A Good Enough Mother

Mia is telling me a story. It's about a princess who lives in a castle on a street that bears a remarkable resemblance to ours. About a kind old lady who's the queen. I'm distracted for a moment by her little hand softly slipping into mine. My daughter. My angel. But then she says something that pulls me from my reverie. She says that the queen doesn't treat the princess well. She punishes her and doesn't let her eat anything . . . Helen my neighbour has been so good to me. And more importantly she's so good with the children. Surely this is just another story of Mia's just make believe. Because if it's not maybe my dad was right all along: I was never good enough to be a mother and I've let my precious children down in the worst way possible.