CREDIT TO BETTY NEELS
A CHRISTMAST WISH
by Betty Neels
It seem he’s perfected a way of_doing something or other; our Mr. Jenks asked him here so that he can_pick up some ideas." She started for the door.__"He's nice."__Olivia agreed silently. She didn't allow her thoughts to dwell (stay) upon_him, though. For one thing she had too much to do and for another she_had plenty (abundance)-banyak of things—personal things--to think about. Rodney,for_instance (example). She and Rodney had been friends for years, long before her_father had died and left her mother poor, so that they had had to leave_their home in Dorset and come to London to live with her grandmother in_the small flat on the fringe-pinggiran of Islington.__That had been four years ago,and Olivia had found herself a job almost_at once to augment (supplement) the two older ladies' income.__It wasn't very well paid but, beyond an expensive education,she had no_training of any sort (kind) and it was well within her scope. Indeed,after a_couple of months she had realised that it was work which held no_future, and longed to have the chance to train for something which_would enable her to use her brain, but that was impossible. Making_ends meet, even with her wages (salary) added, was a constant (stable) worry to her_mother, and she couldn't add to that.__If her grandmother had been more amenable (agreeable) it might have been possible,_but Mrs. Fitzgibbon, having offered them a home, considered that she_had done her duty and saw no reason to forgo (miss) her glass of sherry, her_special tea from Fortnum and Mason, and her weekly visit to the_hairdresser, with a taxi to take her there and back. She had sent away_her daily cleaner too, saying that her daughter was quite capable of_keeping the flat tidy, but graciously ( politely) allowed a woman to come once a_week to do the heavy housework.__It wasn't an ideal situation, but Olivia could see no way out of it._Nor could she see any chance of marrying Rodney, a rising (growing) young man on_the Stock Exchange, who had reiterated (repeat) time and again that once he had_got his flat exactly as he wanted it, and bought a new car, they would_marry. Four years, thought Olivia, sitting at the table eating_sandwiches and drinking pale and tepid tea from a flask, and there's_always something--and anyway, how can I marry him and leave Mother?_She'll be Granny's slave.__The day's work came to an end and she got into her raincoat-baju hujan, tied a_scarf over her glorious (wonderful) hair, locked the door and took the key along to_the porter's lodge (small house). She stood in the entrance for a moment, breathing_in the chill (cool) of the evening, and made for the bus-stop.__It was an awkward (uncomfortable) journey to and from the hospital, and the buses at_that time of day were packed. Olivia, her junoesque proportions (scope/size) _squeezed (press) between a stout (fat/heavy) matron carrying a bag full of things with_sharp edges and a small, thin man with a sniff, allowed her thoughts_to wander (walk) to the pleas (request) anter aspects of life. New clothes it was high_time she had something different to wear when she went out with Rodney;_a legacy from some unknown person; finding a treasure-trove in the tiny_strip of garden behind her grandmother's flat;__being taken out to dinner and dancing at one of the best hotels the_Savoy for in stance suitably dressed, of course, to eat delicious food_and dance the night away. She realised with something of a shock that_it wasn't Rodney's face on her imaginary partner but that of the man_who had asked why she sang while she worked. This won't do, she told_herself, and frowned so fiercely that the thin man recoiled.__The street where her grandmother had her flat was suited to that_old-fashioned word 'genteel'. The tiny front gardens were all alike_laurel bushes, a strip of grass and two steps leading to the front door_behind which was another smaller door, leading to the flat above. All_the windows had net curtains and, beyond distant good mornings and good_evenings, no one who lived there spoke to anyone else.__Olivia hated it; she had spent the first year that they were there_planning ways of leaving it, but her mother felt it to be her duty to_stay with Granny since she had offered them a home and Olivia, a_devoted (loyal) daughter, found it impossible to leave her mother there though_she disliked it, she suspected, just as much as she did.__She got out her key, unlocked