‘Barney – he’s my younger one – gets a little spooked by her when that happens, and he has started asking, “When is Laurie going back to her people?” He’s such a character. But given everything she’s been through, I think she is doing really, really well. Like amazingly well. And I just think she deserves the very best chance of being able to lead a normal life. Anyway, like I say I’m no expert.’
She shrugged her shoulders. Today she was wearing a cheesecloth top with a slash neckline that showed off her long throat. The two men around the table lapped her up like a dish of milk.
‘I like to think I’ve also built up a bit of a rapport with Laurie.’ Debra, Laurie’s case-worker whom we’d met during our first session with Child L, sounded usurped.
‘After all, I was the first person she met here when the police first brought her from that house.’
Nancy’s nostrils flared as if stifling a sigh, but her smile remained fixed.
‘Of course, Debra, you’ve been a real constant in Laurie’s life since she’s been with us, and I know she’s very attached to you, so we’d certainly value your input as well.’
Debra pressed her lips together and a flush of pleasure spread over her wide cheeks. Her tone, when she started speaking again, was softer.
‘I guess all I’d say is that Laurie is real keen to please. You know, you just have to ask her to do something once and she’s already jumped right up and done it. Do y’all know what I mean?’
‘And you think that bodes well for her being able to make a fresh start?’ Nancy was holding a pencil poised over a notebook but her arm was laid across the page, shielding it from my view.
Debra tilted her head and gazed thoughtfully into the middle distance before replying.
‘Yeah, I do. I think it’s got to be a good thing, doesn’t it, for a child to want to make authority figures happy. It means she’ll take her cue from the adults around her. And she’s whip-smart. She’ll learn real fast.’
I felt my pulse speeding up and my mouth went dry, but I couldn’t help myself.
‘With all due respect, I’m not sure I entirely agree. The desire to please isn’t always a positive thing. Sometimes it can be a sign that a person is sublimating their own feelings in favour of other people’s, and that’s not always what we would consider healthy, particularly given Laurie’s background. For me it’s a concern that Laurie hasn’t acted out more. This is a child who has been torn from her family, from her home, from everything she knows. I would have expected there to be more displays of anger, more challenges to authority. The fact that she is exhibiting this kind of docile behaviour that seems built around a need for adult approval makes me worry that she isn’t processing what’s happened to her but is just suppressing it because she’s learned that her real feelings aren’t valid, and, not only that, will probably get her into a whole heap of trouble. We shouldn’t underestimate the effect of exposure to extreme punishment at such an early age.’
I was long-winded in those days. Verbose. We all were. All of us women academics. We didn’t dare launch our opinions straight at people, didn’t have the confidence in our own judgements, so instead we dressed them up with flounces and fancy bows and nestled them in tissue paper so it was impossible to tell what they were without rooting around and peeling back layers. We worked twice as hard as our male contemporaries, men like Dan Oppenheimer, but then we offered up our knowledge like a present to be cast aside or else opened at leisure, its contents accepted or rejected on the whim of the recipient. On this occasion, the latter held true.
‘This is Dr Cater’s first major case study, and I’m sure I’m not alone in commending her thoroughness and commitment,’ said Ed, looking around the table with a smile. ‘As I said earlier, we’ll obviously be making sure that, whatever recommendation we arrive at, it’s in the best interests not only of Laurie herself but also whoever she’s going to come into close contact with in the coming years. So we won’t be reaching any conclusions without plenty of thought and discussion, but at the same time we completely take on board the need for a speedy resolution so that Laurie can move on to the next stage in her life, whatever that might be.’
As we stood up to shake hands around the table, I glanced down at Nancy Meade’s notepad. She’d written down each of our names – Ed, Jana, Debra, me and even George Sullivan the lawyer. Next to each name was a scribbled version of what they’d said. All except mine. Alongside Dr Anne Cater was a series of question marks.