The Night Rainbow A Novel - By Claire King Page 0,46

has never been your house.

I was Amaury’s wife, says Maman, in everything but name. Don’t you try and take that from me.

He deserved better than you, says Mami Lafont. It comes spitting out of her mouth like sour apple.

Leave me alone. Don’t you think I have enough to think about right now? Maman is shouting now.

Better now, Mami Lafont says, than trying to move when you’ve got a newborn. Why don’t you just go back home? You don’t belong here, can’t you see?

What do you know about where I belong? This is my home, you stupid woman, says Maman. This is our home.

Let’s go upstairs, Margot says to me.

This is a good idea for two reasons. Firstly Maman seems really angry, and it will be better if we are not there to get under her feet when she has finished having her argument, and secondly because if we lean out of the window we can see better. We hurry upstairs and open the shutters.

You can’t even look after yourself, Mami is saying. And what’s that mess in the barn? The place is full of rotten fruit, wasps and ants everywhere, Amaury’s tractor covered in the stuff. Are you crazy?

I want you to leave, now. Maman’s voice is flat.

Brigitte is getting married. We will need the farm, Mami Lafont carries on. It’s much too big for you. All those empty rooms going to waste.

And where am I supposed to go? I know you don’t care about Peony and me, but do you want to make your grandchild homeless?

I don’t have a grandchild. Mami is smiling the smile of someone who doesn’t want her photo taken.

What do you think this is? Maman is pointing at her belly.

Well, says Mami Lafont, that’s to be seen. But what are you going to do with the farm? You can’t farm it. When the money in the bank runs out then what?

We will find a way, says Maman. It’s none of your business.

Joanna, says Mami Lafont, what kind of mother are you anyway? That child is running wild. She drinks from the tap outside like a savage. She hasn’t had a haircut in months. You’re not even feeding her properly.

How would you know how I bring up my daughter? says Maman. You’re never around to see.

There are eyes and ears everywhere in this village, says Mami.

Eyes and ears everywhere! says Margot.

In the trees! I say.

On the walls! says Margot.

In the sky, I say. Flying around with the birds. Then I hear Maman say, Ow! And I lean a little further to check that she’s OK, but then Mami Lafont notices me and looks up. She waggles her bony finger at me.

And just to prove my point, says Mami, that child is going to fall out of the window if you are not careful.

Maman steps out into the courtyard, making Mami Lafont move backwards. She is holding her belly again, bent over a bit, and her face is white. She cricks her neck to see me.

Peony!

Sorry, I say, and slither backwards off the window ledge and back into my room. I stand by the window, trying to stretch my hearing so I don’t miss anything. Maman has started shouting in English now, which is very strange because Mami Lafont doesn’t speak English at all.

I can’t do this, she says. Get away from me. Get away!

It goes quiet. After a minute I hear the engine rattle on Mami Lafont’s car, and the front door slams. My heart thumps. Whump, whump inside my T-shirt. I hear bare feet slap slowly up the stairs and another door bang shut. Then there is no noise in the house at all, but the argument words are still bouncing around in my head.

Well, fancy that, says Margot.

What? I say.

Tante Brigitte is getting married! says Margot. We are going to be bridesmaids.

There are shouted words and lots of questions heavy on my insides like pebbles in my tummy. But every step away from the house I feel lighter, and we walk straight down the path to make it go faster. Margot is not interested in the argument, only in weddings.

What sort of dresses shall we have? asks Margot.

Why are they cross with each other? I say.

I think we should have flowers too, lots of different colours.

Why did Mami say she has no grandchildren? Has she forgotten about us?

Sometimes when you are a bridesmaid you get a present, says Margot.

Present? What kind of a present?

It depends what you wish for, she says. So come on,