The Men's Camp

Chapter 16 Maria - Reunion

Although more than ten years had passed, seeing Sue again took Maria straight back to those awful days before she quit her job. Sue had changed quite a bit. She was well-dressed, her hair was blow-dried and a pretty blonde colour. Oblivious to the look on Maria's face, Rissy waved her over and introduced her to all the new parents, including Sue.

"Hi Sue" Maria said guardedly. Sue looked hard at her, trying to place her face. There was confusion in her eyes. Maria waited until the food and coffee arrived before sidling over to Sue and explaining who she was. Sue looked a little shocked at their reunion.

"I am not that person anymore" she stated, and Maria had to agree. Sue seemed to have changed her life for the better with a son starting school and a clean and drug free lifestyle.

"It's great to see you again anyway" Maria said, and she meant it. She hadn't thought about Sue for such a long time but for a while after she left her job, she had wondered what had become of her. Mike kept her updated on the case and she knew that they had never found Bella who it seemed, disappeared without a trace. The fact that Maria had lost a baby around the same time Bella disappeared, made it something she remembered each year, and in many ways, Sue was a part of that anniversary.

After the coffee break, everyone headed off to enjoy a few quiet hours before it was time to do the afternoon pick up. Sue walked back to her home, just a few streets over from the school. Her house was old but had a large block of land and lots of shady trees around it. Ollie's father had purchased the property when she found out she was pregnant, but when Ollie was a baby, they broke up and he left her the house. Lucky for her, his family was also rich, so a family trust paid her a considerable amount of money each month for child support. She sighed as she looked around the beautiful wood panelled living room with large windows looking into the garden.

Sue's life was never going to be great. Her father left before she was born, and her mother was an alcoholic. Needless to say, her childhood was troubled and sad, followed by confused teenage years. Some of the friends she made in high school introduced her to drugs and when she realised how good it felt to be high, there was no turning back. Over the next few years, she drifted around different houses, men and groups of friends. Some tried to save her, but she didn't want to change. When she was high, she felt great. Nothing mattered to her. All the bad things were forgotten and replaced by joy.

When she was in her early twenties, she got pregnant with Bella. It was an accident. But she loved Bella's father and he wanted to take care of them. It was like a romantic fairy tale and she felt like her knight in shining armour had arrived. Her husband, Dean helped her detox from the drugs. He earned good money from his building business, so he paid for her rehab costs and build them a beautiful home. Throughout her pregnancy, she stayed clean. All of a sudden, there was someone else to think about. Someone who was as vulnerable as she had once been. So, Sue worked hard to get off drugs and stay off them for as long as she could. It wasn't until after the birth that she changed because of the depression. How could she function as a happy, loving mother when she didn't want to get out of bed, and she thought about suicide continually?

Her doctor said it was 'baby blues' but Sue knew it was more. Dean was working long hours as well, but even when he was home, he was distant. Always on his telephone, checking messages and writing something. She began to suspect him of cheating, but when she said it to him, he turned abusive and hit her so hard she thought she would pass out. After a while, she knew he had another woman and he didn't love her anymore. It hurt so much to leave him, but she did. Taking Bella one day when he was at work, she took a Greyhound bus as far away from that fairy tale life as she could go.

Her relapse came quickly although she tried to continue her life as usual.

Bella grew up in worsening circumstances as her mother's life crumbled. Sometimes, Sue lashed out at her. That was something Sue could never forget. That she had been a bad mother. A neglectful and selfish mother. A mother who was so high all the time, that when her daughter went missing, she couldn't even tell the detective what she was wearing or when exactly she had last seen her.

Yes, that life had been awful, but she had put it behind her. Now she had Ollie, a home and child support from her ex. As long as she stayed on the straight and narrow, she could forget the ugliness of the past. She hoped that this new life, the way she raised her son, would be her redemption. She had worked so hard to put her troubled past behind her and now it was going to be waiting at the school gate twice a day.