Why We Are Where We Are

On the 2nd of August 2013 we entered into the parental alienation abyss.

Sonny left us and he never came back.

In the years leading upto this day things had only got better with Sonny, he had everything we could possibly give him, he was the prince of the family.

By this time the plan for the weekend was always that when I collected him from Sheffield on a Friday I would take him straight to my Mum & Dad’s as it was always getting late and he would stay there for the night, and the next day he would stay with me.

I had a penthouse apartment in the City Centre of Manchester, it was 2 bedrooms and Sonny had his own room.

He had stayed with us many times at the apartment and loved his room and when I’d collect him from my folks on the Saturday we’d spend all day together.

Sonny had an excellent relationship with my partner. She’s still my partner today and is an amazing woman. When I first talked to her in detail about Sonny I could tell she was a little unsure about how to be with him. I told her one thing “just be his friend’……Sonny had a Mum he didn’t need anyone else trying to be that. I said, he’s a lovely little lad and he’ll always come first but I’m sure you’ll get along well, and get along well they did! They were a great duo!

I remember the first time they met, we decided to go to the cinema. I can’t remember what we went to watch but Sonny was completely unfazed and my Mrs was a natural with him.

We got to the cinema and we were a bit a late so we got the tickets and my Mrs said “you two go in and I’ll get all the drinks and popcorn”….so in we went.

After we found our seat we sat down and the kids trailers were running -  I can’t remember what it was but Sonny turned to me and said…”I don’t like it”….got up and started walking out the cinema room!

Just as he’d got out of his seat to march towards the exit my Mrs appeared loaded down with drinks, popcorn and snacks and as she’s walking up the stairs I could see the smile on her face turn to bewilderment and confusion as Sonny was heading towards her and I’m closely behind!

That day we sat outside the cinema and ate all our snacks in the seating area. We weren’t bothered, it’s was quiet funny but that was the day Sonny and my Mrs formed a really close friendship to the point that if I ever asked him to do anything the first thing he would say is “will your friend  be there"!

In fairness to Sarah she never got into my grill about Sonny being around my partners, I think over this period Sonny met 2 of my long term girlfriends. They both looked after him and I’m pretty sure Sarah knew that Sonny was above and beyond anybody for me so I would only ever let him be around a positive environment.

In 2012 we all went on holiday, me Sonny and my Mrs. We went to North Africa and had a great time together. I remember thinking how would Sonny be with just us and without my family but he was fine. The first night we got there it was late and dark. I’d booked us into a beautiful hotel but because it was so dark you couldn’t really see what it was or where we were. Sonny had his own room and I remember he got a bit upset and said he wanted to go back to Grandad Ray and Nana. I knew what it was he was tired. So I said, I tell you what – me and you will sleep here tonight so you’re not on your own. We just lay in bed for hrs talking about City. I remember promising him “you’ll feel better tomorrow Sonny, it’s just you’re a bit too tired and it’s dark, you’re gonna love the hotel”. And he did, the next morning came and he was ready for his holiday.

I went reception and got us a room change so we could be overlooking the pool. We'd go to breakfast first them straight to the pool for the day – all day every day!

The hotel itself was in like a walled square where all the entertainment and restaurants were. Being North Africa there was shisha pipes everywhere. I remember one night in a bar me and my Mrs got a pipe. Sonny was fascinated with it and literally mithered the life out of me to let him have a puff!

He pestered and pestered me where he got me to the point of thinking "what can one puff do"! He was literally mithering me into submission.

So I put it on his Mum! I said “Look I’m gonna ring your Mum, and tell her that you want to puff a shisha pipe and if she says you can then you can”!

So we rang her and obviously she said “no you bloody can’t” and that was the end of it!

I’ve got loads of brilliant photo’s and video’s from that holiday, it’s where the “Does Joleon Lescott have a sister” came from!

So in essence everything was good with Sonny, he was happy and we were always looking to the future with him.

There were a few signs though that things were starting to change in 2013.

Only a month after we’d been to Wembley to watch City in the FA Cup final we were going out for the day. It was the 8th of June. We were heading to the coast on a beautiful day……Out of nowhere Sonny said to me “my Nanny says you’re stupid”. We were in the car on the motorway. My Mrs looked at me as if to say, don’t say anything. I couldn’t resist, I tried to question Sonny about why would she say that to him but between silences Sonny would just say “I don’t know”.

That sickened me and was an obvious example to me that Margaret was still trying her best to f**k things up between me and Sonny. That’s how bitter she was.

That day was a difficult day with Sonny, for some reason he was being hard to deal with. We went to the beach for the day and if I’m honest his attitude towards me was a bit disrespectful. It all seemed to come at once and I spent pretty much all my time that day trying to work out what was going on.

My Mrs was a champion, she ensured the day didn’t ended up in me driving Sonny back to Dronfield to find out what the f**k I’d just had to listen to.

And 6 weeks later he was gone, only to ever been seen again fleetingly in a CAFCASS office where they forced Sarah to bring him in for a contact visit.

What came 6 weeks later was in essence the last we ever saw of Sonny, something that should never have happened after all those years of building our relationship back up was smashed into a million pieces – over 4017 days ago.

Someone wanted a shisha pipe!

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