The Convent by Maureen McCarthy

Author:Maureen McCarthy
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: JUV000000, book
ISBN: 9781743431191
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2012-09-24T04:00:00+00:00

Cecilia

Breda tapped on Cecilia’s door. ‘Tea before I hit the road for work?’

‘Oh, yes please,’ Cecilia called back. She lay there feeling a little groggy but luxuriating in the cosiness of the room and warmth of Breda’s welcome. She sat up when Breda came in with two cups of tea and a thick slice of buttered toast.

‘So, how did you sleep?’

‘Good. Only woke once with my dream but then went straight back.’

‘A man?’ Breda grinned.

‘I wish,’ Cecilia smiled, ‘always a baby.’

‘Oh?’ Breda sat on the end of the bed.

So Cecilia told her about the mixed-up dream of being back in the convent on the first day and being filled with anxiety about the baby.

Breda listened intently.‘Are you worried about your daughter?’

‘You know, Breda, I can’t even answer that question.’ Cecilia sighed. ‘I don’t know the first thing about myself.’

‘None of us do, kid.’

‘You do.’

‘I just muddle through each day,’ Breda said, ‘like most people.’

They sat for a while in silence.

‘Do you think I’m crazy to want to find her?’

‘Yeah. But that won’t stop you will it?’

‘You’re a nurse, Breda. What do I do first? Is there some place I go? A form I have to fill out? I was so crazy when she was born that I didn’t even want her to know my name. Imagine how she’ll feel seeing that when she tries to find out about her origins.’

‘If she does.’

‘How do you mean?’

‘She might not … want to find out anything.’

Cecilia tried not to be shocked by this. ‘I know she might not ever want to meet me, but she would probably still want to know basic stuff, even for health reasons.’

‘Maybe.’ Breda shrugged.

‘So what do I do?’

Breda sighed and looked down at her mug of tea and then she looked at Cecilia.

‘Think about doing nothing for a while,’ she said quietly. ‘Find your feet. Get a job. Catch up with your family and then … see how you feel.’

‘She is my family. She—’

‘No, sweetheart.’ Breda reached out and touched her hand, ‘She’s not your family.’

Cecilia looked away, the old familiar weight settling down into her chest, the awful heaviness of having failed at every important juncture of her life.

‘You think that it is wrong of me to want …?’

‘Good God, no. Nothing is wrong, Nuncie!’

‘So where do I start?’

Breda frowned and picked up her tea and took a couple of sips.

‘I know where she is,’ she said softly.

‘What?’

‘She’s at the convent.’

‘What?’

‘Mad, isn’t it?’ Breda shook her head as though she couldn’t believe it herself.

‘Doing what?’

‘She works there.’

‘But last I heard it had been sold to developers.’

‘No, no, it’s all markets and artist studios and cafes now. Your daughter works in a cafe.’ Breda stood up. ‘I’m not sure if I should have told you that. You’ve got to promise me that you won’t do anything silly. You’ve got to go through the right channels.’

Cecilia’s heart felt like a tennis ball belting against a brick wall. ‘What else can you tell me?’

‘Nothing.’

‘How do you know it’s her, then?’

Breda looked at her watch.

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.