The Forgotten Seamstress by Liz Trenow

Author:Liz Trenow [Trenow, Liz]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Historical
ISBN: 9781402282492
Google: ROZDAgAAQBAJ
Amazon: 1402282486
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Published: 2014-05-06T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

When I got back to London the snow had almost disappeared and a snowman was melting into a melancholy pile of slush in the little park opposite my flat.

My stomach was sore, my head still fuzzy from the drugs. Worst of all, my earlier sense of being freed from a burden had disappeared, replaced by a deep, aching emptiness and sadness about the loss of the little life, however unwanted, that I had been carrying inside me for nearly six weeks. It took me by surprise, this drab sense of mourning: not so much for the bundle of cells that would have become a child, but more for that part of myself – motherhood – which might now never happen. Perhaps that really was my last chance, I thought, miserably.

When I plugged my phone into its charger, it clattered with incoming messages:

Are you ok? I’m thinking of you, what time is clinic? J xox

Your current account is overdrawn. Please contact 0800 156748 immediately.

Justin’s interested and wants you to contact him. Yay! Ring me. J xox

Where are you? I’m getting really worried now, please call me. Jo xox

Hope roads not too bad and you got home safely? Ben

‘You poor thing. It must have been a nightmare,’ Jo said, when I rang.

‘It was bloody painful,’ I started, then remembered that I should be careful not to scare the life out of her. She’d probably be going through the real thing before long.

‘How are you feeling now?’

‘A bit sorry for myself,’ I said, struggling not to buckle. ‘It’s probably just the hormones but I keep blubbing at a moment’s notice. It just feels as though someone’s got it in for me this year.’

‘I wish I could give you a big hug,’ she said, ‘but we’ve got this exhibition deadline and I promised Annabel I’d work through this evening till it’s done.’

‘Please don’t worry, I’ll be fine,’ I said. ‘In a weird kind of way, it’s a relief. I was trying to decide whether or not to tell Russell and this has taken the decision away from me.’

‘I thought Russell was with you? Who’s this “we” then?’

She’d cornered me. ‘It was Ben, you know, the local hack we contacted about the quilt, remember?’

‘The journalist? How did he get involved?’

‘It was so random. He rang out of the blue when I was waiting for the ambulance. I tried to put him off but he insisted on coming to the cottage and staying until the paramedics arrived.’

‘What a gent. Is he married?’

‘Separated. He’s got a son.’

‘Tell me more,’ she said. ‘Don’t leave anything out.’

I found myself smiling, in spite of myself. ‘Not much to tell, to be honest. Couldn’t be more different from Russ if he tried.’

‘What does he look like?’

‘Tall, forty-something, lots of hair. Nice eyes. Wears stonewashed jeans. Nothing to get too excited about …’

‘Sounds good to me. You’re being very cagey. Is there something you’re not telling me?’

Was there? Unlikely, but not impossible, I thought, trying to interrogate my response. Back here

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.