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Saturday 28th
April 2007 Madeleine Lilly
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Saturday 28th
April 2007 Madeleine Lilly |
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Saturday 28th
April 2007 Amelie Sean
Madeleine Lilly |
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Saturday 28th
April 2007 Kate Amelie Sean
Madeleine Lilly |
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Saturday 28th
April 2007 Amelie Sean
Madeleine Lilly |
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Saturday 28th
April 2007 Lilly Gerry
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Saturday 28th
April 2007 Lilly Gerry |
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Saturday 28th
April 2007
Gerry |
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Madeleine Gerry
Sean Lilly |
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Madeleine Gerry
Sean Lilly |
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Madeleine |
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Madeleine |
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Madeleine |
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Madeleine |
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Gerry Amalie
Madeleine |
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Madeleine |
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13_VOLUME_XIIIa_Page_3404 Madeleine
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The book Madeleine Page 46 |
The travel cots we’d requested for
Sean and Amelie had been placed in the back
bedroom. As there were full-length
patio doors here, too, and it was bigger and
brighter, we decided to put the three
children in the front bedroom,
knowing they’d only be using their room to
sleep in, and to take this one ourselves.
We removed the cots and shoved the twin
beds together. In the other room, we
pushed the beds further apart, positioning
each against a wall, to make room for the
cots, which we placed in between them.
After reorganizing the sleeping
arrangements and unpacking
some essentials, we went down to the pool
area at the back of the apartment to join
the rest of the holiday group – Jane,
Russell, Rachael and Matt and their kids had
arrived a few hours ahead of us. |
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The book Madeleine Page 47 |
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The weather was pleasant enough, although there
was a cool breeze. It was still April,
after all. As I am one of those people
who really feel the cold (‘Get a bit of meat on
yerself!’ my hardy Scottish in-laws are always
telling me), when Madeleine immediately
wanted me to go swimming with her, I was not
exactly keen. But she was so excited
about the pool. I took one look at her eager
little face and went off to put on my costume.
The water was absolutely freezing, but Madeleine
was straight in there, even if her voice
disappeared for a second or two with the shock
of it. ‘Come on, Mummy!’ she called when she’d
got her breath back. I tentatively inched my way
in. ‘The things you do for your kids!’ I
remember commenting to a dad lying on a
sunlounger with his two sons nearby, watching
us. I told Madeleine to count to three and
steeled myself. It was worth it – it will always
be worth it – just to see her delight.
Even if it did take us both the best part of
three hours to warm up afterwards.
We were still shivering when we went off
to a ‘welcome’ meeting with the Mark
Warner team, who outlined the facilities and
events on offer. We booked the children into the
kids’ clubs, starting the next day. These
provided a wide range of activities, both indoor
and outdoor, that varied from day to day:
swimming at the indoor pool, ‘icecream’ trips,
boat rides at the beach, sandcastle-building,
games like mini-tennis and the usual arts and
crafts,singing and stories. |
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The book Madeleine Page 65 |
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Some images are etched for all
time on my brain. Madeleine that lunchtime is
one of them. She was wearing an outfit I’d
bought especially for her holiday: a peach
coloured smock top from Gap and some white
broderie-anglaise shorts from Monsoon –
a small extravagance, perhaps, but I’d pictured
how lovely she would look in them and I’d been
right. She was striding ahead of Fiona and
me, swinging her bare arms to and fro.
The weather was a little on the cool side and I
remember thinking I should have brought a
cardigan for her, although she seemed oblivious
of the temperature, just happy and carefree.
I was following her with my eyes, admiring
her. I wonder now, the nausea rising in my
throat, if someone else was doing the same. |
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