Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
As Jen navigated the playground during the school’s lunch break, she watched the children milling around, playing, laughing, some sitting quietly reading and imagined Liam there. It was a nice thought.
‘You must be Jenny MacLeod,’ said a voice behind her, interrupting her reverie.
She turned to see Lucy’s friend, Megan. She recognised her from the café. ‘That’s right. And you must be Megan.’
‘Megan Thompson. New entrants’ teacher. Kate told me you’re interested in looking around the school.’
‘Nice to meet you, Megan.’ They shook hands. ‘Thanks for offering to show me around.’
‘No problem. Shall I show you the classroom first? It’ll give you a feel for the environment and the work we’re doing here.’
‘That would be great, thank you.’
As they walked across the playground, Megan greeted every child they passed with a personalised word or smile.
Jen liked that. And she also liked the classroom.
She recognised it once she was inside. She’d been through the school, along with all of her siblings, but there had been a lot of exterior changes, and inside it was very unlike her day.
‘I don’t remember it being so creative,’ she said, looking around at the colourful posters and children’s projects which adorned the walls. ‘And so…’ she searched for the right adjective, ‘so… well, warm and inviting, I guess.’
Megan shot her a grateful smile. ‘That’s the aim.
Certainly don’t want it to look cold and uninviting.
The children do better when they feel secure and relaxed.
They’re like flowers unfurling, showing their full glory, not scared of anything.
’ Megan laughed. ‘You’ve got me waxing lyrical.
Sorry, I’m a bit of a nut for providing a nurturing environment. ’
‘Do you have children yourself?’
Megan pressed her lips together, shook her head, and glanced away. Jen regretted asking, but Megan’s caring streak was so obviously strong that she’d made that assumption.
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to ask such a personal question.’
‘It’s fine,’ said Megan, looking back at her with a polite smile fixed on her face.
’Truth is, I guess I was in a mothering role for a long time.
It’s no secret. I’m surprised Kate didn’t mention it.
Your mother has been such a help to me over the years with my brother.
’ She blinked and took a few moments. ‘I lost him recently. He had a physical disability. Anyway,’ she said, walking towards the door, obviously wanting the conversation to be at an end, ‘how about I show you the school library — Kate’s domain — and then the children’s garden?
Kate said Liam was interested in gardening. ’
As they walked around the children’s garden, with its environmental messages, worm farm and so much more, the truth of Jen’s situation finally hit home. She was no longer alone. Liam wouldn’t only be raised by her, but by her family and the community, which was exactly the way it should be.
By the end of her visit, Jen had had her hopes confirmed and her fears put to rest.
‘Thanks,’ she said. ‘I really appreciate you giving me your time. I love what you’re doing here, and I think Liam will too. Will it be possible to bring him for a visit before we register him?’
‘Of course. Here’s my phone number.’ Megan plucked a business card from her pocket. ‘Call me and we’ll arrange a time. I know Liam will enjoy it here.’
Jen got home just in time for Kate to leave for her school library shift.
‘I read to kids, tidy the shelves, and just help the librarian, really. It’s lovely.
No responsibilities, just fun,’ said Kate.
‘You know, it’s nice to leave home, knowing there will be someone here when I return.
’ She opened the front door and turned to Jen.
‘Oh, a package was delivered earlier. And…’ she grinned, ‘Liam has something he wants to show you.’ She walked away with a last wave.
Jen glanced around for the package as she entered the house but didn’t see it. No doubt it was for Lucy, or maybe Ellie sending something for Kate ahead of her birthday.
‘Mum!’ shouted Liam, running up to her and hugging her legs. ‘Look!’ He held out his hand and showed her a piece of wood carved like a seashell. ‘Grandma said it’s a gift from Sam to me! She said that’s what nice people do.’
‘It’s true.’ She held out her hand. ‘Can I have a look?’
Liam showed it to her but kept a possessive hold on it.
Clever Sam, thought Jen. Soothing Liam’s fears without confronting him again immediately.
‘Wow, that’s beautiful. I bet Sam made it. He always used to enjoy making things with his hands.’
Liam didn’t reply, but Jen knew he was listening as he traced his fingers around the shape Sam had carved, following the grain of the wood.
‘We’ll have to start a treasure box for you to keep things like that in.’
He nodded and looked up earnestly. She wondered if he was going to ask her a question about trust, about love, about how to tell when someone was good, and when someone was bad. She hoped she’d be able to answer it.
‘Mum?’
‘Yes?’ She held her breath.
‘I’m hungry.’
She exhaled with a laugh. ‘Don’t tell me your grandma didn’t feed you, because I won’t believe it.’
‘She did, but I’m still hungry.’
She suddenly realised she’d missed lunch. ‘Right, well, in that case, how about a picnic?’
‘Yes!’
It took only five minutes to gather some food from the fridge and a picnic blanket, and they were soon enjoying the warmth of the spring sunshine.
Once they’d waded across the stream to the beach furthest from the village, Jen laid the blanket under a spreading pohutukawa tree and unpacked the food.
