"If only he’d confide in her they could go about together, it would be their little secret, not his. Knowing him and his funny eye he’d be getting his make-up all over the place. She could have given him tips. It could be a laugh. No one could say she wasn’t open minded. But since Bridget had gone she’d lost her ally and what was odd had become lonely."
As I pasted this, I just noticed that Kimberly called it out, too.
“But since Bridget had gone she’d lost her ally and what was odd had become lonely. “ Such a great line, this idea that all of Janet’s justifications work up to a certain point, but eventually lays bare the loneliness underneath.
"She’d thought she could fix him up with a good meal and some love, bring out the best in him. Sixteen years later and she wasn’t sure if all she’d brought out in him was a liking for frilly knickers." The humour, the pathos of Janet's misguided and disappointed hopes, her loneliness. It all shines through the beautiful writing.
I loved this. I can sense Janet's loneliness in her family and also her relationship with Ray. This chapter highlights this family dynamic and how it's shifted since Bridget left and brought other issues to the surface. Lipstick in the cracks of the mouth and the frilly knickers are great descriptions. All this thing about keeping appearances and trying to do the right thing is back firing for Janet. I feel for her very much. I keep forgetting, how old is Pauly? What does the picture's point about cutting out an A shape of the paper bag mean. Didn't get that part. Brilliantly read and written!
"If only he’d confide in her they could go about together, it would be their little secret, not his. Knowing him and his funny eye he’d be getting his make-up all over the place. She could have given him tips. It could be a laugh. No one could say she wasn’t open minded. But since Bridget had gone she’d lost her ally and what was odd had become lonely."
As I pasted this, I just noticed that Kimberly called it out, too.
❤️
Two worlds colliding.
I’m really loving Janet and how you’re showing us more and more of her. The loneliness is palpable.
I can feel (and recognize) that pull to speak up for herself. And the loneliness. 💔
“But since Bridget had gone she’d lost her ally and what was odd had become lonely. “ Such a great line, this idea that all of Janet’s justifications work up to a certain point, but eventually lays bare the loneliness underneath.
Great minds think alike. I just pulled the same quote and pasted it into my comments and saw you'd pulled the same line.
The loneliness. So beautiful… all the ulterior feelings that make people do what they do.
"She’d thought she could fix him up with a good meal and some love, bring out the best in him. Sixteen years later and she wasn’t sure if all she’d brought out in him was a liking for frilly knickers." The humour, the pathos of Janet's misguided and disappointed hopes, her loneliness. It all shines through the beautiful writing.
Thank you
I loved this. I can sense Janet's loneliness in her family and also her relationship with Ray. This chapter highlights this family dynamic and how it's shifted since Bridget left and brought other issues to the surface. Lipstick in the cracks of the mouth and the frilly knickers are great descriptions. All this thing about keeping appearances and trying to do the right thing is back firing for Janet. I feel for her very much. I keep forgetting, how old is Pauly? What does the picture's point about cutting out an A shape of the paper bag mean. Didn't get that part. Brilliantly read and written!