Page 39 of Darling Girls

‘I’m sorry, Alicia, but I’m going to have to ask you to tell me about it.’

She nodded. She’d known this was coming. But it wasn’t until Thong moved over to lie at her feet that she was able to open her mouth and start.

17

ALICIA

BEFORE

‘Ithink it’s my birthday,’ Norah said.

The three of them were in bed, looking up at the ceiling. Alicia had told all the jokes she knew, including the crappy ones. Norah laughed at them all indiscriminately. They were lying there, waiting for sleep to come, when Norah made the announcement.

Alicia propped herself on an elbow. ‘Youthink?’

‘It’s either the sixteenth or the eighteenth, I can’t remember which.’

‘You don’tknowwhen your birthday is?’

Norah wasn’t listening. ‘It’s the eighteenth today. So either way, I must be twelve.’

Norah seemed happy enough with that, but Alicia was appalled. ‘Can’t you ask Miss Fairchild? Or your social worker?’

‘Probably. But it doesn’t really matter, does it?’

Alicia was about to say thatyes, it did matter, because birthdays were special. Then it dawned on her that birthdays might not have been all that special for Norah.

‘Have you ever celebrated your birthday?’ she asked gently. ‘Had a party or anything?’

Norah thought for a minute. ‘There was a photo of me at Mum’s house with balloons in the background. I think that was a party. But I don’t know if it was mine or someone else’s.’

‘Doyouknow when your birthday is?’ Alicia asked Jessica.

She nodded. ‘May twelfth. I had a party the first year I came to Wild Meadows, when I turned five.’

Alicia felt a tug of emotion. ‘That’s the only birthday party you’ve had?’

Jessica nodded again, clearly not wanting to expand on this.

Alicia had had a party every year of her life, she was pretty sure. Certainly every year that she remembered. Not big parties. One year, she was allowed to pick a friend and go to the movies and have McDonald’s afterwards. Another year she had two friends over to Grammy’s friend Judy’s house to swim in her backyard pool. But there was always cake, a few balloons and the birthday song.

‘What’s so good about parties anyway?’ Jessica asked.

‘Well,’ Alicia said, ‘the food, for one thing. Chips and lollies and sausage rolls. Soft drinks. Cake!’ Her stomach rumbled at the thought. ‘And presents. Everyone who comes brings you one.’

Norah rolled over to face her. ‘What do you do at the party?’

‘Sometimes you play games like pass the parcel, or there’s an entertainer – a clown, maybe,’ Alicia said, enjoying their entranced expressions. ‘But when you’re older, like us, you . . . I don’t know – hang out. Talk. Listen to music. Dance.’

‘That sounds fun,’ Norah said. ‘I like to dance.’

Jessica snorted. ‘When have you ever danced?’

‘I dance,’ Norah said defensively. ‘If I hear music on the radio or in the supermarket or something. I’d dance at a party for sure.’

‘Fine.’ Jessica held her hands up in surrender. ‘You dance.’

They were all quiet. The silence felt slightly wistful.