I followed Aunty M up the central staircase. We turned right at the top and walked to the far end of the long landing and she opened the last door. Inside, the room was all white with a blue border just below the ceiling. As I looked more closely, I could see the border was a line of fish, mermaids, and all sorts of sea creatures all intertwined. This pattern was on the bedcover, curtains, and painted on the wardrobe and the chest of drawers. In front of the window was a dressing table with curtains around the drawers. On top was a posy of wild flowers in a little blue pot and a brush, comb, and mirror with blue flowers embroidered on them. The window was open and I could hear the waves crashing on the beach below and the calls of the seagulls as they fished in the breakers.
In the corner of the room were some shelves that went right up to the ceiling. Each shelf had a few books, seaside mementoes, and peculiar looking wooden objects on it. As I looked more closely I realised the shelves got narrower as they went up.
“This was your mum’s room when we were little,” said Aunty M as she grabbed the pillows on the bed and puffed them up turning them over and over until they were so high that my head would never reach them tonight. It seemed strange looking around the room now knowing that it had been mum’s room. The room was pretty and girlie. Our house was so white and not fussy at all with only the bare minimum of furniture.
“Mum doesn’t talk about when she was little. She’s always so busy at work so I’ve found it easier not to bother her unless I really have to,” I commented as I stood on tip-toes to look at the view from the window.
“That’s the trouble today. Everyone is so busy and no one has time to talk anymore. I had guessed that things may not be too easy for you at home. Your mum is granny-like, very bossy with a very sharp temper.”
“It’s Ok really but I’ll be glad to go to boarding school in September because she won’t have me to worry about. I won’t feel so bad then.” I didn’t want to sound too disloyal, but I meant what I said.
“That’s the ticket and I hope that will mean that you’ll come and stay whenever you can in the holidays and we can eat everything that’s bad for us and stay up late and read Hello and OK Magazine and we won’t tell a soul because nobody needs to know.”
I said that sounded great.