My dad had a bottle of her perfume hidden under his mattress, though, and when he was out on his
rounds, or down the Engineers with his mates, I would sometimes sneak
into his bedroom and spray a little of that perfume — it was called Cinnabar — onto my pillow and maybe pretend that Mum was watching TV in the next room, or that she'd just popped
into the
kitchen to
get me a cup of milk and that she'd be back to read me a story.