With shaking hands, Beth selected the first envelope Pru had received and turned it over.
‘Oh!’ She slapped a hand to her mouth, her fingers trembling. The letterwasfrom her father—he’d written his name on the back of the envelope along with a ‘care of’ return address in Perth. Tears streaked down her cheeks as she imagined him huddling over the letter she now held. But then it occurred to her … he’d likely written sender’s details on all the envelopes. She flipped over the next one and saw that it had been sent from Fremantle, and a quick inspection showed that the others all shared the same address. Did this mean she’d been born here in Western Australia? She could only assume that if her dad hadn’t left the state, then neither had Rosie. And she knew from what Celia had told her that her father had brought her here to Karlup when she’d been three. So … all signs pointed to her being born in WA.
Looked as if she’d uncovered an answer already without even opening an envelope.
Blinking her vision clear, she took out the first letter and skimmed her father’s words before poring over each and every one.
Aunty Pru,
I’m on the bus to the city as I write this, but please know I haven’t abandoned the family. It’s just that Rosie took off and I had no choice but to follow. Because she’s pregnant. With my baby. She told me last week and I’ve spent every second since trying to convince her that I’ll stick by her, that we can be a family, but she’s adamant she can’t stay in Karlup. I don’t know what she has against the place—she clams up every time I ask her to explain—but I’m hoping to convince her that it’s where I belong, where our baby belongs, and where she can belong, too. Could you do me a favour and explain the situation to Mum and Dad in a way that helps them understand? Rosie needs me right now, but I’ll be home as soon as I can convince her to come back with me.
Bryce x
Beth hugged the letter to her, pressing it to her aching heart and trying to absorb her father’s love through the words he’d written. He’d wanted them to be a family from the moment he’d learned of her existence. Knowing that waseverything.She opened her eyes and read the letter again. Apparently, Rosie had been a closed book to Bryce, too. In a way, Beth was relieved to know that she hadn’t been the only one unable to understand her mother.
Folding the letter, she tucked it carefully back inside its envelope and set it aside before taking the next one in the pile. This one was dated just a few weeks after the first.
Dear Aunty Pru,
I’m sorry I haven’t called. Rosie gets really agitated whenever I mention contacting home, so I’m writing this while she sleeps. Basically, I’ve got bad news and good news. The bad news is that she’s still refusing to come back with me to Karlup. The good news is that she’s opened up about why she feels she can’t live there. She has it in her head that you all hate her—
Beth assumed he meant his parents and Pru.
—but I haven’t had much luck trying to convince her that it just isn’t true. Discussing it with her is only raising her stress levels, which isn’t good for the baby, of course. So I’m going to wait, just until the baby’s born. I’m hoping she’ll realise then that we need the support of my family.
He went on to share that he’d found a place for them to rent, that he’d started looking for a job, but Beth was stuck on his description of Rosie’s fears. Even though they sounded illogical, something about them rang true. Hadn’t Beth felt the same kind of fear on the first day at each new school? Hadn’t she been convinced the kids would hate her the moment she stepped through the school gates?
She put that letter aside and picked up the next.
Hi Aunty Pru,
Little Beth is six months old now and growing cuter every day. I can’t imagine not having her in my life—
Beth half-laughed, half-sobbed, then kept reading.
—but Rosie isn’t doing too well. She’s finding it difficult to bond with the baby, and every time I suggest we head home, even if only for a visit so we can get help and take a break, she explodes. Pru, she threatened to leave and take Beth with her, which just about broke me. I can’t handle the idea of losing either one of them, but the thought of never seeing my beautiful baby girl again … I can’t tell you how much that scares me.
His desperation, his anguish, tore at Beth’s heart, but at the same time, she felt his love for her emanating from every word she read.
Now, Iknow what you’re thinking, but I studied the information you sent me about narcissistic personality disorder and I’m just not convinced Rosie has it.
‘Oh my god, what!’
Beth scoured the line again. Had she read it correctly? Pru had been questioning whether Rosie suffered from a personality disorder?
You do have me questioning, though, whether she has manic depression. The signs listed in this pamphlet do sound familiar …
Clutching the letter in her hands, Beth’s mind reeled. Manic depression was called bipolar disorder now, wasn’t it? Could it have been true? Could Rosie have had either of these disorders? Beth searched her catalogue of memories, looking for any sign that maybe Pru had been onto something, but she didn’t know enough—or anything, really—about these disorders. She’d have to do more research.
Keen to learn her dad’s thoughts on the matter, she kept reading.
At any rate, she’s finally opened up to me about her life before she met me. And, Pru, it’s so sad. She was neglected as a kid and abused by a family member. By the time she was fourteen, she’d had enough, so she ran away and has basically been on the streets ever since.
‘No!’ Beth choked on a sob. Her poor mum! So much trauma and fear and she’d never said anything! How could she never have said anything?
All the anger Beth had been harbouring towards Rosie dissipated instantly. She rubbed her chest, trying to soothe her sadness for the little girl her mum had been, the little girl who’d had her trust broken and innocence stolen by someone who was supposed to love and care for her.
It all made sense now, why Rosie had never talked about her family or her childhood, why she’d never wanted to completely immerse herself in a community. Because she hadn’t trusted anyone. Ever.
