Mama's girls
by the Celiana
Chapter the First
"Bye!" the other children waved to Dara from the windows of the orphanage. "Bye, Dara! We'll miss you!"
Dara waved back as her eyes watered with tears. Happy and sad tears. Happy to have a home of her own, and sad to be leaving her friends.
"Dara, come on. We didn't come here to dilly-dally." Dara's adoptive mother, Celia coaxed. Dara forced herself to look away from the orphanage children. "Yes, Mum," she said softly.
"DARA!" Celia scolded. "I told you you didn't have to call me, Mum!"
"I know. I want to." Dara said firmly.
"Alright. It's alright if you want to, but I don't want you to feel obligated to." Celia said comfortingly. They had left the orphanage grounds by now, and Celia steered Dara towards a black Mercedes-Benz.
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"After you, Dara honey." Celia said opening the back door and holding it open for her adoptive daughter. Dara scrambled into the backseat.
"Wow! A Mercedes-Benz Electra! That's the newest model, it's really expensive!" Dara crowed, as she slide back and forth over the slippery seat. Celia smiled happily at her new daughter. She was glad that Dara liked her, she wanted to be a good mother for the girl, but she didn't want to replace the girl's own parents.
She slide the black doors shut behind the two of them and started up the car's engine. "How do you know so much about cars, Dara?" Celia asked as they began driving through the streets of London. A London bus nearly crashed into them, but its driver righted the bus just in time.
"Oh, I don't." Dara explained. "It's Derek. His and Andrew's dorm was right across from Amelia and mine. He was obsessed with cars. He was b-best friends with Amelia, though, so he was in our room a lot. I kind of absorbed car knowledge even though I tried to tune him out." Celia had listened intently throughout Dara's outburst, but said nothing to keep Dara talking.
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Only one other time had Dara volunteered information about herself. It had been the time when she had told Celia, that she wouldn't want to adopt her, not with the "freaky" things that had happened to her every since she was about four years old. That was when Celia had guessed that the girl had magical blood.
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"H-have you got stuff?" Celia asked, fingering her wand in her pocket. Seeing that Dara was confused, she explained. "Clothing, books? Toys? I don't know if you still play with toys. I have toys in the attic, but I don't know if that's too old-fashioned for you or if you'd rather-" Celia cut her self off. "What do you need, Dara?" She asked softly.
"I've got some stuff." Dara clarified. "I haven't ever had a doll of my own. Do you think that I could have one? Just one. I've got some clothes, I'd like some books if I can, though."
"Listen, we'll go to Fortnum and Mason. You can pick out your clothes, books, your doll, then we'll have lunch at one of the cafes. Sounds good to you?" Celia asked. Dara nodded vigorously.
"Fortnum and Mason's it is." Celia proclaimed.
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After hours, and hours of Dara trying on clothes and choosing her doll(unfortunately, she was one of the ones who loved shopping, thought Celia miserably.), Celia finally dragged her away from the clothing stores and put her in front of a bookstore. "You can choose fourteen books for now, but only if we don't have it at home. Now shoo!" Dara shot out of Celia's grasp and tore into the bookstore.
A half an hour later she showed a pile of fourteen books to Celia. Celia went through the pile quickly. "Okay. We have Ballet Shoes, What Katy Did, A little princess, and the Little White Horse at home. So why don't you pick four more books."
Dara came back in fifteen minutes. "What about these?" she asked.
"We have A Girl of the Limberlost and All of a KInd Family." Celia said.
For the third time, Dara came back with books, "Are Journey to America and Little House in the Big Woods, okay?" Celia nodded. Then a thought crossed her mind. "I think it's time for lunch. I'll go purchase the books for you, then we'll eat in one of the cafes."
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Celia opened the menu. "What would you like to eat, Dara?" She asked. Dara looked down at her own menu. "Can I have-I mean, may I have a ham and cheese sandwich on wheat bread, please?" She asked. Celia breathed a sigh of relief. She had been worried Dara might be unreasonable and insist on cake or ice cream, but of course Dara probably thought she'd get in trouble if she didn't eat nutritious food. "Of course, you may, would you want to split a small green salad? Celia asked.
"Yes, please. Can we put oil and vinegar on it?" Dara asked. Celia smiled brightly. "I wouldn't have it any other way!" She said.
Once they had finished their sandwiches and salads, Celia counted out five shillings and handed them to Dara. "Here, go pick out a dessert." Dara's face lit up and she ran to the counter.
Dara picked a lemon tart and devoured. "Thank you, Ce-Mum." She said as she wiped her face with her napkin.
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Driving once more through the streets of London, Celia remarked to Dara, "I think you'll like the house. You have your own room. I've decorated it in pink, but I don't know if you'll want to repaint it or not. Oh, I've nearly forgotten! My half-sister, Milly, will be staying with us. It's just for the summer. In September, she goes back to her boarding school. But I had promised. I hope you don't mind." Dara frowned. She had hoped that she could spend the summer just getting to know her new mum. Of course, she had to be polite, though, so. "No. I don't mind." She said, softly.
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