fountainhead

2 g. geordie

what a worry my darling, bloody boy is! since he left school early, all he does is bring me worries and doubts. exactly what his job entails, is a mystery and he befriends odd people who seem to take up all his time and encourage his bad habits. he has party after party and wastes money on god knows what. probably no good girls. he is much like his father; the apple does not fall far from the tree. chasing skirts and betting horses. at least his father had the means to afford his expensive habits. maybe i should have taken geena instead of him, years ago. but i had to choose. and geena and her father are so much closer than she and i were; she really was daddy’s little girl, always. i knew she would be looked after well because her father doted on her. still does, i’m sure. he and gerard never got on and i couldn’t leave the boy there. maybe i should have sneaked geena out too, but her father would have looked for us until he found us. leaving her with him was a way of ensuring that he would let me be. i could not stay there after that july. if i think back now, i must be honest and admit that the bus driver was a stepping stone in the scheme of things. he had a certain flourish, to be sure, but no staying power; and he had a car. that was a point in his favour. thank god i could get rid of him easily enough, yellow livered, belly crawling, jelly fish that he was! it has not been easy, but we have managed; the shop does very well now, especially after i finished the milliner’s course at the college of fashion design and could incorporate it into my tailoring effort. the business is really flourishing, and after finding that premises in adderley street, the busiest part of town, it is getting even better. how fortunate i am to have my own house nestled against the mountain in ivy street - i love the name of that street - i even love the number ten. and how i love that flat mountain and the narrow streets, uneven pavements and the cobblestones, the ever present fresh breeze that draws a white table cloth over that majestic mountain and the view of the ocean and the harbour. i love this city with all my heart. i'm beginning to wish i had my daughter with me.