Daughters by Elizabeth Buchan

whale carrying a dead calf. This is an emotional experience for everyone.
    This is where the similarities between humans and the whale become so very apparent. For example, a pilotwhale mother will never give up on her dead calf. She will carry the calf in her mouth or on her back for weeks at a time, refusing to give up. Female pilot whales never stop believing in their child’s ability to pull through. They will push their dead calf to the surface for air in a desperate attempt to give them life.
    During this time the pod around the mother and calf acts as a barrier to the outside world, and allows the mother to grieve. The male pilot whales will dive for food and the rest of the pod will form a strong group around the female and calf, supporting her in her grieving process every step of the way. The maternal instinct of a pilot whale and that of a human are almost identical.
    The pod will offer support and sympathy to the female just as a human family might do. You can see in her eyes the pain and desperation she feels towards her dead calf as it slowly decomposes in front of her. She will fight to the last second to give her child life, pushing it to the surface for air until she realizes that there is no hope left …
    Jasmine still had a copy of the essay. But she had never shown it to Lara.
    No.
    Early one Sunday evening, not long before Christmas, she and Duncan dropped in at the house. Lara was out and Maudie was squashed up at the kitchen table, surrounded by papers and the laptop. Jasmine assessed the posture. Slumped. Head in mittened hands.
    ‘Oh dear,’ said Duncan. ‘You don’t look happy.’
    ‘Thought you’d be revising with Tess,’ said Jasmine.
    Maudie had, as yet, to let her sisters in on her Harvard plan, but Eve and Jasmine knew about it. Lara had informed them in the solemn voice she kept for secrets, and emphasized, ‘Maudie doesn’t want you to know about it yet.’ Short, but pregnant, pause. ‘She takes the SAT exam for Harvard entry soon after Christmas.’
    Eve said, ‘You shouldn’t have told us, Mum. It’s Maudie’s secret.’
    Lara stared hard at her. ‘What does loyalty matter,’ she flashed, ‘when I need your help?’
    Lara had already worked out a pretty stringent revision timetable for Maudie. Could they, she asked, help her to keep Maudie sane and operational?
    Jasmine agreed that she could.
    Maudie had been crying what appeared to be angry tears for she was also flushed and tight-lipped. She was dressed from top to toe in black, with black mittens and black boots, and green nails.
    ‘What’s with the Hecate outfit?’ asked Jasmine.
    ‘Go away.’ Maudie stiffened. ‘It’s not funny.’
    ‘No, it isn’t. Sorry.’ Jasmine positioned a kiss on Maudie’s fair, tumbled head.
    Duncan dropped down on to the bench (bought for next to nothing in the salvage yard). It had done sterling work as seating throughout the girls’ childhood. ‘Hey, tell.’
    Maudie grabbed Duncan’s hands and clung to them. ‘I can’t
do
this.’ She virtually crumpled. ‘It’s all too much.’
    ‘You mean the exams?’
    Maudie nodded, and Duncan signalled, ‘
Help
,’ to Jasmine. ‘Maudie,’ he said, ‘if you panic, you’ll be useless.’
    Maudie snatched her hands back. ‘Don’t joke.’
    ‘Look at me –
look
at me! Am I joking?’ Again he turned to Jasmine.
Team work, please.
    She came to the rescue. ‘Maudie, listen to me. Everyone panics from time to time. Duncan and I panic a lot. But it’s something we’ve learned to manage. We have to. You have to.’
    Maudie pulled the mittens further down over her hands. ‘You don’t understand.’
    ‘I think I do.’
    ‘No – you
don’t
understand.’
    Jasmine scavenged in the cupboard by the door. ‘You need time off. Do you think Mum’s got any wine?’
    ‘Good idea,’ said Duncan.
    ‘She gets all funny when I have a drink.’
    ‘Mum ain’t here.’
    Duncan examined the bottle Jasmine produced and got to his