Page 56 of The Bad Mother's Diary

Alex Dalton’s little sister, Jemima, was there.

As usual, she was the best-dressed seven-year-old in the park, with a jaunty orange scarf tied perfectly under her pretty face.

Thought Alex and Zach might be there too, but Jemima was with her nanny.

I should have known really – there was no vintage MG in sight.

Jemima helped me push Daisy on the bucket swings.

I think Jemima’s nanny was pleased. She obviously wanted to watch make-up tips on YouTube.

Jemima asked if I’d play with her again some time.

I said of course I would.

Then she said, ‘I wish I had friends my own age to play with.’

Poor little thing. ?

It makes me realise how lucky I am to have sisters.

I asked Jemima if she was still staying on the Dalton Estate at the weekends. She said she was. With her big brothers and Nanny Charlotte.

She told me how fun Alex was and how he always played with her. She said he let her toot the horn in his MG.

Then she whispered, ‘My nanny isn’t a real nanny, you know. Mummy only hired her because she’s the daughter of her old school friend.’

I couldn’t think of anything to say to that, so I said, ‘That’s nice.’

Jemima said, ‘It’s not nice. I don’t like her.’

Friday May 15th

Babies grow so quickly!

It feels like yesterday that I bought Daisy 3-6 month baby gros. And she’s nearly too big for them.

The 6-9 month ones are too big, so it’s either squashed toes or great big long snoopy legs.

Keep meaning to adjust the stroller straps too. They’re getting a bit tight, but they are so FIDDLY! I can’t work them out. I can’t work out the bottle warmer or the car seat either.

I used to be GOOD at practical stuff. What happened? Are all baby devices just stupidly complicated? Or have I lost a lot of brain cells?

Saturday May 16th

Did the wedding dress rehearsal today. In the church.

Since Nick pretty much chose my wedding dress, I thought I might as well rehearse in it. The more I practice wearing it, the less chance I have of falling over.

All my bridesmaids were there, except Sadie. She met some theatre director last night and ended up on a yacht in Richmond.

Brandi was hung over. But she held it together pretty well. She picked the wrong underwear for her bridesmaid dress, though – it really showed through.

When Helen saw that Brandi had rolled up her dress into a mini-skirt, her nostrils flared.

I thanked Helen for helping with the wedding flowers.

She snorted, ‘Lucky I helped. Or this churchcouldhave looked like your sister’s underwear.’

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