Daddy’s Little Princess by Cathy Glass

Author:Cathy Glass [Glass, Cathy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Personal Memoirs, General
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2014-03-26T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Are You Happy Here?

After a lovely day at my parents’ on Sunday, John left early on Monday morning for another week working away. He said goodbye to me in bed and then stole silently from the house so he didn’t wake the children. I climbed out of bed and went to the window so I could wave him off. It was still dark outside and a frost had settled during the night. I hoped John would telephone to say he had arrived safely, but I knew it wasn’t always possible with all his work commitments.

Like many parents, I find my children are reluctant to get up on a Monday morning, especially after a great weekend. This Monday was no exception. When I woke Paula she grumbled she was ‘too tired to get dressed’ and told me I should leave her in bed while I took Beth and Adrian to school, which she knew wasn’t an option. Beth also groaned when I woke her. ‘It’s still night-time,’ she said, screwing her eyes tightly closed. And when I woke Adrian he mumbled something about breakfast and then turned over and went back to sleep. I gently shook his shoulder and told him he’d have to get up to have breakfast.

I helped Paula dress and we went downstairs. Adrian and Beth came down later than they should have done for a school day, and I had to chivvy them along so we weren’t late. After very quick washes and teeth brushing we were in the car and arrived in the playground with a few minutes to spare. A friend of Adrian’s called him and he ran over to play, while Beth stayed with Paula and me. I noticed Jenni and her mother standing not so far from us. Jenni kept looking over longingly, as if she would have liked to talk to Beth. I threw her a reassuring smile, but her mother saw and turned her back on me, then turned Jenni away. Fortunately, Beth didn’t see. I really couldn’t understand why the woman was being so hostile to me when all I’d done was uphold Derek’s wishes and refuse to be drawn into a derogatory discussion about him. I hoped it wasn’t rubbing off on Jenni.

‘Do you still play with Jenni?’ I asked Beth.

‘Sometimes,’ she said.

‘And she’s nice to you? She hasn’t said any more hurtful things?’

‘No. She’s OK, but I play with my other friends more.’

‘You could invite one of them to tea this week,’ I suggested, as I would to any child I fostered.

‘I’m not allowed to,’ Beth said. ‘Daddy wouldn’t like it.’

Clearly, not only was Beth not allowed to go to friends’ houses, she also couldn’t invite friends home. Although I didn’t agree with Derek’s views on this – children need to socialize – I decided that, with everything else going on, now wasn’t the time to raise the subject with Jessie. Although I did wonder what Beth thought about Adrian and Paula visiting friends and having friends home, which, like many children, they did regularly.

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