Warning: this post contains spoilers to “Dear Enemy”, the sequel to “Daddy-Long-Legs” by the same author.
I finally finished reading the book. Initially, I didn’t like it as much as I like its prequel, but after reading about one-third, I must say I started enjoying the voice of Sallie McBride, the best friend of Judy Abbott from “Daddy-Long-Legs”. The entire book is comprised of letters, and we understand the story by reading various letters of Sallie McBride to different people, not just Judy.
Below are some highlights:
From the anime version of “Daddy Long Legs”
Judy and Jervis had a daughter, and guess what? They named her Judy, Junior! Since their love story had many parallels with Candy and Albert in Candy Candy, I can’t help but wonder if Mizuki is to give us the name of Candy’s husband one day, would they also have a daughter? If so, would Candy name their daughter “Candy, Junior” as well? 🙂
Judy was happily married to Jervis. They were so in love, and Judy couldn’t imagine leaving his side for more than two days! Therefore, she traveled with him to many business trips, even bringing their daughter to Jamaica and other countries near the Caribbean.
“Dear Enemy” is also a story of how Sallie grew up as a woman while being the superintendent of John Grier Home, the orphanage where Judy had grown up. Judy and Jervis hired Sallie to be in charge of improving and upgrading the orphanage, but the story also includes her romance with two men. It was an interesting read to see how she slowly came to realize that she didn’t really love the man she was engaged to marry. These are her words in her letter to Judy,
“The girl he loves is not the me I want to be… we no longer have any interests in common; we are not friends… He doesn’t comprehend it; he thinks… that all I have to do is to take an interest in his life… I talk about the things he wants to talk about… I pretend when I am with him. I am not myself, and if I were to live together… I’d have to keep on pretending all my life. He wants me to watch his face and smile when he smiles and frown when he frowns. He can’t realize that I’m an individual just as much as he is…”
When reading, I was very touched by Sallie’s words, and later, when she somehow discovered that she was actually in love with another man, she wrote to him in a love letter,
“I wonder, when we are old and bent and tottery, can you and I look back, with no regrets… it’s nice to look forward to, isn’t it–a life of work and play and little daily adventures side by side with somebody you love? I’m not afraid of the future any more. I don’t mind growing old with you…”
He was a Scottish, a reliable comrade who was always there for her whenever she had problems arising from managing the orphanage. He deeply cared about the orphans just like Sallie herself, and guess what? To Sallie, he was her best friend. 😀 Also, because Sallie had a boyfriend (later engaged), this guy had been suppressing his true feelings for Sallie. Sounds familiar? 😉