He’s in his last year at Westminster. He’s lazy. But with the right attention he could do very well. He needs to be pushed.” She made a fist with her hand to underline this point. “He’s strong-willed and articulate, so we need someone capable of organizing him. More stick than carrot, if you know what I mean.” Ali didn’t. She did a quick calculation in her head and worked out she was only four years older than Jake. She was about to point out that this might inhibit her authority over him, but Bryony had already moved on to his younger sister, Izzy.
“Even though she’s three years younger, Izzy is very focused,” she said with approval. “She’ll ask you to test her on stuff and let you know if she needs help, but she’s fairly self-disciplined. You need to watch the biscuits. She’s at that age where you don’t want to lay down any excess fat. She’s a very talented cellist, and you’ll need to help encourage a good schedule for practice. She needs an hour a day. She plays in a quartet at school.” Bryony paused to catch her breath, and Nick smiled encouragingly at Ali from the other side of the table. He showed little inclination to add anything to the conversation.
“The twins are five. They’ve spent a lot of time with each other, and I want to try and encourage them to live life a little more separately. They’re identical and a bit too codependent. They’ll be going to school five days a week from September. You’ll need to take them, pick them up, and then get them to all their activities. You’ll organize playdates, help them refine their pencil grip, and monitor piano practice.”
“Their pencil grip?” Ali repeated inanely.
“Handwriting, spelling, that sort of stuff,” said Bryony, waving her hand as if to bat away the question. She leaned forward toward Ali. “I believe that every moment of the day represents a learning opportunity for them. When you’re in the car, put on Radio Four or Classic FM, read quality literature to them at night, write any words they don’t understand on the blackboard in their bedroom. And I’d like you to do twenty minutes of maths with each of them every evening. It’s essential to maintain a regular schedule.”
Bryony continued to talk about the twins without referring to them by name. She said that they had developed a tendency to start and finish each other’s sentences, that they were obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine in a non-autistic way, and that they showed some skill on the football pitch. She wanted them to develop their own friendships and go separately to friends’ houses.
The objectivity of Bryony’s appraisal struck Ali. She tried to imagine her own mother giving such a detached assessment of her own children.
“Jo has a low threshold for boredom and sometimes self-medicates with drugs, which causes severe mood swings. Jo has a very short-term approach to life, which makes it difficult for her to plan for the future. Jo is a risk taker who finds it difficult to accept the consequences of her actions. There is an inverse correlation between Jo’s behavior and that of her younger sister, Ali. Ali has suffered from the disproportionate amount of attention paid to Jo. Ali feels an excessive sense of responsibility toward her sister and would benefit from a period of separation from her family, to find herself.”
Her mother would never be capable of such dispassionate analysis. She would get bogged down in anecdote or diverted by the swell of emotion that now accompanied most conversations about Jo.
Bryony’s version of motherhood appealed to Ali because it was less emotive. Bryony represented the possibility of having children without totally losing yourself in the process. It was not a version that was familiar to Ali.
“I can see that you got eleven GCSEs and top grades in your A-levels,” said Bryony, pushing a piece of paper toward Nick, who glanced down the page and gave an appreciative whistle of approval.
“Even though she’s three years younger, Izzy is very focused,” she said with approval. “She’ll ask you to test her on stuff and let you know if she needs help, but she’s fairly self-disciplined. You need to watch the biscuits. She’s at that age where you don’t want to lay down any excess fat. She’s a very talented cellist, and you’ll need to help encourage a good schedule for practice. She needs an hour a day. She plays in a quartet at school.” Bryony paused to catch her breath, and Nick smiled encouragingly at Ali from the other side of the table. He showed little inclination to add anything to the conversation.
“The twins are five. They’ve spent a lot of time with each other, and I want to try and encourage them to live life a little more separately. They’re identical and a bit too codependent. They’ll be going to school five days a week from September. You’ll need to take them, pick them up, and then get them to all their activities. You’ll organize playdates, help them refine their pencil grip, and monitor piano practice.”
“Their pencil grip?” Ali repeated inanely.
“Handwriting, spelling, that sort of stuff,” said Bryony, waving her hand as if to bat away the question. She leaned forward toward Ali. “I believe that every moment of the day represents a learning opportunity for them. When you’re in the car, put on Radio Four or Classic FM, read quality literature to them at night, write any words they don’t understand on the blackboard in their bedroom. And I’d like you to do twenty minutes of maths with each of them every evening. It’s essential to maintain a regular schedule.”
Bryony continued to talk about the twins without referring to them by name. She said that they had developed a tendency to start and finish each other’s sentences, that they were obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine in a non-autistic way, and that they showed some skill on the football pitch. She wanted them to develop their own friendships and go separately to friends’ houses.
The objectivity of Bryony’s appraisal struck Ali. She tried to imagine her own mother giving such a detached assessment of her own children.
“Jo has a low threshold for boredom and sometimes self-medicates with drugs, which causes severe mood swings. Jo has a very short-term approach to life, which makes it difficult for her to plan for the future. Jo is a risk taker who finds it difficult to accept the consequences of her actions. There is an inverse correlation between Jo’s behavior and that of her younger sister, Ali. Ali has suffered from the disproportionate amount of attention paid to Jo. Ali feels an excessive sense of responsibility toward her sister and would benefit from a period of separation from her family, to find herself.”
Her mother would never be capable of such dispassionate analysis. She would get bogged down in anecdote or diverted by the swell of emotion that now accompanied most conversations about Jo.
Bryony’s version of motherhood appealed to Ali because it was less emotive. Bryony represented the possibility of having children without totally losing yourself in the process. It was not a version that was familiar to Ali.
“I can see that you got eleven GCSEs and top grades in your A-levels,” said Bryony, pushing a piece of paper toward Nick, who glanced down the page and gave an appreciative whistle of approval.
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