Harriet Williams was raised by a single mother. It was always just the two of them, and they’d always been incredibly close. Her mother really pushed her daughter to do what she loved - and what she loved was photography. Hattie got her first camera for her 9th birthday, and she hasn’t stopped taking photos since. Her preferred camera is a polaroid - she hates waiting and loves instantly having a photograph in her hand - and the walls of her bedroom are wallpapered with the little square pictures. As she explained in her thesis for her photography course at university “There is something natural and raw about a polaroid picture. It removes the inevitable editing that happens to any digital print - there is an honesty to polaroids that you do not find anywhere else.”
Esther’s parents only wanted one child. Ten years after Grace was born, Mrs McAdams discovered that she was pregnant, unexpectedly, for the second time. Although not part of their life plan, the McAdams’ saw their second daughter as a gift from God.
The oldest daughter, Grace, was intelligent and found everything academic a breeze. She was a part of student council, aced all her exams and sped her way through medical school. Now, at 30, she’s a successful doctor, and lives in a fancy neighbourhood with her surgeon husband. Esther, on the other hand, always struggled with the academic side of school and hated studying. Esther’s talents laid in the creative arts and she excelled in music and art. Somehow, she managed to scrabble her way through school with reasonable grades, but college and work was not something on the cards for her. As soon as she left school, to her parents dismay, Esther packed up her van with her guitar and her paints and hit the road, to enjoy the life of sin that her parents worried she was living.
Travelling the country, Esther made some big bucks selling her paintings at galleries and craft fairs. When times were hard and sales were slower, she busked and drew caricatures for tourists. She paid her own way - and never had to ask her parents for help - until now.
Esther’s pride and joy, her 60s camper, nicknamed Ducky, hit some mechanical issues that were well out of her price-range. She made her way home to her parents’ house, practically begging them for the money to fix her beloved Ducky. The agreement? Yes, they would help her - but she had to stay home until Christmas. Desperate to save her van, Esther agreed, even though the prospect of seven months living at her parents’ house seems like hell.
