Characters - My family

My family will appear moreso in the flashbacks while on the island, in stories that give light to an unsettled childhood, but will also feature 'in the now' of the book.

EXTRACT:

'... I was the youngest of three children. Mary was the oldest and seven years older than me. She was big, tall and clumsy and had worn thick rimmed glasses for as long as I could remember. She had always seemed like an adult to me.

...But it was Mary who carried the most responsibility being the eldest. She helped Mum at home the most, as though she was practicing for her own stint as a housewife. Mary was delegated with lots of chores. She prepared vegetables for dinner but it didn’t excuse her from the dishes. She assisted with the washing and ironing. She had helped with the changing, bathing and feeding of me when I was a baby.

I can remember how Mary spent hours reading to me before I started school, teaching me how to write and showing me how to colour in pictures without going over the lines. I loved having her for a big sister. I knew that I would always be safe and looked after by her. Sometimes though, when she had to take me to the shops with her she’d pretend to be Mum.

‘It’s rude to stare, Ivan. Stop that!’ she’d say in a posh and pious voice. I’d look up at her puzzled. I hadn’t been staring at anything.

‘I wasn’t,’ I’d insist.

‘Don’t answer back or I will have to smack you! I am in charge and you were staring - I saw you. And now you’ve just told a lie as well. Now stop arguing, stop dawdling and hurry up! Do you want a smack for walking too slow as well?’

I’d button my lips. There was nothing I could say that would shift Mary from her role-playing. All grown-ups were bossy at times. Mary was no different....

 

My parents, and my sister, brother and myself 1972