Story Seven - Window

I arrived for a visit one afternoon to see one of the windows at the front of the house all boarded up.

I'm ashamed to say that my first reaction was for my heart to sink as the thought appeared: "Oh no - what has he done now?"

When I was let in, Steven was upstairs in the toilet but the living room was full of people - managers, staff, Steven's support worker and two of the other inmates.

Deciding to take the bull by the horns, I asked brazenly: "What happened to the window?"

Everybody was a bit sheepish and the manager replied: "Bit of an accident today - nothing to do with Steven".

Steven came bounding down the stairs - "Dad - Dad - Eunice had her silly head on this morning".

The manager int erupted him and ushered both Steven and I into the dining room and shut the door on us. We got on with discussing matters of life and death - Did Vince Clark go to Erasure before Depeche Mode? And why you must wear a T shirt in the car or else the seatbelt might scratch your nipples. Normal Steven Neary conversation.

When I reasoned the coast was clear, I pressed him more about Eunice's silly head but all Steven would say was that Eunice and Gordon were shouting "very massive loud".

After I left, Steven's regular support worker caught me up and told me they had all been instructed to keep quiet on the incident. But that morning, two members of staff, Eunice and Gordon had a blazing row and Eunice picked up  a heavy folder and threw it at Gordon. It missed Gordon by a mile and went smash through the window. All witnessed by Steven and the other guys in the Unit. And no consequences for Eunice or Gordon.

When I got home, there was another report from the Unit waiting for me. It was the latest month's log of "challenging behaviour that needed further assessment". In a hospital. In Wales, 250 miles away.

But I guess if the cap fits......

#107days #justiceforLB