Love, Rosie (119 page)

184

Cecelia
Ahern

school
in
a
perfectly
good
school
so
it’s
not
as
if
she’s
being
taken
out
of

school
midway
here.
It
could
all
be
so
perfect.

On
the
other
hand,
I
can
honestly
say
that
her
friendship
with
Toby
is

possibly
the
most
important
thing
to
her.
He’s
a
great
supportive
force
in
her

life;
he
makes
her
happy
and
keeps
the
innocence
in
her
eyes.
Children
need

close
friends
to
help
them
grow
up,
to
discover
things
about
themselves
and

about
life.
They
also
need
close
friends
to
keep
them
sane,
and
due
to
Katie’s

little
disappearing
act
I
now
know
that
her
being
without
Toby,
at
this
stage

of
her
life
anyway,
would
lead
to
incredible
insanity.

Do
you
realize
that
they
had
actually
booked
their
flights
to
you
over

the
Internet
with
Greg’s
credit
card?
They
were
in
the
queue
to
check
in
at

the
airport
when
the
gardai
found
them!
I
can
just
picture
them:
a
little

girl
with
jet
black
hair
and
vanilla
skin
with
no
luggage
except
for
a
cud-

dly
teddy
bear
bag
on
her
back.
Beside
her,
a
little
boy
with
messy
blond

curls,
in
charge
of
the
tickets
and
passport
details.
A
miniature
honey-

moon
couple.
Someday
I
will
look
back
on
this
experience
and
laugh.

After
I
get
over
the
shock,
horror,
bitterness,
and
resentment.
Probably
in

my
next
lifetime.

So
I
can’t
accept
the
job
of
my
dreams
because
my
family
won’t
move

with
me.
Big
deal.
It’s
not
as
though
I
bend
over
backwards
for
them.
It’s
not

as
though
I
arrange
my
life
to
revolve
around
them.
It’s
not
as
though
I
come

home
from
work
tired
and
still
have
dinner
on
the
table
for
them,
it’s
not
as

though
I
perform
wonderful
supportive
wifely
chores
when
there’s
a
million

other
things
I
could
be
doing.
It’s
not
as
though
I
defend
my
daughter
at

school,
constantly
fighting
with
the
teachers
about
how
she
is
not
Satan’s

daughter.
It’s
not
as
though
I
tolerate
Greg’s
mother
for
dinner
every
Sunday

and
listen
to
her
whinge
about
how
the
food
isn’t
cooked
right,
about
my

hair,
about
the
way
I
dress,
about
the
way
I
have
chosen
to
raise
Katie
and

then
have
to
sit
through
hours
of
reruns
of
her
favorite
soaps.
It’s
not
as

though
I’m
always
the
one
to
take
a
day
off
work
when
Katie
is
sick
or
drop

whatever
plans
I’ve
made
to
help
people
out.

Just
as
well
I
don’t
do
any
of
those
things.