart from her foster family, even to this day, as if she expected them to reject her at any moment if she put a foot wrong.
    ‘The thing is,’ Liv said.‘The thing is, that little pale girl at the Christmas table, that’s what she looks like now, Mum, only worse. Back then I could always make her laugh. Now she looks like the world’s crumbled away from beneath her feet. And it has in a way; all Anna has ever had is her life plan. And suddenly that’s all gone wrong. I don’t know what to do, Mum. It’s even worse than the Regina Clarkson incident.’
    ‘Right, I’m coming down,’ Angela said.
    ‘No, no, don’t come. There’s nothing you can do, I just … I don’t know what to say to her.’
    There was a long silence on the other end of the phone while Angela thought.
    ‘The thing is, this is Anna. I’ve looked after her since she was nine years old and I know that no matter how much you want to make things right for her she won’t let you. Her independence has been her survival tool, it’s what’s kept her together. We need to let her do what she has to do and be there for her when she needs us. I know it’s hard for you to stand by … My little Olivia, always wanting to fix things, always bringing in strays and wounded animals, taking care of everyone but herself … and her womanly needs.