Chapter 78

Elsie narrates that three months into her commitment to a mental institution, she gave birth to a son at a hospital. A kind but firm nurse, Maureen, stayed with her and offered comfort, while the delivering doctor remained cold and never addressed Elsie directly. Expecting the baby’s removal, Elsie chose not to hold him, yet she felt sharp grief hearing his first cry. A nurse then took the infant away, and fifteen-year-old Elsie wept in Maureen’s arms.

Elsie explains that after five years in the institution she was released, studied to become a librarian, and secured a job at the State Library. She reconnected with Ness, who, after Cess’s death, had moved to North Melbourne and founded a home supporting war widows, unwed mothers, and their children. Elsie worked there during her studies and saw Ness deeply fulfilled by the work.

Though grateful for stability, Elsie admits she did not feel naturally maternal and kept some distance from the babies—except for one child. Prompted by Libby and Adeem’s questions, Elsie reveals she repeatedly returned to see a quiet, dark-haired boy whom Ness had adopted as a newborn. Even after moving to her own cottage on Kenny Lane, she found reasons to visit and read to him.

Elsie discloses that the boy’s file listed him as placed by a teenage mother who’d given birth in a psychiatric facility. She then states the child’s name: Peter—confirming that the baby she delivered at fifteen was adopted by Ness and grew up as Peter, the man now contesting her plans and calling her “Mum.”