‘This is so cool, Mum,’ said Liam, as Jen passed Liam a sandwich and added some cheese, tomatoes and fresh lettuce to a roll. ‘It’s like our picnics in the park.’
Jen gave a little laugh at the comparison of MacLeod Cove’s beach to Hyde Park. It felt like worlds apart to her.
‘But we didn’t eat Vegemite sandwiches in London, did we?’
He laughed. ‘No. And there wasn’t any sea either.’
For a few minutes, they both looked out at the calm stretch of vivid blue water.
It looked utterly benign, with its gentle rippling waves spreading along the sand before quietly withdrawing.
Seagulls swooped around the mouth of the stream, and wading birds strutted at the water’s edge, their long red bills piercing the sand in search of food.
She sighed happily and turned to Liam. She was surprised to find him watching her.
‘You’re happy here, aren’t you, Mum?’
She was shocked. She’d always been so concerned about his happiness that she’d never thought he might want her to be happy.
‘Yes, I am,’ she said. ‘Much happier. Are you?’
He poked the sand with his finger. ‘Yes. I like Grandma and Aunt Lucy. They’re cool.’
‘They are. What else do you like?’
‘My bedroom. And the garden.’ He turned his beaming face to hers. ‘It’s so full of things to do!’
‘It is,’ she said, lying back, propped on her elbows as she listened to Liam chatter. He’d certainly been listening to her mother because he now knew the names of two different birds. He was like a sponge, soaking up knowledge. Here, it would be the right kind.
After a while, Liam scrambled to his feet and went to see what the wading birds were after. She glanced at her phone to check the time and began packing up the picnic things.
Leaving them by the sand dunes, she went and joined Liam at the shore.
She paddled around and then looked towards the land.
From their vantage point she could see further around the coast to a break in the trees and knew she was looking at Sam’s land.
She shaded her eyes from the glare. She could make out the shape of an old-fashioned 1970s caravan.
Its pale blue and white livery was distinctive amidst the green of the surrounding bush. It seemed he still liked retro things.
Next to the caravan was a clearing, which appeared to have some footings, a few pillars and little else.
She wondered why he could help her mother with her house, when he had made little progress on his own.
Money? From what Lucy had said, money wasn’t a problem for Sam.
He’d built up a couple of property developing businesses from scratch in Australia and sold them last year.
It meant he didn’t have to work again. He’d also shared investment information with Lucy, which suggested he knew his way around the sharemarket, and then there was his multi-million-dollar apartment he didn’t enjoy living in.
So if lack of funds wasn’t stopping him from getting on with his house, what was?
‘Mum! What are you looking at?’
Liam stood beside her, t-shirt and shorts wet from the sea, ankle deep in water, and followed her gaze.
She pointed. ‘That’s where Sam has a caravan.’
Liam’s smile faded a little. ‘That man who came into my room?’
‘That’s right. He only came in to see if anything needed fixing. He said he’d do some repairs for Grandma. That’s nice of him, isn’t it?’
‘I suppose.’ He considered it for a few moments. ‘And he gave me the carving. That was nice, too.’
‘I used to go to school with him. He’s a good man.’
‘Is he?’ The expression on Liam’s upturned face nearly broke her heart. Wanting to believe that people were good, when experience had proved the opposite.
‘Yes, he is. He would never hurt anyone or anything. He’s definitely not someone to be afraid of.’
Liam nodded thoughtfully and looked over at the caravan again. ‘Why does he live in a caravan?’
‘I think it’s only when he’s working on his house. See? Beside the caravan, where there’s some building work going on? Well, that’s going to be his new house. The rest of the time he lives in Wellington.’
‘Wellington. Where we’re going tomorrow?’
‘That’s right. The city with the museum we’re going to visit. And then next week we could go to the bird sanctuary in Karori.’
‘Cool.’
She took a deep breath. ‘They also have geckos and tuataras there. You remember Grandma telling you about the tuataras?’
‘The dinosaurs?’
She laughed. ‘That’s right. They were around when the dinosaurs were. And they look like them, though, of course, much smaller. And they have wetas there, too.’
‘Ooh, Grandma told me about them, too. Lucy said she’s scared of them. I won’t be though.’
‘There’s nothing to be scared of. They’re just creatures doing their thing. They don’t sting, and they’re not poisonous.’ She sucked in a deep breath. ‘The local school has a weta house.
His eyes widened. ‘A weta house? Like a doll’s house or something?’
‘I’m not sure. I’ve only heard about it. We could take a look if you like? I know one of the teachers there, and she’ll be happy to show you, I’m sure.’
He jumped up, splashing them both. ‘Can we?’
Laughing, she pulled the now wet shirt away from her warm body. ‘Yes, we most definitely can! But not before…’ She leaned down to him.
‘Before what?’
‘I do this.’ She scooped up a handful of water and splashed it over him.
She watched him run away from her splashes, his laughter combining on the wind with the caws of indignant waders and dogs barking in the distance.
She hadn’t been this happy in a very long time.