always-a-pleasure:

The Wormwoods were so wrapped up in their own silly lives that they barely noticed they had a daughter. Had they paid any attention to her at all, they’d realized she was a rather extraordinary child. They named her Matilda. By the time she was 2, Matilda had learned what most people learn in their early 30s: how to take care of herself. As time went by, she developed a sense of style. Every morning, Matilda’s brother, Michael, went to school. Her father worked selling used cars for unfair prices. And her mother took off to play bingo. Matilda was left alone. That was how she liked it.