The Family of Temporary Homes
Other PeopleThis flow traces the people and places that shelter Mary briefly, showing how every refuge has limits.
increasing
Bearing strength in each event
decreasing
The Tramps’ Fire

The Tramps’ Fire
A Brief Welcome
Mary sits with Modo, Rosie, Neville, and Hopdance near a source of warmth. They accept her without demanding an explanation of who she is.
The Shelter’s Limits
The group offers momentary company rather than a safe home. Sharon removes Mary from the camp, beginning another sequence of temporary dependence.
The Botham Home

The Botham Home
A Family Takes Her In
The Bothams allow Mary to stay and include her in their household conversation. She becomes a listener and witness before she understands the family’s complicated bonds.
Loss of the Refuge
The attack and Mr Botham’s injury end the arrangement. Mary cannot stay when the family itself is in crisis.
The Hostel Bed

The Hostel Bed
A Structured Shelter
The hostel supplies a bed and rules, giving Mary a place to return at night. She learns the routines alongside women carrying their own histories of loss.
Conditional Welcome
The hostel limits how long she can stay and threatens to expel residents for trouble. Its structure offers safety without belonging.
The Squat Attic

The Squat Attic
A Room and Community
Alan and Russ help Mary move into the squat, where her attic room becomes a valued private space. The house includes many residents whose routines make it lively and unpredictable.
The Community Breaks
Alan’s suicide and the ensuing police inquiry scatter the household and end Mary’s place there. The refuge is real, but it cannot withstand the crisis.
Prince’s Household

Prince’s Household
A Quiet Arrangement
Amy lives in a room at Prince’s house and participates in ordinary domestic routines. She understands that the room is not hers, even as it gives her a safer place to recover.
A Refuge for Renewal
The home does not restore her past or guarantee a permanent future. It offers a setting where Amy can live with uncertainty without being immediately driven into danger.
The morning after the hospital
The first week
After Mary leaves the Bothams
After Mary gets café work
After the Christmas crisis