A sheet of printed paper landed at our feet, swept along with the autumn leaves by our governess’s skirt. Isabella – she preferred Bella – picked it up and read: ‘OGDEN’S EXTRAORDINARY EMPORIUM – ONE NIGHT ONLY’. The spidery black words filled us with anticipation. The address was not far from the house where we […]
Tag: Writers’ Pantry
Snow Globe Episode 11
Rosanna found a job editing with a British publisher and worked mainly from home. Mrs Allen stayed on and they became close friends, feeding off each other’s stories about Will. Sabrina visited every day and encouraged Rosanna to accompany her to coffee mornings with a group of friends, and soon she felt ready to tackle […]
Snow Globe Episode 10
The house was eerily quiet, except for the faint clatter of cups and plates as Mrs Allen set the table in the kitchen. It was warmer and cosier there, full of the love and sympathy of the only people who seemed to care about her. She did not make it to the undertaker’s; she broke […]
Snow Globe Episode 9
It was Mitch who booked her flight, packed her bags, and drove her to the airport. He arranged for Sabrina to collect her at Heathrow and promised to call every day. He organised a flight attendant to accompany her on the plane, and the kindly woman ensured that Rosanna ate and drank, and that she […]
Snow Globe Episode 8
For several days, things seemed to be back to normal. They ate breakfast and dinner together and Mitch even met her for lunch once. Rosanna felt a chill around him, a barrier that stopped her from reaching out to him or kissing him. The weather changed and she noticed a haze of little green buds […]
Snow Globe Episode 7
At three o’clock in the morning, she wiped off her make-up, cleaned her teeth and fell into bed, hoping to fall back to sleep. But sleep never came. By six she was up again, back in the leather armchair, watching the light change over the park and the yellow flashes of taxis like darting fish. […]
Snow Globe Episode 6
After she married Mitch, she had lost touch with her small circle of friends in England, all busy working or bringing up their children and she had not yet made any friends of her own in New York. The only sympathetic person who always had time for her was her ex-sister-in-law, Sabrina. She called her […]
Snow Globe Episode 5
“I love my snow globe,” he said, a smile on his face and a blush on each cheek. “I’ll put it on my bedside cabinet so I can see it before I go to sleep and when I wake up. The other boys in my dorm will all want one.” “Don’t let anyone break it, […]
Snow Globe Episode 4
The shop assistants at Bloomingdale’s were attentive and helpful, and suggested bringing a photograph of the house; their supplier would do their best to recreate it for her. They also warned her that a snow globe over 100ml would have to be packed in checked luggage. The project involved several trips and ended up costing […]
Snow Globe Episode 3
Once they landed in New York, everything became a blur of bright lights, yellow taxis and tall buildings. Rosanna spent a few days recovering from nauseating jet lag and then launched herself into a busy life of high-profile publishing. Her new employer’s offices took up the whole of the top two floors of a skyscraper […]
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