by V. G. Lee
December 31st
Janice coming later. We are seeing in our first New Year.
Sit with Kitten on bench overlooking the garden. Everything as it should be. The meadow which I’d mown in early November lies dormant and flattened after the recent torrential rain. Today the sky has cleared and is a cold blue. Most of the gulls are either down on the beach or riding the waves but every now and then I see a white chevron soaring high above me.
Next door I can see Deirdre at her computer; Lord Dudley sits in his box lid next to her elbow. Just now she waved and mouthed Cuppa at two o’clock. I nodded.
I feel so very different from this time last year when Georgie was away in Scotland. It’s as if I’ve shed many layers: clothes, loves, likes, dislikes, all routines. This is a ludicrous image but in my mind I am a naked middle-aged woman stepping out into unknown territory. A fresh start. How my life turns out doesn’t depend even on Janice...or my friends... or circumstance. It depends on me.
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Also by this Author
If you enjoyed Diary of a Provincial Lesbian you can also find VG Lee’s novel Always You, Edina on Kindle and in paperback from Ward Wood Publishing and Amazon. Always You, Edina was endorsed by Sarah Waters and Stella Duffy, and was shortlisted for the 2012 Stonewall Awards for Writer of the Year. It was also Book of the Month for Stonewall in summer 2012.
Reviews
Sarah Waters:
‘Lee writes with unfailing warmth and wisdom about the comedy and complexity of childhood and family life. A real treat of a novel. I loved it.’
Stella Duffy:
‘VG Lee is funny, smart, clever, witty, not afraid to be honest and poignant at the same time.’
Time Out:
‘VG Lee is the first lesbian writer to specialize in that peculiarly Northern deadpan style that observes the humorous side of the casual cruelty inherent in human behaviour.’
Buy Always You, Edina for Kindle from your local Amazon store
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