Love, Rosie (172 page)

get
the
bus
together
every
day.
I
really
don’t
intend
working
there
for
very

long,
just
until
a
job
in
the
hotel
industry
opens
up.

But
the
main
reason
for
me
taking
the
job
is
the
fact
that
I
have
very
lit-

tle
choice.
I
have
a
week
left
here
in
purgatory
(Brian’s
flat)
before
I
can

move
into
the
flat
which
is
a
bit
of
a
dump.
I’m
going
to
need
all
the
spare

cash
I
can
get
to
fix
the
place
up
and
make
it
feel
like
home.
God
knows

Katie’s
had
so
many
of
them
so
far.

Before
Mum
and
Dad
went
away
they
tried
to
persuade
me
to
accept
the

money
Brian
was
offering
me.
As
far
as
I’m
concerned
his
money
is
for

Katie,
not
me.
I’m
a
grown
woman,
I
can
work
and
provide
a
home
for
Katie

all
on
my
own,
he
can
give
her
all
the
money
he
wants,
for
clothes,
CDs
and

love,
rosie

261

after-school
activities.
That’s
all
the
expensive
stuff.
I’m
not
a
charity,
just
a

woman
on
a
small
budget
like
millions
of
other
people
out
there.
When
the

Rosie
Dunne
Hotel
Chain
buys
over
Hilton
hotels,
that’s
when
I
can
rip
up

the
budget.

Strange
things
have
happened
in
my
daughter’s
life
but
none
of
them
as

bizarre
as
her
mother
and
father
living
in
the
same
house.
What
may
be
a

daily
occurrence
for
some
children
is
however
something
for
children
like

Katie
to
laugh
hysterically
at.
Actually
it’s
not
as
if
Brian
and
I
dislike
each

other,
it’s
just
that
we
know
absolutely
nothing
about
each
other.
We
are

two
complete
strangers
who
got
together
once
in
our
lives
(and
only
for
a

few
minutes,
trust
me)
in
a
moment
I
can
barely
even
remember,
to
make
the

most
incredible
thing
ever.
How
could
two
fools
like
us
create
something
as

great
as
Katie?
When
Katie
comes
home
from
school
and
starts
to
go
off
on

one
of
her
stand-up
comedy
routines
about
her
day
I
look
at
her,
I
look
at

him,
and
think
how
did
him
,
mixed
with
me
,
make
her
.
It’s
scary.

I
try
to
spend
as
little
time
as
possible
here
as
I
can.
I
stroll
around
up

and
down
Henry
Street
for
most
of
the
day
because
Brian’s
flat
just
doesn’t

feel
like
home.
I
feel
like
I
shouldn’t
be
here.
When
I’m
at
the
flat
I
stay
in
my

room
for
most
of
the
time
or
lock
myself
into
the
storeroom
and
send
e-