Page 27 of Sew Matcha in Love
“Oh! Yes. Sorry. How do I?—”
“Find the twins? You don’t. They just found you.” She pointed her water bottle toward the twins and grinned.
“Wynnie!”
“You’re here!”
“Come to our table!”
“Can Ryleigh’s mommy sit with us, too? And Ryleigh?”
I turned my head to Kami for answers. I was sure I looked like a deer in headlights.
“Of course!” Kami said easily. “Why don’t you take Arwyn to your table, and I’ll see if Ry is available.” She lowered her voice. “She sits with kids from her hockey team at lunch, and they usually strategize for the next game. It’s very important business.”
“Hockey hockey hockey, always hockey,” Amelie huffed. “Rescue her from that boring stuff. We’re talking about princesses at our table.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Kami promised.
“C’mon, Wynnie, this way. Can I carry your water?” Isla asked.
I handed it to her, and Amelie’s little fingers took hold of mine and held them tightly, as if she knew I’d consideredbolting. We reached the table, a long rectangle with connected stools on each side.
Isla took charge of the seating arrangement. “Everyone on this side, move down two seats. Amelie, you slide over one spot and Wynnie can sit in the middle of us. Ryleigh and her mommy can sit across.”
The little girls all did as instructed. For Isla’s sixth day at a new school, she sure seemed well-adjusted.
I sat between them, not sure what I was supposed to do or say. I’d never dined with a table of kindergarteners before.
Kami and Ryleigh arrived, and I realized I didn’t have to do anything. Ryleigh, the fifth grader, had full command of the table. The little girls asked her questions and hung onto her every word.
“Who’s your favorite princess, Ryleigh?”
“Sleeping Beauty. She’s the best dancer.”
“She’s mine, too!”
“And mine!”
Ah, impressionable little girls.
Fifteen minutes later, Ryleigh was explaining to her captivated audience why Tinker Bell and her friends were superior to princesses because they fixed things and controlled nature. Kami and I ate our lunches, smiled a lot, and answered questions when we were asked, but for the most part, it was the Ryleigh Show.
“Thanks for a lovely lunch, girls. It’s time for us to get back to the books,” Kami said. “We had a wonderful time!”
“Will you come back tomorrow?” Amelie asked.
Kami shook her head. “I’m taking Ryleigh’s brother to the doctor tomorrow.”
“Wynnie?” Isla asked. “Can you come again tomorrow?”
“Well, I—” I began. “I’m not sure. I volunteered for today. I can ask Mrs. Reed if she needs more help tomorrow.”
“Yay! We shop tomorrow!” Amelie pulled at my arm. “Will you help me pick my books? Daddy said we can each spend twenty dollars!”
“I definitely don’t want to miss that!” I hugged them goodbye, then followed Kami back to the library. “Can I do that? Come again tomorrow?”
“I don’t see why not. Especially with the kindergarteners. It’s all hands on deck for that group. But don’t you have to work?”
