What do you mean nothings been made for dinner? We didnt come here for you! George, my fatherinlaw, said, plopping down at the empty kitchen table....
The flat was dead quiet. It was such a grave silence that I didnt even realise at first what had woken me. No alarm clock, no...
Whats with you and that Poppy? Why on earth would you need a wife like that? Shes had a baby, got all softserviced, now she waddles...
Just Mum says youve become odd, James says, echoshaking the words as they hang in the kitchen of their flat in Manchester. Ah, Mum says Elsie...
After my husbands funeral, my son drove me out of the village. At the edge of the town he turned to me, his voice flat, and...
Youll send the child off to a boarding school, since he isnt my son! Margaret Whitaker said, smiling politely. And you dont expect my Nathan to...
Just Mum says youve become odd, James says, echoshaking the words as they hang in the kitchen of their flat in Manchester. Ah, Mum says Elsie...
Whats with you and that Poppy? Why do you even need a wife like that? She had the baby, got all soft, now she waddles around...
When Im thirteen, I learn to hide my hungerand my shame. We live in a council flat in East London, so often I walk to school...
Lucy lingered at the front door, keys clutched as though the ringing were a stranger. Her coat dripped, an umbrella spilling tiny rainbeads, the milk bag...
Old letters When the postman finally stopped hoisting parcels up the stairs and began leaving newspapers and envelopes in the...
I still recall how James turned his back on a seaside holiday, all for the sake of saving a few...
Step back! he roared. I never vowed to marry you! And I dont even know whose baby this is. Maybe...
Emily was being way too clingy about helping around the house, so I gave her a gentle shove toward the...
Margaret, must I keep calling you Mrs. Whitaker? I asked, trying to keep the tremor out of my voice. Explain...
26October2025 I can hardly believe Im writing this, but I need to get it out of my head before the...
I stopped ironing Jamess shirts the day he dismissed my work as just sitting at home. Come on, Emily, what...
James said he was off on a work trip, but I found his car parked outside my best friends flat....
The brides mother, Margaret Whitfield, slid me into the worst table with a sardonic smile. Know your place, she sneered....
Rain tapped against the sill of the little rented twobedroom flat. James watched the droplets trace strange patterns on the...