they live.’ A wrinkle of anxiety crossed her brow. ‘Supposing I don’t get on with the children? It could be quite isolated.’
‘Of course you’ll get on with them! You’re brilliant with kids! You’ll be making Thanksgiving costumes for them before you’ve unpacked!’ Amanda gave her a little shove to emphasise her point. ‘They’ll be all over you.’
Soothed by this enthusiasm Sophie said, ‘I’m not sure they dress up for Thanksgiving. I think that’s Halloween.’
‘Same difference,’ said Amanda. ‘Have another drink.’ She poured them both another glass of wine, topped up their water glasses and went on, ‘So you won’t get to spend much time with Milly?’
‘Only if I get time off and a bit at the end, I hope. I gather her flat is tiny. Not that that would matter.’
‘So where does your family live?’
‘Maine. I’m hoping for a clapboard house with its letter box—’
‘Mail box.’
‘—on a stick, where the paperboy just flings the Sunday papers on to the lawn.’
‘Oh, you’re going to have such a good time,’ said Amanda. ‘I can feel it in my water!’
Sophie made a face. ‘You haven’t started drinking your own water, have you? When did that happen?’
‘Oh you!’ Then she frowned. ‘I am going to miss you!’
‘You and Doug both!’
*
Sophie’s mother sat on her bed while she packed. ‘We are going to miss you, darling,’ she said, unknowingly echoing Amanda.
‘Not really. You’ve all got busy lives.’ Sophie wondered if she could ask her mother to transfer to the chair so she could spread out her things and make sure she had everything. ‘Now where’s my list?’
‘I can’t believe you’re so organised!’ Sophie’s mother made it sound like a fault. ‘When I was your age I just flung things into a bag and took off!’
‘I’d do that too, only I don’t want to take things I won’t need, or forget anything.’ Sophie found her list, consulted it, and put in the last couple of items.
Later, when her mother had drifted off to make them both a cup of tea, Sophie emptied her rucksack, put her dossier in the bottom, and repacked. When she got there she’d start looking at telephone directories for Cousin Rowena, and possibly ask her employers for help.
She had much more room in her rucksack the second time around, but thinking of future shopping opportunities, she didn’t add anything, she just went downstairs to join her mother in the kitchen.
Finally it was time for her to set off on her adventure; she’d begun to see it as such. Amanda drove Sophie to the airport, her family being otherwise engaged as usual. As she had to get back she’d just dropped Sophie off but it was still lovely to have a lift. It was a treat not to have to get there by public transport.
Sophie liked flying. She liked the little packets in the meals, looking at the other people, and having time to read and doze. But it was a long flight, and when they’d finally arrived and she’d gone through security, which seemed to take forever, involving having her fingerprints and a picture of her iris taken, and answering a lot of questions, she felt a bit battered. To add to her feeling of anticlimax there was no jolly family holding up a placard with her name on it.
She forced herself to relax. They could have been held up in traffic, got the time of her arrival wrong – anything. She’d just be patient and watch the world go by.
She waited for an hour and then burrowed in her rucksack for the bit of paper with the telephone number on. She tried several permutations of the number, with prefixes and without, before eventually she got through.
‘Hi! This is Sophie, Sophie Apperly? I’m here!’ she said, fighting a wave of fatigue that hit her just at the wrong moment.
There was a horrified silence at the end of the phone and then, ‘Oh, Sophie, honey, didn’t you get my email? I sent it yesterday.’ The woman sounded just as nice as she’d seemed over
‘Of course you’ll get on with them! You’re brilliant with kids! You’ll be making Thanksgiving costumes for them before you’ve unpacked!’ Amanda gave her a little shove to emphasise her point. ‘They’ll be all over you.’
Soothed by this enthusiasm Sophie said, ‘I’m not sure they dress up for Thanksgiving. I think that’s Halloween.’
‘Same difference,’ said Amanda. ‘Have another drink.’ She poured them both another glass of wine, topped up their water glasses and went on, ‘So you won’t get to spend much time with Milly?’
‘Only if I get time off and a bit at the end, I hope. I gather her flat is tiny. Not that that would matter.’
‘So where does your family live?’
‘Maine. I’m hoping for a clapboard house with its letter box—’
‘Mail box.’
‘—on a stick, where the paperboy just flings the Sunday papers on to the lawn.’
‘Oh, you’re going to have such a good time,’ said Amanda. ‘I can feel it in my water!’
Sophie made a face. ‘You haven’t started drinking your own water, have you? When did that happen?’
‘Oh you!’ Then she frowned. ‘I am going to miss you!’
‘You and Doug both!’
*
Sophie’s mother sat on her bed while she packed. ‘We are going to miss you, darling,’ she said, unknowingly echoing Amanda.
‘Not really. You’ve all got busy lives.’ Sophie wondered if she could ask her mother to transfer to the chair so she could spread out her things and make sure she had everything. ‘Now where’s my list?’
‘I can’t believe you’re so organised!’ Sophie’s mother made it sound like a fault. ‘When I was your age I just flung things into a bag and took off!’
‘I’d do that too, only I don’t want to take things I won’t need, or forget anything.’ Sophie found her list, consulted it, and put in the last couple of items.
Later, when her mother had drifted off to make them both a cup of tea, Sophie emptied her rucksack, put her dossier in the bottom, and repacked. When she got there she’d start looking at telephone directories for Cousin Rowena, and possibly ask her employers for help.
She had much more room in her rucksack the second time around, but thinking of future shopping opportunities, she didn’t add anything, she just went downstairs to join her mother in the kitchen.
Finally it was time for her to set off on her adventure; she’d begun to see it as such. Amanda drove Sophie to the airport, her family being otherwise engaged as usual. As she had to get back she’d just dropped Sophie off but it was still lovely to have a lift. It was a treat not to have to get there by public transport.
Sophie liked flying. She liked the little packets in the meals, looking at the other people, and having time to read and doze. But it was a long flight, and when they’d finally arrived and she’d gone through security, which seemed to take forever, involving having her fingerprints and a picture of her iris taken, and answering a lot of questions, she felt a bit battered. To add to her feeling of anticlimax there was no jolly family holding up a placard with her name on it.
She forced herself to relax. They could have been held up in traffic, got the time of her arrival wrong – anything. She’d just be patient and watch the world go by.
She waited for an hour and then burrowed in her rucksack for the bit of paper with the telephone number on. She tried several permutations of the number, with prefixes and without, before eventually she got through.
‘Hi! This is Sophie, Sophie Apperly? I’m here!’ she said, fighting a wave of fatigue that hit her just at the wrong moment.
There was a horrified silence at the end of the phone and then, ‘Oh, Sophie, honey, didn’t you get my email? I sent it yesterday.’ The woman sounded just as nice as she’d seemed over
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