Popped bubblewrap is no good.

Mary O'Garrow.

  Pol did pull through, and she found someone.
The someone she knew, was a headstrong, confident and reassuring woman by the name of 'Mary O'Garrow.'

Mary sat infront of Cora. "Hello Cora. I'm Mary." She wasn't imposing for the young girl.

Tommy interrupted, "Any qualifications, Ms O'Garrow?"

"My husband was a psychiatrist." She flatly stated.

"Why isn't he here then?" He wasn't about to let his daughter be interviewed by a nobody.

Mary huffed, "dead."

Tommy gasped and awkwardly spat out, "Oh m'sorry." His voice faltered slightly. Somehow Thomas is always in a bloody predicament, especially in conversation.

"As I was saying, my names Mary and I'm here to help you. Your Auntie and Daddy said sometimes you go into a panic, is that right?"

The little girl nodded.

"And you see things that aren't there?"

"They are there. I'm telling ya now." She sounded serious for a six year old girl.

"Okay they are there but no one else can see them apart from you. Got it." 

Cora sniffled sadly, in a way that was almost tempting to mimic and poke fun at, "Don't mock me. I don't take kindly to being mocked. It means you think I'm pathetic."

"No no that's-"

"YOURE MEANT TO HELP!"

Tommy held her close, "She is meant to help. You're right darling. But we don't shout at people who want to help."

Cora closed her eyes and nodded. She was not a stupid little girl, though most would assume otherwise. It royally pissed her off when people made that assumption. They didn't know her, they only saw her in a moments weakness. She hated being talked down to, which is what all adults did to her. Maybe she would try Mary another day.

Polly and Mary seemed to be old friends. They chinwagged and Cora asked, "Daddy I feel okay. Can we go out to the park or somewhere?"

"I need to deal with something sorry."

A feeling of resentment started to boil up in her stomach. Daddy only talks to me when I'm not well, she concluded and stormed off.

Muttering to herself as per the norm, "I'm not even sure if Daddy came home from the war." She hopscotched down the cobbled streets of Small Heath.

Since Tommy clearly had better things to do, Mary kept an eye on her. "Eh Pol. Does she often talk to herself?"

Pol took a drag of her cigar and exhaled, "Mh. That might be what's driving her up the wall. Always talking and talking and talking."

"She's clever." Mary stated, plain as the day.

"You what? She's a nutter."

"Doesn't make her stupid. The stuff she's saying, very emotionally intelligent."

Pol found this the funniest thing she's heard all year, other than John saying he wants to go to University. "You crack on, with the ole Cora's clever thing. You crack on."