The Home Girls Read Online Free PDF

murmured lifting her face up for a second towards it.
    Sara looked again into her mother’s face noticing two or three of her teeth pinning down her bottom lip and the glint in her eyes perhaps from the sun? She felt inadequate that she seldom noticed such things as sun and wind, barely bothering about the rain as well, being quite content to stay out and play in it. The weather appeared to figure largely in the lives of adults. Sara hoped this would work out for her when she was older.
    The mother bent forward as she hurried the younger child Lisa having difficulty keeping up. Her face Sara saw looked strained like the mother’s. Sara hoped she wouldn’t complain. The glint in the mother’s eyes was like a spark that could ignite and involve them all.
    She saw with relief the roof of the station jutting above the street but flashed her eyes away from the buildings still to be passed before they reached it.
    The ticket office was protected by the jutting roof.
    Sara was glad of the rest while her mother had her head inside the window and laid her cheek lightly against her rump clad in a blue demin skirt.
    The business of buying tickets went on for a long time. Sara’s eyes conveyed to Lisa her fear that the mother’s top half had disappeared forever inside the window. She clutched her skirt to drag her out and opened her mouth to scream. Lisa saw and screamed for her.
    The mother flung both arms down brushing a child off with each. They dared not touch her when she turned around and separated the tickets from change in her purse.
    She snapped it shut and looked up and around in a distracted way as if to establish where she was.
    It was Sara who went in front taking the narrow path squeezed between a high fence on one side and the station wall on the other. She swung her head around to see that her mother and Lisa were following her bouncy confident step.
    On the platform waiting for the train the few other passengers looked at them.
    Sara’s dress was long and her hair was long and she was not dressed warmly enough.
    The people especially a couple of elderly women noted Sara’s light cotton dress with a deep flounce at the hem and Lisa’s skimpy skirt and fawn tights. They looked at the mother’s hands to see if there was a bag hanging from them with cardigans or jumpers in. But the mother carried nothing but a leather shoulder bag about as large as a large envelope and quite flat.
    â€œShe’s warm enough herself,” one of the women murmured to her companion with a sniff.
    They watched them board the train noticing the mother did not turn her head when she stepped onto the platform. It was Sara who grasped the hand of Lisa and saw her safely on.
    â€œTsk, tisk,” said the watching woman wishing she could meet the mother’s eyes and glare her disapproval.
    The mother took a single seat near the aisle and let Sara and Lisa find one together across from her.
    Dear little soul, thought the passenger on the seat facing them seeing Sara’s face suffused with pleasure at her small victory. Lisa had to wriggle her bony little rump with legs stuck out stiffly to get onto the seat.
    Sara read the passenger’s thoughts.
    â€œShe doesn’t like you helping,” she said.
    This was almost too much for the passenger whose glance leapt towards the mother to share with her this piece of childish wisdom.
    But the mother had her profile raised and her eyes slanted away towards the window. The skin spread over her cheekbones made the passenger think of pale honey spread on a slice of bread.
    She’s beautiful. The woman was surprised at herself for not having noticed it at once.
    She returned her attention rather reluctantly to Sara and Lisa.
    She searched their faces for some resemblance to the mother. Sara’s was round with blue worried eyes under faint eyebrows. Lisa’s was pale with a pinched look and blue veins at the edges of her eyebrows disappearing