Page 54 of How Much Wine Will Fix My Broken Heart?
‘It looks incredible. Are you having fun?’ I ask.
‘Yup, I like it when you come and see my classroom. Do you want to see where I hang my coat?’ she asks me.
‘Always.’ She takes my hand and I salute Helen as I leave, watching as she tries to rake glitter out of her son’s hair.
Maya’s hand in mine is always a treat. She interlocks our fingers and drags me along. ‘So this is it. That’s my name and, every morning, I put my stuff here and then I put my water bottle here,’ she tells me. ‘And I hang my coat properly like you told me, not by the hood.’
I smile. Small wisdoms, I guess. A person hovering interrupts us. ‘Miss Callaghan, hi.’
Miss Loveday. Ever since we had our chat and she confronted Carrie at the school gate, there is a different feel to her. She seems stronger, she’s going with the flow a bit more.
‘Are you showing Mum your peg, Maya?’
She nods, proudly.
‘When you’re done, there’s the poem corner over there. Why don’t you find a sheet and a pencil?’
Maya scurries off.
‘She really is bright as a button, that one. I also wanted to say, I’ve been chatting to the head here. She’s had trouble finding someone to cover me for the one term so I’ve agreed to stay on until the summer and finish off the year. It’s not official yet but I just wanted you to know.’
I smile broadly. ‘That is excellent news.’
‘Thank you,’ she says. Did I do that? Or was it my daughter biting your nemesis that was the game-changer? However Miss Loveday’s managed to level out that crisis, I’m thrilled for Maya at least. I nod and she continues to move around the classroom. I find Maya, her pencil poised and her tongue sticking into her cheek as she concentrates really hard. I squat next to her to see what she’s doing.
‘What’s this then?’ I ask her.
‘They are called acrostic poems. It says the word FAMILY and you have to pick a word for each letter to describe your family.’
I glance over what she’s tried to write.
Funy
Amazeing
Maya
I love my famalee
Laff
Y
Looks like the phonics are working their magic then. I remind myself to read more with her. I am glad she at least got her own name right. I kiss her on the forehead.
‘Those are some good letters.’
‘I know. I just can’t think of something for Y,’ Maya says, confused.
That is a tricky one. Youthful? Yummy? I pull a face trying to think of something when suddenly she has a lightbulb moment.
You, Me and Cleo.
I smile as she writes it. It’s kind of perfect. So perfect it makes me want to tear up, but I won’t put her through that embarrassment. We have six years left in this school at least. She puts her hand in mine and squeezes it hard.
‘That might be my favouritest poem that I’ve ever read,’ I tell her.
‘I’m going to show Miss Loveday,’ she says, grabbing the paper and running off.
