A wave Stole Their Daddy
Becky was heavily pregnant when tragedy struck
He was caught in a riptide, pulled under the water...
Staring at the two blue lines, my heart thumped. ‘Babe, will you come upstairs?’ I shouted to my partner Nathan Cooper, 25.
‘What’s up?’ he smiled, bounding into the bathroom.
Shaking, I showed him the positive pregnancy test.
‘We’re having another baby,’ I told him.
It was December last year, and me and Nathan – nicknamed Beano – already had three kids under 4.
I’d fallen pregnant with Kaiden, 3, just weeks after we’d met at a house party.
Freya, 2, had quickly followed, then Nathan Junior, 1, in August 2015.
I loved our big, happy family, but I had my hands full.
‘How will we cope?’ I asked Beano, panicking.
But Beano broke into a grin. ‘Well, I always wanted to have a football team,’ he joked.
Beautiful mayhem
Beano was a joker. Confident and fun, he loved mountain biking, skating. He was all action, and a big kid at heart. Plus, he was an amazing dad. ‘It’ll be OK. We’re going to be fine,’ I realised.
As my bump grew, I revelled in the chaos of our big family.
Kaiden, Freya and baby Nathan would bomb around the house, chucking cushions, laughing and shouting, diving over furniture.
And always, in the middle of the mayhem, I’d find Beano.
‘You’re worse than the children!’ I’d giggle.
When we found out we were having boy, we picked the name Riley.
‘I can’t wait to meet him,’ Beano grinned, rubbing my tummy.
On Father’s Day in June this year, the kids surprised Beano with some new skates and money towards a bike.
‘Brilliant!’ he smiled, starting yet another game of rough-andtumble with the littl’uns.
We spent a lovely day together. And, that evening, Beano went out with his mates.
He still had his old flat, so arranged to stay there that night and come back early the next morning.
‘I’ve got an antenatal appointment,’ I reminded him. ‘You need to be back to look after the kids.’
‘Promise,’ he grinned, kissing me goodbye.
He’s late...
Only, next morning, there was no sign of him.
I tried his phone, called his friends. Nothing.
The time of my appointment was getting closer.
I’m going to miss it, I thought crossly.
So I piled the kids into the car, and drove to Beano’s flat. Only, he wasn’t there either. A knot tightened in my stomach… Where is he?
My appointment time came and went. Back home, I was all ready to give Beano a
Sweet riley will never meet his dad...
I felt so empty ...lost in a black hole of grief
piece of my mind. When he bothers to
show up! I thought. Still, it wasn’t like him to be unreliable…
About 1.30pm, there was a knock at the door. Two police officers were standing on the step.
‘What’s happened?’ I stuttered.
‘I’m afraid there’s been an accident,’ one said.
In horror, I listened as he told me Beano had been swept off a slipway into the River Mersey early that morning.
He’d been caught in a riptide, pulled under the water, and had disappeared beneath the waves.
The coastguard had launched a search-and-rescue operation, but Beano still hadn’t been found.
In shock, I couldn’t take it in. ‘We believe Nathan has drowned,’ the officer said.
‘You must’ve made a mistake,’ I stuttered. It can’t be true.
I was expecting our fourth child. Beano couldn’t be gone!
‘What are the chances he’ll still be found alive?’ I asked, desperate.
But the police officer just shook his head gravely. ‘None, my love,’ he said. Still unable to accept it, I took the kids to my mum Nicola’s.
She wrapped her arms around me. He’ll be fine, I told myself as the hours dragged by.
When the search was called off the next day, reality hit and I fell apart.
We went down to the waterfront where the accident had happened.
Friends and strangers had left flowers and notes, and I sobbed reading them all.
A lady who’d seen it happen spoke to me.
I knew Beano and three of his mates had gone to sit by the sea and chill out after being out all night.
But she told me that, as Beano walked down the slipway, a wave had come from nowhere, pulling him under.
He’d been thrashing in the water, terrified, panicking, screaming for help.
The RNLI had pulled out his friend, who’d frantically tried to save him, but Beano had already been swept away. Just like that. Gone. It didn’t feel real. How could he be here one minute – larger than life – and gone forever the next?
Broken
Telling the kids broke me.
‘Daddy has gone to Heaven,’ I wept. ‘But you’ll see him in your dreams.’
The older two cried and cried. Baby Nathan didn’t understand what’d happened, of course, but he’d sit on the stairs every night, waiting for his daddy to come home. Heartbreaking.
At 34 weeks pregnant, I tried to stay strong.
But I felt empty, lost in a black hole of grief.
Doctors worried the baby had stopped growing as a result of the stress. So, at
38 weeks, I had a Caesarean.
Family watched the kids, while Mum came to Arrowe Park Hospital to hold my hand.
As they handed me my perfect son, Riley, 6lbs 8oz, I should’ve felt happy, but
I was just broken.
Beano had been so excited to meet his new boy.
Now he never will, I thought. Riley’s the spitting image of his daddy, so I’ve named him Riley Beano.
Three months on, Beano’s body still hasn’t been found, but an inquest was held and the coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death.
We’re now campaigning to have lifebelts installed by the slipway.
For now, I’m stuck in limbo, unable to move on until we can hold a funeral, say goodbye.
Our families have been a huge support, and Kaiden, 4, is my rock.
‘I’ll be the man of the house now, Mummy,’ he promised.
He, Freya, 3, Nathan Jr, 2, and Riley Beano, 2 months, are the reason I get up every day.
They were Beano’s world. So I’ll make sure the kids know how much he loved them.
And Beano will live on through them all.