Minnie’s World Changes
Lee wandered back into the living room when he heard Minnie’s raised voice. He came across a stand-off between mother and daughter. It looked serious. They often bickered, these two: that was their regular music. They could spar about anything – biscuits, telly, shoes, climate change – but it wasn’t ever a real worry. They read each other; they knew the battle rules: no biting, no scratching, nothing personal or permanently damaging, no cruelty. All quarrels were quick to resolve. It was over soon and easily. It took time for Lee to understand the row drill; it was so very different to his own home life, where a fight was rare, serious and unforgiven. In Hope and Minnie’s flat, you could say anything, and it wouldn’t be held against you or regarded as an eternal stain.
This, however, looked, smelled and sounded like something entirely different, and it was. Minnie was standing up, eyes glued to Hope, arms aloft with her fingers splayed, in a gesture of complete WHAT THE FUCK.
‘Sit down, Twat, you gotta hear this,’ Minnie ordered him, eyes on fire.
He didn’t argue. He sat. She continued, while Hope buried her head in her hands.
‘So. Who do you think that is sitting right there?’ She pointed at Hope.
‘What d’you mean? You couple of absolute units, whassup?’ he said, starting to be concerned.
Minnie continued, breathless with shock and creeping rage, ‘I’m being serious, bae, who is that woman, sitting there right in front of your very eyes?’
‘Umm. It’s your mum, innit?’ answered Lee timidly.
‘You see. That’s what I thought. Yeah. That’s my mum. Well. Thing is, no, WRONG! I mean, I can understand why you might think that, given the fact that she’s been my mum since … well … forfuckinevva … but turns out it’s NOT my mum! It’s some weird … imposter … pretending to be my mum. Pretending to be a mum at all!’
Minnie started to pace up and down the room, slapping her forehead in disbelief.
Lee looked at Hope, her head bowed, and back at Minnie. ‘Stop it, Curls. What’s going on?’
‘Oh, nothin’ much. Only my whole life has fallen apart.’
‘Is this about the baby?’ said Lee.
‘Not our baby, no, although God knows who the GRAMMY is really gonna be. I guess it is about A baby, yes. Me. Baby me. This woman here has just told me that she took me from the hospital the day I was born. Took me from a different room. From different parents. My … real … parents. Just took me and brought me home. Like you might pick up a shell if you’re at the seaside, and bring it home and show your family, and, like, everyone says, Oooh, nice shell, you’ve been on the beach, result.’
‘No,’ murmured Hope quietly.
‘Except, instead, you picked up a baby, and brought it home, like, Hey everyone, look what I got in London! Get a T-shirt like everyone else – I’m not a souvenir.’
‘Hang on,’ interrupted Lee, standing up. He couldn’t quite process what he was hearing. ‘What do you actually mean? Is this right? Hope? Did you nick a baby back in the day? Did you nick her? Seriously, did you?’
Hope still hung her head. She wished he wasn’t there. It was bad enough having to face the dreaded moment with Minnie, but this complicated things much more. Minnie didn’t wait for an answer; she was in full flow.
‘Nicked me. Just went in and stole me out of the cot. Bloody snatched me from right under their noses. Not yours to take. Know what you are, Mum? If I can still bloody call you that, whoever you are. YOU ARE A KIDNAPPER. That’s what you actually actually are. Like in olden days ’n’ stuff! Like pirates or something. What’s your next crime going to be? Maybe you can sell my baby when it arrives?’
‘Stop it, Min.’ Hope looked up. ‘It wasn’t like that. If you can let me explain—’
‘Nothing you can say can make this all right, Hope, nothing.’ Minnie hurled Hope’s name at her like a grenade. She had never before called her by her first name like this. Hope felt savaged by it, by her own name, by the sheer lack of mum-ness.
Minnie continued, ‘I feel like absolutely everything is upside down. Everything I know, I don’t know. Y’know, like, who am I then? Who … am I from? Not from you, clearly, but, like, who are those people? My actual parents? Where are they? Have they been looking for me? Do they know I’m even alive? You don’t just help yourself to a baby. Who does that? If I heard about it, I’d think it must be a nutter. I didn’t know you were a nutter. I thought you were normal. I’ve trusted you my whole life. Who are you, actually? You’re a steaming great liar, that’s what.
I can’t believe it.
I don’t want to believe it.
Fuck, Lee, who am I?’
And she fell into his arms, sobbing.
‘Calm down, Curls. Come on. You’re in shock, I think. It’s not good for you or the baby. Come and sit down,’ he said, encouraging her.
She was dumbfounded, and she moved as if to sit, but stood upright again, clasping her head as each fresh question, each horrific new thought occurred to her. They were swirling and tumbling through her mind, like fast-flowing water, each more troubling than the last.
‘What is my name?’ Minnie demanded.
‘Your name is
