My Secret Brothers by Sally Herbert

Author:Sally Herbert
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Canada
Published: 2022-03-30T00:00:00+00:00

Then one day she was released and, somehow, we slotted back into our normal routine, whatever normal was, although she was now convinced that Dad was trying to have her put away permanently.

“He wants rid of me so he can get himself another woman,” she told me confidentially. “He thinks because I’ve got no mother and no one to look out for me, he can do as he likes because no one will ever know.”

I was waiting at the school gates, some weeks later, wondering where Mum was, when one of the mothers came over to let me know Mum was not going to be able to meet me.

“Yer mother’s helping some bloke who’s collapsed down near the library,” she said, trying to be helpful.

I picked up my little black plastic attaché case and anxiously rushed along to find her. When I reached the library, I was surprised to find a crowd surrounding my mother as she knelt down on the paving stones and her coat was folded under the man’s head. He’d had an epileptic fit and Mum was attending to him by putting her door keys in his mouth so he wouldn’t swallow his tongue. Her nursing skills had never left her. After a while he recovered, got up and said he was fine. He shook my mum’s hand and thanked her very warmly for her quick thinking, which, despite the fragility of her mind, had probably saved his life. After that incident, the other mothers who had been so judgemental of her before, now showed her a lot more respect. It also meant that my friendships at school started to blossom again.

There was a large green space opposite our house and, after many years of being overly protective and not letting me play on the street, Mum finally relented and let me play football outside with my brother and his friends. I relished the freedom of being able to run around, release my pent-up worries and develop new athletic skills I never dreamt I was capable of. I was 11 now and, after a summer of constant exercise, the puppy fat that had shrouded my body for so long dropped off. By the time I returned to school after our six-week summer break with a new page-boy hair style and a golden tan, the teachers barely recognised me. Despite my unstable home life, losing weight created a new unexpected confidence in me for a while, enabling me to enjoy taking part in sports day and winning a competition at the after-school club for dancing to Abba’s Waterloo. I felt prouder than proud; but it didn’t last.

Body changes and moving into puberty brought their problems. My father began to notice that I was developing and this intrigued him. Sometimes I could feel him secretly leering at me when I walked by, which made me nervous. Our house was always littered with his girlie mags and he had no qualms about it. Sex was something that should be open and talked about, he said.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.