Snow Globe Episode 1

It was a grey, drizzly day when Rosanna left William standing on the school’s wide stone steps. His new uniform hung stiffly on his slim frame, drowning him in navy blue. The matron had already taken his suitcase and sports bag to his dormitory, while they enjoyed tea and crumpets in the refectory. A smear of butter glistened on his cheek and Rosanna kept her gloved fingers crossed behind her back, praying that it would not be joined by a shiny tear. William was trying not to cry; she could see it in the chewed thin line of his lips. He was only seven.

“Goodbye my darling. Don’t forget to write. You know the address. I wrote it in your school diary, just in case. I’ll call you regularly and write every week, and we’ll see you at Christmas.”

She looked over her shoulder as she slid into the back seat of the Mercedes, where Mitch, her new American husband, was waiting for her. William stood rigid in his school blazer, tears glittering on his cheeks.

When they arrived at the house, everything was packed up and the furniture covered with dust sheets. Mrs Allen, the housekeeper, had left a note on the hall table promising to check on the house twice a week and to clean it thoroughly once a fortnight. Rosanna’s matching Mulberry suitcase and travel bag were waiting by the front door. The contract for the new editor’s job was initially for a year, to see how things panned out in New York, where Mitch had a large second-storey apartment overlooking Central Park. She and William had spent the previous summer there, when Mitch had bought her a closet full of designer clothes, so she was travelling light.

Kim M. Russell, 14th March 2021

For Poets and Storytellers United Writers’ Pantry

31 thoughts on “Snow Globe Episode 1”

  2. OMG, KR..
    I’m blaming you for hooking me in immediately with the teary Navy Blue uniform, the departure and the impending departure. I don’t usually thank people for addicting me, but….um…more, please, and SOON!

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  5. I could not get past little William in his stiff new uniform standing alone on the steps as mother sped away in the Mercedes! How will this affect grown-up William. Will he forever be leery of attachments lest they disappear?

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  6. I do hope she won’t be too “busy” at Christmas to have him home, or to HER new home. 7 is just a baby, and I never understand how anyone so young can be sent off to school, yet it’s done. Not in the US, although many children are in daycare from infants, more than 40 hours a week (parents work 40 hours, plus lunches, plus commutes). Parenting turns into a part-time job.

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  7. Wow. You have the knack for setting up and writing a scene. I’m struck by the butter and tears that both glisten and I feel for that boy.

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  8. Big changes afoot for everyone to be sure. Poor kid. This doesn’t sound like Hogwarts and his mom doesn’t sound anything like Mrs. Weasley.

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  12. A good opener, Kim. By Roseanne dropping her son off at the boarding school and the on the way back reminiscing of events from the last period of her life we quickly placed her life to be acceptable by our brains. I did wonder geographically where the couple might be living. I have envisioned them living in the U.K, London vicinity, and the school being overseas, Paris or the U.S? Our second youngest grandaughter went from the seventh through graduation at the International School in London and wanted to attend Oxford for college. BP footed all but her last year when our daughter was transferred back to Houston with her company. The grandaughter was accepted by Edinburgh but instead went to Georgetown U in Wasington D.C. now has a Masters in Math with Statistics emphasis. Getting them started in the higher schools needs strong parental guidance and help with timing and all the details. We got the college process started with our grandkids.
    I hope William has some loving grandparents near enough to the school to make regular visits, bring cookies for the weekends where he can’t come to their home. I know there were tough choices before this for Mom to often relive.
    ..

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    1. Thank you, Jim! I was happy at the state schools I attended. My cousins were not so lucky as my uncle was in the army and my aunt thought they would be safer at boarding school. But they grew up into well-designed adults.

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  13. Calls and letters won’t seem like enough to dry the tears. Maybe something big will happen to young William to make up for this.
    This is a very good hook for an opening scene. Such sadness with every reader hoping for better days.

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  15. So many emotions already, Kim. I remember the look in my father’s eyes every time he had to go away for work, having to leave his little girl behind–I wasn’t as brave as William, I always cry for days.

    This is a fantastic beginning! Off to read the second episode…

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