Love, Rosie (32 page)

but
I
had
a
nice
hot
dog,
we
went
out
to
a
few
clubs
.
.
.
sorry
I’ve

nothing
interesting
to
tell
you
Steph
.
.
.

Steph:

Hey
that’s
a
hell
of
a
lot
more
interesting
than
what
I
did
all
week

believe
me!
So
how
is
Alex?
How
does
he
look?
I
haven’t
seen
him

for
ages.
I
suppose
he’s
all
grown
up
now
too!

Rosie:

Yeah
he
is
actually.
He
looked
really
well.
He’s
got
a
slight
Ameri-

can
accent
although
he
denies
it.
But
he’s
still
the
same
old
Alex.
As

lovable
as
usual.
He
really
spoiled
me
for
the
entire
week,
he
didn’t

let
me
pay
for
a
thing,
he
brought
me
out
somewhere
new
every

night,
and
it
was
good
to
feel
free
for
a
while.

Steph:

You
are
free,
Rosie.

54

Rosie:

Cecelia
Ahern

I
know
that.
I
just
don’t
feel
it
sometimes.
Over
there
I
felt
like
I

hadn’t
a
care
in
the
world.
Things
felt
so
good
and
it
was
almost
as

if
every
muscle
in
my
body
relaxed
the
moment
I
landed
there.
I

haven’t
laughed
so
much
in
years.
I
felt
like
a
23-year-old,
Steph.
I

haven’t
felt
like
that
much
lately.
I
know
this
probably
sounds
weird

but
I
felt
like
the
me
that
I
could
have
been.

I
liked
that
I
didn’t
have
to
look
out
for
somebody
else
while
I

walked
down
the
street.
I
didn’t
have
the
fifty
near
heart
attacks
per

day
that
I
usually
get
when
Katie
goes
missing
or
puts
something
in

her
mouth
that
she
shouldn’t.
I
didn’t
have
to
dive
onto
the
road

and
hold
her
back
just
in
time
from
being
hit
by
a
car.
I
liked
that
I

didn’t
have
to
give
out,
correct
people
on
their
pronunciation
or

make
threats.
I
liked
laughing
at
a
joke
without
my
sleeve
being

tugged
at
and
being
asked
to
explain.
I
liked
having
adult
conversa-

tions
without
being
interrupted
to
cheer
and
applaud
a
silly
dance

or
the
learning
of
a
new
word.
I
liked
that
I
was
just
me,
Rosie,
not

mummy,
thinking
just
about
me,
talking
about
things
I
liked,
going

places
I
liked
to
go
without
having
to
worry
about
nappy
changes,

bottle
feeding
or
sleepy-head
tantrums.
Isn’t
that
awful?

Steph:

It’s
not
awful
Rosie.
It’s
good
to
have
time
to
yourself
but
it’s
good

to
be
back
with
Katie,
isn’t
it?
And
if
things
were
so
great
then
why

did
you
come
home
so
early?
You
weren’t
supposed
to
be
home
for