An Extraordinary Life

Love Dares You

September 21st, 1982

Isabella was a day away from starting school, and genuinely terrified. Every time Mary brought it up, Isabella did whatever she could to divert the conversation. She got so good at changing that particular subject that she had no idea Mary had worked very hard to find a place that would fit Isabella's needs as much as she possibly could.

Not only was it posh, private, and the most expensive school in all of London, but it was literally called The American School in London.

With one day left until she started school, Isabella knew she had no way around thwarting Mary's efforts. She was either going to be dropped off the next morning in an area of London she knew nothing about, or she'd do the damned thing and let Mary take her around the area first.

When Mary didn't get into their town car, and Isabella stood tugging at the passenger door handle, Isabella simply stared at the woman in pure confusion.

A smile played on Mary's lips. "I thought we'd take the underground today for our transport, what do you think?"

"A train?"

"No, we call it the tube," Mary walked around the front of the car and reached out her hand for Isabella to take it. "If it's also part of Transport for London, or TfL, and it's above ground, we call it the overground. If it's any other above ground train and it's not run by TfL, it's just a train."

Isabella made a funny face. "Basically, repeat that every day for the next six to eight weeks and maybe I'll catch on."

"You'll be a proper Londoner before you know it."

"Do you really think I can be one in such a short amount of time?" Isabella asked seriously. To her, it was a genuine question as any other. To Mary, it was disappointing. A few weeks in and she was still fixating on going home.

Mary held her tongue, not wanting to make Isabella feel pressured to stay, or feel bad about just how bad it made her feel. She was working so hard to make Isabella happy, and thought they had been making strides.

Oh well, Mary thought to herself. All you can do is your best.

"I think you absolutely could be, as long as you limit the influence Joseph has on you. He's as American as it gets, and even though he's been here for a couple years, England has not changed him a bit."

"I really like him," Isabella felt herself smile naturally at the thought of Joe, as Mary led the way to Earl's Court tube station. "He's... warm? It's hard to explain."

"He really likes you too, Isabella. He's a joy. Between us, he was in a bit of a funk before you came. I think it was clear he was missing home and now you've brought a piece of his home with you."

Isabella was thoughtful for a moment, pretending she was taking in her surroundings but really just needing a moment to process Mary's words. It felt good to know she had positively impacted someone at Garden Lodge, and not just the other way around. She had a very hard time expressing how she felt about any of them to their actual faces, so she settled with telling one adult how she felt about another. That was the best she could do at that time.

But, because of that, Mary was missing out. She had no idea how Isabella really felt about her yet, except for the fact that Isabella said she was so nice and then had been peppered with a million "thank you's."

Mary pushed her own ruminating aside and bought them tickets for the underground.

"So, the tube system in London looks very complicated, but once you get the hang of it, it you'll understand it in no time," Mary started, handing Isabella an orange ticket.