Page 143 - My Home on the Earth

although the wages were pathetic, or so she thought. Gathering her sister’s bag of shopping, she returned to the town centre to catch a bus. On the way, she stopped at the bank, withdrew five hundred pounds from the machine inside and thrust the notes in her bag. So far, she had saved nine hundred and seventy pounds towards advanced rent. It was the largest amount of cash she’d ever had.
Lately, Melanie drifted from day to day and her passionate urge to put her plan into action had been overtaken by Jake’s wish not to see her. She’d spent hours at the bus terminal waiting to spot him but he never appeared. Sitting on the bus, on her way back to the apartment, she pulled out a notebook from the shopping bag and opened the first page.
It read: My plan. Find out where they shop (E in Waitrose). Find out where they live. Find out where they work. Find out which school she goes to. Find out where Alice Henderson lives. Find out where Es’ sister lives (tick).
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Melanie Cooper’s sister had arranged to go abroad during the half-term holiday and would return on June the second.
Melanie hadn’t been honest with her son in the past so he refused to get involved with whatever scheme she had in her head. He’d told her she’d lost her marbles and the only way they could survive was to contact his dad and tell him what had been going on. Once more, Melanie forbade him to do so.
‘So tell me, Mum,’ he’d said. ‘What are you trying to
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