BEGINNING TO DISINTEGRATEPart iii
Happy families, this most definitely was not. Caron’s home had begun to resemble a hostel for troubled young adults and dysfunctional drop-outs. Lorna pulled her weight, the rest of them didn’t. Ellie spent her time tending to her plastic baby’s every need, whilst Anita and Webb sat out on the patio, drinking Caron’s booze and smoking their way through their limited supply of cigarettes. Lorna had realised quickly that even though she never said anything, Caron was struggling. Similar to Ellie, she too had adopted a replacement child to help her come to terms with the loss of her own. Ellie’s was plastic and had come from a shop, but Caron’s new charge needed far more attention. Fussing over Webb seemed to be helping her cope with losing Matthew, who, Lor
