It was a strange thing to see the child already meeting the old woman in Jeanette’s face. One moment she looked younger than she had done ten years ago, her face pale without make-up, her mouth wide and secretive. She looked fresh, clean, dreamy and self-absorbed. Then with a change of light or mood or body chemistry this same face showed itself bruised, bluish, sharp, skin more than a little shrivelled under the eyes. A great deal had been simply skipped out.
