LITMIR.BIZ

      It was a cold Wednesday at the end of November,  we were going to the volley club after school, as usual. We didn’t expect to meet our parents when we went out.

      “What are you doing here?”, we asked them at the same time.

      “Has anything happened?”

      “No volleyball tonight girls, we are going home, dad and I have to talk to you.”

      That was something absolutely new. It could just mean something bad, but they looked relaxed and smiling instead.

      “Are our grandparents well?”

      “Of course, Sarah. Who’s better than them?!”, our dad stated. “All day long in the sun and on the edge of the swimming pool.

      There are still twenty degrees down there in November, can you fancy that? That’s wonderful.”

      “And what about granny?”, I asked agitated.

      “She is ok as well, my dear, don’t worry. Nothing serious has happened.”

      “So why did you come and see us to talk?”

      “Let’s go home now, Anne, we’ll have a good tea all together and then we’ll tell you the news.”

      “Are you pregnant?”

      “No, Sarah, I’m not pregnant. You two are enough for me!”

      Mum might have been pregnant actually, there would have been nothing wrong, but she had always been emphatic about the fact that her supply of energy and patience had come to an end after two twins.

      When we got home and we were sitting all together around the table, as we had hardly ever  done, we discovered what the news was: we were going to move to Sonning Common.

      “Where the hell is Sonning Common? And above all, why are we moving there? We’re at our last year at school. How can you think of taking us away?”, I burst out. I flew into a rage, I didn’t want to go anywhere. I liked Newbury, we were born there and we had all our school mates there. Moving away was something absurd!

      “Sonning Common is north of Reading, near Henley-on-Thames, we’ll be just thirty minutes far from your granny’s house!”

      “Yes, but why? We’re so well here in Newbury”, I went on astounded.

      “Your mother and I are going to open a bio-veg café. It’s a great opportunity. Don’t worry about school, you are ending the year here and you’ re starting college there.”

      “So everything is already fixed…”

      “Yes, Anne, everything is fixed. Mum has got two more good news to give you.”

      “Ok, fire away…it can’t be worse than that!”

      “The good news is I spoke with Stella about our move, you see, I didn’t know how to face up to the question with you, so I asked her for advice too…Well, you see, she decided they are coming too! Isn’t that wonderful? She is still under medical supervision and she needs to be looked after at a good hospital, the one in Reading is surely one of the best in the whole Berkshire. What’s more, it’s just twenty minutes far from London by train and her parents live there…So, we’re going there all together. Are you excited, girls?”

      The fact that Alison was coming too, was surely the best side of the situation. The three of us had been always very close; she was able to counterbalance my relationship with Sarah: she was balanced, methodical but at the same time sweet and sensitive.

      Even if she had grown up according to hippie/new age ideals, she looked absolutely ordinary.

      However, I wasn’t quite persuaded about moving house.

      “And what is the other news, mum?”

      “They’re coming to spend Christmas Eve with us at granny’s! Stella wants to meet her. Don’t you think that’s a great idea?”

      “Luckily old Mal will be there, otherwise I would be the only man among wonderful, but absolutely crazy, women”, our dad claimed.

      He wasn’t wrong at all, actually.