Yes, My Darling Daughter by Margaret Leroy

Author:Margaret Leroy [Leroy, Margaret]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780374126018
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 2009-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

My last days at Jonah and the Whale pass very quickly. Every lunch hour I ring nurseries, trying places farther and farther afield, but no one can take Sylvie, not at such short notice. I keep thinking something will happen, that someone will bail me out or come rushing to my rescue. But nothing happens, no one comes.

Lavinia finds a young woman to replace me. She’s Polish, with a degree in English and impeccably straightened blond hair. She’s very charming and eager to learn, and she’ll suit Lavinia perfectly. I feel a pang of envy.

On my last day, Lavinia gives me flowers, a lavish bunch of pink lilies.

“You must promise to stay in touch,” she says. “Let me know what’s happening with Sylvie.”

“I shall miss you so much,” I tell her. “You—and working here. I’ve loved it.”

“I know that, Gracie,” she says.

She hugs me, and there’s such comfort in the warm solidity of her body. Yet I feel in this moment of leaving that it will be hard to stay close, that our friendship may be more tenuous than I’d always imagined. The thought saddens me.

At Little Acorns, Beth has put all Sylvie’s things together, her hairbrush and towel and rucksack, in a neat, small pile on the table by the door. She holds Sylvie tightly to her.

“Just you look after yourself for me, okay, sweetheart? Promise me that.”

Sylvie reaches up and kisses Beth’s cheek. Beth’s eyes are wet and full. I thank her for all her care of Sylvie.

We walk to the car through the gathering dark and the pools of orange lamplight.

“Why won’t I go to nursery anymore, Grace?” says Sylvie.

“Mrs. Pace-Barden thought you’d be happier staying at home,” I tell her. “You weren’t very happy at nursery, were you? You didn’t like it very much. Not really.”

She thinks about this for a moment.

“Sometimes I did and sometimes I didn’t,” she says.

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