Once in a house on fire by Ashworth Andrea 1969-

Author:Ashworth, Andrea, 1969-
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Ashworth, Andrea, 1969-, Bibliotherapy, Adult child abuse victims
Publisher: London : Picador
Published: 1998-10-15T04:00:00+00:00

'Just the job,' Laurie and I assured our mother, when she tried on the green jacket that Auntie Livia had been good enough to lend. 'A real, hve secretary, you look.'

She draped the clean laundry over the airing rack in front of the fire, then set to with the iron to tame the pleats of her posh skirt. Laurie and Sarah were busy persua'ding the Rubik's cube back into one piece after another dismanding. Inhaling the scent of drying vests and knickers, I hunched over Flowers in the Attic, growing hot and bothered, wishing the mother in the book would forget about the inheritance money and just pack up and get her kids out before it was too late.

My spine stiffened at the chug of our stepfather's van. Brakes grunted outside the door. He lurched in.

'Happy Families, is it?' He pictured the four of us having a party, every time he pulled off in his van. 'Can't wait to see the back of me, can you?'

Behind her iron and her caramel pleats, our mother stood her ground, instead of rushing to put the ketde on as usual, before helping him off with his shoes.

'Oi!' Our stepfather swayed in the doorway, his breath reeking as if he had been munching metal. 'Oi, you! Bitch!'

Sitting on the carpet, Sarah wound up the Fisher-Price toy telly that she sometimes cradled like a doll, although she was now six. Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream - a boy floated along, snoozing under a straw hat - Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily. Life is but a dream.

'Cunt!' Our stepfather smashed his boot into the screen.

Sarah's lips churned, wondering whether it was safe to cry.

Next he grabbed the iron out of our mother's hand. She gasped and wri^ed out from behind the ironing board. Smiling to himself, he pressed the iron on to the skirt and held it down, waiting, watching it hiss and puff, before peeling it back.

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