AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And your secondary school, did you board there as well?”
“Oh yes, but that was fine. I was used to it by then, and I was popular, which helped. When you don’t have your parents around, you learn to be self-reliant at a young age. I realised that nobody else was going to stand up for me, that I had to believe in my own worth and stand my own ground. It was formative, for me anyway. Some of the other girls definitely weren’t suited to it, and we had our fair share of dramas over the years.”
“What sort of dramas?”
“Eating disorders, mainly. At one point there was a secret club of around five girls in my house, who used to sneak off after each meal to throw up together. When they were found out there was a huge scandal, and various people were brought in to give us talks on the importance of eating healthily. All these posters went up about how to spot the signs of anorexia or bulimia, and we were offered counselling if we needed it.”
“Sounds brutal,” Toby remarks.
“It was, in a way. I don’t regret it though. Like I said, it taught me to believe in myself, and not to put up with bullshit.”
Our food arrives, and there’s a brief silence while we start to eat. We’ve both ordered the tartiflette and it’s delicious.
“So, you don’t hate your parents for putting you through it?” Toby asks, after a few mouthfuls.
“Interesting question. I think my relationship with them is different than it would be if I’d stayed at home and gone to a day school. I love them, but I don’t feel that I need their approval, if that makes sense. As I’ve mentioned before my Dad isn’t wild about my job; Mum never worked and they never expected me to, either. I was expected to find a nice, rich man, marry him and have babies. However, even though they don’t understand the path I’ve gone down, they do respect my decisions on the whole.”
“I don’t see you fitting very well into the ‘kept woman’ mould,” Toby says, with a laugh.
“What do you mean by that?” I ask, slightly affronted.
“Nothing bad, it’s just that it sounds like quite a submissive role, and I think we can both agree that submissive isn’t a word that could be used to describe you.”
“I think I’d be bored if I didn’t have a job, and I don’t think I could respect a man who expected me to give up my independence,” I agree, after a pause to consider. “If I’m brutally honest, I don’t think I’ve met a man yet that I really respected, even my Dad. He’s a good man, but he lives for his work. I think Mum’s been quite lonely over the years. I couldn’t accept that kind of relationship.”
“Your Prince Charming is going to have to be the full package, isn’t he? No feet of clay allowed.”
“Hah, I’m starting to doubt he exists! Come on, eat up. We’ve got a spa to check out this afternoon.”
The rest of the meal is largely silent. I’m surprised how much I’ve told Toby about myself. I’m normally very cautious about what I share, and I have to know someone really well before I open up, but Toby is a good listener, and there’s something honest and trustworthy about him that I like.
