“Holy hell, did Barbie throw up in here?” The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them.
“You don’t like it.” Her face drops. “Oh dear, I did wonder when that interior designer suggested pink. My granddaughter is a couple of years younger than you, but her colour palette comprises of black and black.” I wince at how upset she is that I don’t like it.
I sigh and plaster on a reassuring smile. “I guess I can live with pink, it’s just not very me, if you know what I mean?”
Her eyes sweep over me, no doubt taking in my ripped black jeans, biker boots and ripped leather jacket. “No, I can see that.” She clears her throat. “Breakfast is at seven. Your grandfather will expect you to be punctual. He’s a stickler for things running like clockwork.”
“Oh,” I nod, “we’re not meeting him tonight?”
She shakes her head. “Ah, no, I’m sorry, pet. He is a very busy man. He wanted to be here, but business will keep him away until the weekend. I’ll leave you to unpack. Your bathroom is through the door on the left. If you need anything, just dial down to the kitchen.” She points at a phone over by the bed. I am kind of surprised it’s not a bell and that a butler won’t appear and say, ‘you rang.’ I chuckle to myself, earning an inquisitive look from her.
“I forgot to ask your name.”
“Oh, silly me. Did I not introduce myself properly? I’m Edith. I’m the housekeeper,” she says it with such pride, and I can’t help but like this woman. “My husband, Rory, is the groundskeeper, and our son, Calvin, is one of your grandfather’s drivers. He’ll likely be taking you to and from school.” She points to the corridor. “I’ll go and check on your brother.”
I walk further into the room. The walls are painted in a soft pink with a luxurious cream carpet that makes me stop and take my shoes and socks off. I sigh in delight when my feet sink into the softness. The bed is a white wooden four-poster with voiles closed around it and the bedding is pink with frilled lace edges. It is vomit worthy. I’m seventeen not seven! But I can’t help being touched that they went to this effort to decorate it for me. There’s a beautiful fireplace over by the right side of the room and above it is a flat screen television and a rather comfortable looking pale cream three-seater sofa. Over by the window there’s a desk, and holy crap, there’s an Apple Mac laptop and what looks to be a brand-new iPad. The biggest surprise comes when I open the door over by the far side of the bed. Jesus wept! It’s a walk-in wardrobe. This bigger than Jacki and Steve’s living room. What draws me in further is the school uniform hanging up on the rail. The blazer is navy blue edged in yellow; the shirt is pale blue; and the skirt is tartan in, you guessed it, blue and yellow. Even the uniform screams money. The sound of a knock on my bedroom door pulls me from the room and a man who looks to be in his thirties, with curly brown hair, walks into my room and places two suitcases down on the floor by the end of my bed.
“Here you go, miss,” he says with a warm smile. “I’m Calvin, your driver and I’ll be taking you both to school tomorrow.”
“We have our own driver,” I say with a shake of my head. “Crazy!”
He grins. “I’ll be out the front to take you to school at eight-fifteen tomorrow.” He looks round my room. “Wow, this is pink. Well, I’ll leave you to it,” he says, pointing towards the door.
“Calvin, what’s he like?” I ask.
Calvin’s eyes soften. “He comes across as formidable, but he has good intentions.”
I nod my head. “Thank you.” What an odd way to describe someone.
“Anytime miss.”
“It’s Eliza,” I shout after him, but he’s already gone. With a tired sigh, I sit myself on the end of the bed and glance around the room. It is a far cry from our last home.
Hayley pops her head in five minutes later and gushes over the four-poster bed and walk-in wardrobe space.
We all headed downstairs for our tour of the house. Edith is clearly very proud of the house. The kitchen is enormous and surprisingly modern. There is a vast library that I cannot help but drool over, four reception rooms, and indoor pool, and a gym that is kitted out with all the latest fitness equipment. Kit practically drools when he sees it. Hayley announces it is time for her to go. It’s weird to think we’ll no longer have a social worker. That we are no longer in care. I feel like I need to pinch myself and check that this is all real.
“You two have a great future ahead of you both. I’m so pleased that you finally have a family again. Take care, both of you. I’ll check in on both of you in a couple of weeks’ time.” She looks at us both like she wants to hug us, and I take a slight step back. I’m not a hugger. I don’t do hugs and kisses. We watch her climb into her car, and she beeps her horn and waves at us as she heads back down the long winding driveway. I bet there is a small part of her that is relieved that she doesn’t have to deal with my shenanigans anymore.