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herself at us as she always did on her visits to the garage. But she was behaving differently this time, playing the traumatized young wife for the benefit of the watching nurse. It didn’t last long. Her grief changed to anger as soon as we were left alone round the bed. I could see from her furious face that she certainly wasn’t pleased to see Marie.
    ‘What the fuck are you doing here?’ she snarled as soon as the nurse was out of earshot. ‘He’s my fucking husband, not yours.’
    There was nothing Marie could say in her defence. Because they were still officially married Mum was Dad’s next of kin and the nurses and doctors had to deal with her when it came to talking about Dad’s condition and asking for decisions. It didn’t make any difference to them that he had been about to divorce her. Marie was cut out completely from all the medical information and from all the arrangements, which obviously pleased Mum. As long as Dad was unconscious she had complete power over all of us.
    Although I didn’t realize it at the time, Dad was only alive because of the life support machine.
    ‘Anyway, the doctors have told me there’s no way he’s going to pull through,’ Mum said. ‘They think it’s time to turn the machine off, but the final decision is up to me.’
    Marie gave a gasp and put her hand to her mouth. ‘No, Lesley. Please don’t. Don’t give up hope. There might still be a chance.’
    I clung to Marie’s arm, trying to make sense of what they were saying, but I knew from the look on Mum’s face that she had made up her mind about something. Something important.
    ‘He was no good as a husband before and he’s certainly no good to me now.’ Mum was revelling in her ability to make such a life and death decision about the man who she believed had betrayed her so badly, enjoying the ultimate revenge, no longer bothering to keep up any pretence at being the grieving widow.
    ‘He was divorcing you,’ Marie protested. ‘He was living with me. I’m his next of kin, not you. I should make the decision.’
    ‘I’m his legal wife,’ Mum screamed, making heads turn and bringing the nurses running to calm things down. ‘You’re just his whore!’
    Marie tried to explain the situation to the nurses and one of them ran off to find a doctor, but it was no good.If Dad had been able to speak he would have said that he wanted Marie to handle everything and Mum to be nowhere near the place, but there was no way he was ever going to speak again. Marie realized there was nothing she could do, that Mum had the law on her side, but still she tried to plead with the staff.
    ‘It’s my decision,’ Mum insisted to the doctor, ‘and I say turn him off!’
    Overcome with grief Marie kept fighting back even though she probably knew she didn’t have a chance of changing Mum’s mind, begging her to think again, but Mum was becoming angrier and angrier that Marie was daring to challenge her decision. The argument escalated into more and more noise until hospital security had to be called to stop them resorting to blows and Marie was told she would have to leave the premises.
    ‘You can leave him here with me,’ Mum said, gesturing towards me. I shrank as far behind Marie as I could.
    ‘No way. He’s staying with me,’ Marie insisted, gripping my hand tightly. ‘It’s what William would have wanted.’
    She knew that Dad would never have wanted me to go back there and she was already frightened of what Mum would do once she got me alone. Knowing she had the law on her side, Mum asked the hospital staff to call the police. There was no way she was going to allow Marie to keep something that was hers, even though shedidn’t really want me herself. Marie stood firm and we all waited as the staff circled nervously around us.
    When the police arrived they separated the two women off into different rooms and interviewed Marie first. I clung to her as she tried to explain how Dad had been allowed to have