Free End of the Alphabet by Fleur Beale

to my lips. He nodded and sidled closer to me.
    Max chucked the dishcloth into the sink. ‘Satisfied? Can we get this charade over with? I’ve got work to do.’
    ‘Tessie, it’ll be all right,’ Calvin said. ‘Let’s go, Max.’
    Max heaved one of his Hollywood sighs and stomped out the door.
    Mum collapsed onto the sofa. She was still crying. The boys huddled beside her. This was all my fault. If I hadn’t gone looking for my backbone, Mum wouldn’t be howling her eyes out, Calvin wouldn’t have to deal with Max, the kids wouldn’t be upset. And I’d have no life.
    ‘Mum. I’m sorry.’
    She didn’t look up, just kept sobbing with her head in her hands. ‘It’s all my fault. I’ve spoilt him.’ She could hardly get the words out. ‘Calvin kept telling me, but I wouldn’t listen. I’m the one who’s sorry, Ruby.’
    I didn’t know what to do. She cried as if her heart was breaking. Davey looked at me and whimpered, ‘Ruby?’
    Theo sucked his thumb. He’d stopped doing that a year ago.
    I picked him up and sat down beside Mum with Theo on my knee. ‘Don’t cry, Mum. You’re a good mother. You
are
. Please don’t cry.’
    She stopped. It was a superhuman effort, but she did it. ‘I need to blow my nose,’ she mumbled.
    Davey leapt up and raced for the box of tissues.
    When she’d mopped herself up, she wrapped the three of us up in a hug. ‘You’re such good kids. I don’t deserve you.’
    ‘You do! We want you.’ Theo wriggled off my knee onto Mum’s.
    She looked exhausted. ‘Ruby, love — I could murder a cup of tea.’
    I made her one. She
was
a good mother. I wouldn’t change her. I poured the water into her favourite big mug, took her the tea and said, ‘Mum — you were only two years older than I am now when you got pregnant with me. You were so
young
.’
    She took the mug and wrapped her hands around it. ‘It’s not the best way of doing things, Ruby. I wouldn’t want you to do the same.’
    Not much chance of that. No boy even looked at me.
    Mum drank the tea then read to the boys. I did the dishes and wondered how Calvin was getting on with Max. I’d give my current bank balance to be able to listen in. No, I wouldn’t. I’d earned that money and I wasn’t going to waste it.
    We put the kids to bed. Theo was clingy. Davey was quiet.
    Mum and I watched telly. Well, we turned it on, but neither of us could concentrate. ‘They’re such a long time!’ Mum said.
    The kids had been asleep for ages by the time they came back.
    Max came into the lounge. ‘Sorry, Mum.’ Then he gave me a lightning glance. ‘Sorry, Ruby.’ He scuttled off to his room, his head down.
    I stared after him. His eyes were red. Max had been crying?
    Calvin sank down on the sofa beside Mum. He stretched out and closed his eyes.
    Mum took his hand. ‘Calvin? Are you okay?’
    He opened one eye. ‘That lad of ours, Tessie, is hard work.’
    That lad of
ours
. We were so lucky to have Calvin.
    Mum’s mouth wobbled, but she didn’t cry. ‘Max …?’
    ‘Max will be okay, Tessie. He’s just been pushing the limits. He’s found out where they are now.’ He yawned. ‘We’ll see how he goes.’
    I went to bed.
    The next day was Friday. When Davey and I got home after school, Max was there. He growled, ‘Calvin’s making me cook tonight, so you can stop the
I do all the work
act.’
    I sighed. Whatever had made him cry last night had worn off. ‘Grow up, Max.’ We left him to it. I put one of the Portuguese CDs in my player. Before dinner that night, Davey and I learned how to say
excuse me, thank you,
and
I am an American man.
That would be useful. Not.
    We didn’t tell anybody else what we were doing.
    Max yelled at me to set the table.
    I switched off the player. ‘Come on, Davey. Let’s show him what stars we are.’
    We had that table set before Max could yell a second time. It pissed him off. I wished we could be friends. He hadn’t been nice to me once since I found my