The January Wish by Juliet Madison Read Free Book Online Page A

and nights at the theatre. Not to mention the adult education courses they had enrolled in. She couldn’t understand why after a lifetime of working in schools her father would want to become a student himself, let alone study the oriental horticultural art of Bonsai. Her mother, yes, but she was happy to go along with anything.
    After more conversation about general topics and a dessert of lemon meringue pie, Sylvia wondered when she should see Grace next. Should she be taking her under her wing and inviting her to stay at her house? Would a parent want their daughter staying in a caravan by herself? She couldn’t decide the right thing to do. Deciding on a course of action with a patient was relatively easy. You assess the priorities and target each issue step by step. But she wasn’t trained for this.
    ‘You know, I’m loving the caravan park, everyone is so nice and friendly, and the bathrooms are actually quite decent. I’ve put up a few pictures in the caravan too, just to make it more homely,’ Grace said.
    ‘That’s great,’ replied Sylvia. Phew. Decision made. Looks like it was probably best to leave things the way they were for now. Besides, she barely knew her daughter. It would be utterly strange to have her under the same roof.
    ‘Oh, I’ve heard the monthly markets are on this Sunday, are they any good?’ Grace asked, resting her elbows on the table.
    Yes! That would be the perfect ‘next meet-up’, plenty of distractions around to get them talking. Sitting one on one at a table felt slightly awkward. Although Grace was showing herself to be quite the talker. Sylvia found it easy and fascinating to listen to her. ‘They’re fantastic. Many people come down from Sydney for the day. There’s food stalls, art, craft, jewellery, live entertainment…it’s a great day out. Even though I’ve been to more than I can remember, I still enjoy wandering around the park on market day.’ Sylvia dabbed at her lips with a napkin, then straightened in her chair as she adjusted her shirt.
    ‘Sounds awesome, I’ll definitely check them out.’ Grace fiddled with her phone.
    Sensing that Grace was waiting for her to say something, Sylvia leaned forward slightly. ‘Would you like to meet there?’
    Grace’s cheeks warmed with a pink glow. ‘I’d love to, I mean, that is, if you don’t have other things to do,’ she said feebly.
    ‘No, I’d love to join you for the day,’ Sylvia replied. ‘How about we meet at eleven?’
    ‘Sure, whereabouts?’
    Sylvia thought for a moment and smiled softly at the irony. ‘At the Wishing Fountain in Miracle Park.’

Chapter 9
    ‘All ready for tonight, Syl?’ asked Larissa.
    With all that had been going on lately, and an uncharacteristic sleep-in this morning, Sylvia had momentarily forgotten about her best friend’s hen’s night tonight. As the more responsible of the bridesmaids she was to be the designated driver, which meant no drinking, or at the very least, one glass of wine early in the evening. Sylvia and alcohol didn’t mix well. She did drink here and there, but never more than one or two at the most; not after that night back in high school when she’d had four or five drinks, resulting in a night she could only just remember and a baby nine months later.
    ‘Yes, of course,’ replied Sylvia, while opening her wardrobe to check which outfit she would be wearing, and gulping in horror when she realised she hadn’t yet prepared it on the clothes hanger labelled ‘special events’.
    ‘What’s that noise?’ Larissa enquired curiously into the phone.
    ‘What noise?’ Sylvia rebutted, as hangers slid and clothes swooshed along the railing until she found the outfit she planned on wearing. It was clean, but a little crumpled from being sandwiched between the hardly-worn funeral outfit and the often-worn conference suit.
    ‘Don’t tell me you’re rifling through your wardrobe figuring out what to wear, Sylvia Greene?’
    ‘Um, I already know