I Miss Mummy: The true story of a frightened young girl who is desperate to go home. Cathy Glass
the case, I stood it to one side and then removed the pink blanket Alice had arrived in from the bed and draped the Barbie cover over it. I then took Alice through to the bathroom, where I ran her bath. I squirted in a few drops of the child’s bubble bath her nana had included in Alice’s wash bag, and used the sponge and face flannel that were also in the bag. I washed Alice’s back and she did the rest. Then I lifted her out and wrapped her in the bath towel her nana had sent. It was fragranced with the same fabric conditioner as her clothes and Alice pressed it to her face as I helped dry her. I helped her into her Sleepy Cat pyjamas, squirted toothpaste on her toothbrush and waited while she brushed her teeth.
In her bedroom Alice snuggled beneath the duvet and Barbie cover and looked much more relaxed and at home. ‘All right, love?’ I asked. She nodded. ‘You’re doing very well.’ I perched on the edge of the bed and, lightly stroking her forehead, ran through what we would be doing the following day: I would take her to nursery, collect her after lunch, take her to the family centre to see her dad and Sharon, and then collect her and bring her home. Although I’d already told Alice this I repeated it, as children can get very confused when they first come into care with so many new things and routines to adjust to. Alice didn’t make any comment, but she looked quite tired. I asked her if she wanted a story before she went to sleep. She nodded so, still sitting on the bed, I read the book I’d taken from the suitcase – Favourite Nursery Rhymes, which I guessed her nana had read to her many times, for Alice was word perfect.
When I finished the book I went on to the landing and called downstairs that Alice was ready to say goodnight. Lucy and Paula broke off from doing their homework in the dining room and came up, and Adrian appeared from his bedroom. They took it in turns to say goodnight to Alice; the girls kissed her cheek while Adrian blew a kiss and gave a little wave from the door. ‘See you in the morning,’ they chimed as they left, and Alice smiled.
As Adrian, Paula and Lucy returned to their homework, which they knew had to be completed before they watched television, I returned to sit on Alice’s bed for a moment, stroking her forehead and just looking at her little face. ‘You’re doing very well,’ I said again. ‘I know it isn’t easy, but you’ll find it gets a bit easier as time goes on. There’s nothing for you to worry about. If you’ve got any questions or there is anything worrying you, ask me, won’t you?’
Alice’s gaze went to the window where the curtains were drawn. ‘Is it dark outside?’ she asked in a small voice.
‘Yes, love. But I’ll leave your light on low, like I did last night.’ I assumed she was worried by the dark, as she had been the night before.
Alice paused and thought for a moment. Then she asked seriously: ‘Can we go to the quarry now it’s dark?’
‘No, love,’ I said, surprised. I’d have thought that would have been the last place she’d want to go. ‘The quarry is closed. It’s night-time. We don’t go to the quarry at night.’
‘But my mummy might be there,’ she said. ‘I want to see my mummy. I want to sleep with her in the shed at the quarry. Why can’t we go?’
‘Oh, love, Mummy isn’t at the quarry now. People don’t normally sleep at the quarry; they sleep in their beds. Your mummy will be sleeping in a bed now.’
I continued to stroke her forehead. Despite the trauma of being snatched and taken to the quarry at night, where the sound of the barking foxes had terrorized her, Alice would risk it all again just to be with her mother.
‘Where is my mummy?’ Alice asked after a moment, her large eyes finally moving from the window to me.
‘I’m not sure, love, but I do know she isn’t at the quarry. I expect your nana is looking after her.’ Clearly I had no idea where Leah was, but this seemed enough to reassure Alice. I continued to sit with her, stroking her forehead until her eyes finally closed in sleep.
I always feel like the ‘new girl’ at school when I walk into a playground for the first time. I don’t know the layout of the school or where the child’s classroom is, and I feel other mothers are looking at me, wondering who I am. Without any further instructions from Martha, other than I had to take Alice to nursery on Tuesday, I had decided to do what I usually did on the first morning: introduce myself at the school’s reception and ask for directions to Alice’s classroom. Alice, however, bright as a button and happy at the prospect of seeing her friends again at nursery, wanted to go straight to her classroom.
‘It’s this way,’ she said, pulling me across the playground. ‘I’ll show you.’ She led me to the side of the main school building and to a separate entrance with a door marked ‘nursery only’. ‘We can go straight in,’ Alice explained. ‘The older children have to wait in the playground until the bell goes.’
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.