‘I’m sorry you had to go through that today, but tomorrow is another one and it will all feel different in the morning.’
‘I know, Mum.’ Harper’s agreement didn’t stop her eyes blooming with tears that were hard to see.
‘Also, I’m struggling to see where the tampons fit in?’ This she said with no pun intended.
‘I knew Casey could hear me, and so I said it to Dad when we got into the car because I thought if she thought I had my period then she’d think I was cool and interesting.’
‘Oh, I see.’
It tore at her heartstrings, words spoken from a young mouth, by a child who’d had only the tiniest glimpse of the world and was trying to figure out the puzzle of life, searching for the missing pieces. She thought it prudent not to mention that she was forty, and still trying to figure it out, searching for the missing pieces. Like how to communicate better with her sister to be a bigger part of her life, how to be more tolerant of her mum, who had the ability to irritate the shit out of her, how to get closer to Evie, who she rarely saw, and how to win the lottery so she could spend every day with Midge.
‘Firstly, youarecool and interesting, and secondly, telling fibs about periods is not how to win friends. I have never, in my whole life, met anyone who wanted to bemorefriendly with someone because they had a period. I’m pretty sure I haven’t anyway.’
Harper smiled and wiped at her eyes.
‘I just wanted them to let me sit with them.’
‘I know, darling.’ She bent low and kissed her forehead, remembering how lovely it had been to always have her sister close by – company, a friend, her other half, before life had put them on different paths ... beforeshehad inadvertently put them on different paths.
A thought occurred then: had Ashleigh struggled to make friends at her new school? She wondered what it must have been like for her sister to traipse off to St. Jude’s while she and Tony got to chat on the bus as they travelled to Milton Road. It made her catch her breath. She hadn’t really considered it before, but what had it been like for Ashleigh, togged out in her new uniform, making her way to a building she had never entered, to take up a place she had been given, having had no part in the decision, the plan? Was this why they had grown apart so soon after? Her throat felt tight with all it was trying to contain.
‘I’m sure tomorrow will be better, Harps, but if you want me to speak to anyone about it, or get involved ...’
‘I don’t!’ Her response was almost panicked.
‘Okay, I won’t.’
‘Promise?’
‘Cross my heart.’ Remy made the sign on her chest. ‘Now, why don’t you wash your face and come downstairs?’
Harper nodded and sniffed.
‘My little dove.’ She liked to call her daughter by the nickname that was her and her sister’s too, a name threaded with their history, every strand woven with love.
‘Love you, Mum.’
‘And I love you, more than I can possibly ever tell you.’
‘Dinner’s ready!’ Midge hollered from the hallway. ‘Last one at the table is a loser!’
The sound of Bertie’s feet racing down the stairs was all it took for Harper to throw off her blanket and run from the room.
Remy knew there was no point in rushing and so took her time, arriving in the kitchen to see the three of them sitting around the kitchen table, all beaming in her direction.
‘Loser!’ Midge pointed at her.
‘Yep.’ She winked, took a seat, and popped a hot chip into her mouth. ‘But I’m a loser who knows where the secret chocolate is hidden.’
Ashleigh
Ashleigh waited for the gates to open before pulling into the driveway and sitting for a second or two, always a little stunned by the majesty of her beautiful home. It gave her a thrill every time she returned and took in the many windows, the beautiful craftsmanship and the fact that this was a house in a postcode beyond her wildest dreams – until it wasn’t, and Archie’s parents had gifted them the very hefty deposit that made it all possible.
Her parents’ reaction when they first saw it replayed in her mind.
‘It’s a bloody palace, Ashleigh!’ Ruthie had gasped.
‘Like a film star’s house!’ Her dad had stood in the hall and stared upwards. ‘Can’t imagine how much concrete a place like this took!’
