107 :: Driving on small roads
Mariam drove her small car down small roads. Smaller roads have fewer cameras. Whenever they did pass a camera Naomi could clearly be seen looking out at all they passed. They did not speak until they were near their destination.
I am taking you to a commune. It is different to London. Everyone tries their best to help. There are no rules. Just kindness. (Mariam)
Naomi said nothing.
There are a lot of communes now. The opposite to London. The communes are a good that came out of the London experiment. (Mariam)
They drove along narrow roads between trees and hedges. The English countryside has not changed in years. Lifetimes. Neat fields behind tidy hedges farmed with care. A countryside well looked after. It might have been unfair for those outside when the wall was put up but it was no harder than before. People still needed bread for their tables. Electricity for their houses. When the wall was put up there was anger but not chaos. Farms were still farmed. The factories still manufactured. The power stations still generated.
There is no leader in the commune. All the big decisions are taken by vote. I will need to call a meeting when I get there. I will tell them your story.. I am sure they will welcome you.. (Mariam)
They drove towards the coast. The Thames estuary. They drove alongside a river. Through a village. Through a town. Big houses. They were close to London on the east. Service industry managers lived her.
There are other options if this does not work out. No need to worry. (Mariam)
They followed the river away from the town. Towards a village. A harbour of sorts. A collection of barges. They stopped in front of a large beach house. Wooden. Weathered. From a distance it looked like a shack but up close you could see it was well built. They parked behind a row of three cars. Old cars. Small like the car they arrived in. Her car fitted. Mariam belonged.
This is it. Let us go inside. (Mariam)
108 :: Welcome to the collective
The Au Pair