Thursday, 9th April 18:35: BDST: Smethwick, England

Amy’s eyes bulged open as if the hug Doreen was giving her was going to cause her eyes to pop out. “I love you mom,” Doreen gushed out excitedly as she squeezed. “Awww I love you too love,” Amy replied quizzically, hugging her back. “What was that for?”, she thought, puzzled for a moment. Then she let the thought go and nestled her head against Doreen’s shoulder with a contented smile, squeezing her back tightly again. 

The last few months had been so hard and at times she hadn’t known whether she was coming or going. She was happy one minute, and sad the other. “There was no rhyme or reason to it,” she’d told her sister Edith after she found herself bursting into tears for no reason when in the John Dallaway Greengrocer up there on the High Street. “The shame of it Edith,” she said again and again as her sister consoled her. The last straw though was when she’d thrown herself to the floor when Doreen slammed the kitchen door closed. She saw the look on Edith’s face as she was telling her this and thought she saw pity in her sister’s eyes, just staring at her as she stirred her tea. People can feel sorry for you all they want but pity, no. “I don’t want anyone’s pity,” she thought as she quickly collected her things, saying that she had to go. It didn’t matter that Edith had shouted for her to come back.

But as she walked out into the street she felt so foolish, so lost. She’d walked home from Edith’s feeling faint, and stopped to lean against a gate. Her head spinning, she tried to collect her thoughts; it felt like her head was going to explode. Her heart pounded until she noticed a window curtain-twitching. Someone must have wondered who this woman was leaning against their gate. 

“So are we going back out to clear the shelter mom?”, Doreen asked. “In a bit, love, in a bit,” Amy replied, breathing in deeply as she pressed her head back against Doreen’s shoulder again, holding her as tight as she could.