Shirley came to visit them at the pub and admire the baby. ‘Looks a bit on the small side,’ she said as she peered down at him sleeping peacefully in his drawer. ‘That’s cos he was early,’ Naomi said. ‘Dr Phelps says he’ll catch up in no time. He’s ever so nice, Dr Phelps.’ Shirley said, ‘Well, t...
While Sister Eloise continued to minister to their patient laid out on the reverend mother’s bed, Reverend Mother herself was hurrying back to the chapel. Sister Danielle was still there with the children, though she now had them sitting on chairs listening while she read them a Bible story. Mart...
‘You’re to come straight home today,’ she instructed Rita. ‘Do you hear me, Reet? No going round your gran’s and bothering her.’ ‘Yes, Mum.’ Rita was very subdued. She had heard the crashing plate last night, and she’d heard Mum helping Uncle Jimmy up the stairs. She’d stayed still and quiet in t...
She found a tearoom a couple of streets away and, sitting over a cup of tea and a sticky bun, she considered her next move. If she couldn’t get to Miss Vanstone at Laurel House, perhaps she could beard her in her other office. She’d rung her before at some business place. She couldn’t remember th...
Rita could hear them through the floor; her mother’s, a querulous wail, the man’s an angry roar. For a moment she lay still in bed, listening. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it was clear that they were arguing. Rosie, her sister, was peacefully asleep at the other end of their share...