We had been in Scotland,  my son and I for well over two years,  when his mother announced she was moving to our city. I can only imagine she had burnt all her boats,  fallen out with her friends, and broken off with her boyfriend. So there was nothing left for her to do but to move closer to her son. I don't think she was doing it for his sake. Naturally I was suspicious when she first told me,  as she was not known for her ability to  follow through with her stated intentions.

Needless to say she did finally move,  all be it three months after she first said she was arriving. Now for my son this was a great thing,  he was only happy about the prospect of her moving. For me though I was starting to feel a little nervous about what it would be like to have her so close. I thought it better that she did not come to our house, ( we had moved by this time ) it would just be too confusing for my son. It was May of 2010 when she moved,  my son was nine by this time. Above all I wanted to protect him from any hurt, I did not want to exposes him to any friction between his mother and I,  and I also had to hide from him the hurt I felt,  the truth was I was angry at his mother for not trying hard enough to except his autism, angry at her obvious embarrassment when she discussed him and his challenges.

Ever willing to give her a second chance I set about involving her in his life,  not just as a mum but also as another supporter for his daily challenges with autism. I was doing this primarily for my son,  if she could have a positive input into his life then it was all to the good. Until she was fully settled I was more than willing to ferry my son around dropping him off and collecting him. Also accommodating her schedule while she searched for work and a more permanent place to live. I got her up to speed with my sons progress,  told her all about the many different good people involved in his life,  all of them making a positive contribution and  helping him over come those  challenges.

At first it seemed things were going well, she found a job and a nice place to live and was seeing our son two or three times a week. I was even able to start a night class, which I attended while she was with my son. But after a few short months her life again began to unravel ..