Becky dropped to her knees and pushed the honey-gold curls off Mary’s face. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
Big, tear-filled eyes lifted to hers. “Tommy Pinto told me you aren’t my mommy, so you can’t come to Parents’ Day.”
“Of course, I can come. Mrs. Graham said the day is for all the adults who look after the children in her class.”
“But Tommy said it’s only for moms and dads.”
“Tommy’s wrong.” Holding Mary’s small hand, she led her across to the sofa. “Let’s sit here for a few minutes.” Reluctantly, Mary sat beside her. “Do you remember when we talked about families?”
Mary nodded. “They’re like Goldilocks.”
“That’s right. Families come in all shapes and sizes, just like Goldilocks and the three bears.”
“But I don’t like porridge.”
“That’s okay,” Becky said with a smile. “Molly eats enough for both of us.”
Mary lifted her thumb to her mouth and leaned into Becky. “I told Tommy that Mommy and Daddy are in heaven. He said that’s a place where dead people go.”
With her arm around Mary’s narrow shoulders, Becky kissed the top of her head. “Tommy’s right about that. But, even though your mom and dad are in heaven, they’re still watching what you’re doing.”
Mary still didn’t fully understand what had happened. Some days, it was as if she expected her parents to walk through the door and take her back to Ireland.
“Would you like Mrs. Graham to let Tommy know it’s okay for me to come to Parents’ Day?”
“She told him before, but he doesn’t listen too good. Can I go home?”
“No. You have to say at school until the bell rings at the end of the day.”
“Please?”
Becky looked into Mary’s big brown eyes. It was nearly the end of the day and it wouldn’t make much difference if she left. But Mary needed to stay here in case leaving school early became a habit.
“I’ll be waiting for you after the bell rings.”
Mary scrunched up her face and sighed.
It reminded Becky so much of Jamie that a knot of grief snuck up on her. “Let’s go back to your classroom. It’s a fine day for learning new things.”
With another sigh, Mary slid off the sofa. “I got a gold star for the story I wrote yesterday.”
“That’s wonderful. Do you want to show it to me before I go back to work?”
With a resigned nod, Mary slipped her little hand into Becky’s and followed her into the corridor.
Becky sighed. It was hard enough being six, but missing your parents was worse.
Chapter2
Sean kicked off his boots and left them beside the other shoes in the mudroom. He’d briefly seen his brother at breakfast, but Matthew wasn’t in a talkative mood. He’d quickly eaten his breakfast and left the house before he’d explained what was wrong.
At a guess, Sean would say it had something to do with his wedding.
Sniffing the air, he headed toward the kitchen. Either Amy, his sister-in-law, had left one of her famous beef casseroles on the counter or Matthew was testing his culinary skills.
“Before you tell me I look cute, you can organize the potatoes.”
Sean took one look at the apron Matthew was wearing and grinned. “Your fiancée has good taste.” The black and white striped apron had the words “husband in training” written across the front.
