Maya dashed over to her backpack and pulled out an insulated lunch bag.
Allie was honestly curious about what Ash would have packed for the little girl. He was still running his company remotely, so she figured it would be something easy, like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or one of those prepared crackers-and-deli-meat boxes you could pick up at the grocery store.
She was impressed when Maya unpacked a container of yogurt and an apple, along with a baggie of carrot and celery sticks wrapped in a wet paper towel.
“That’s a nice, healthy lunch,” she told Maya.
“My daddy says it’s important to eat healthy things,” Maya said.
“What’s in your thermos?” Allie asked.
“Water,” Maya said, with an expression that told Allie she thought that was obvious.
It was a bit telling, but also good to know that Ash’s apparent comfort with marketing highly caffeinated, overly sugary beverages to the public didn’t extend to his own daughter.
“What are you going to read?” Maya asked as she carefully opened her yogurt container.
“This is one of my favorites,” Allie told her. “And it’s not from school. I brought this book from my house.”
She held up her beloved copy ofThe Little Engine that Could. Allie always thought that the drawings of the toys and the sweet little train were especially beautiful in this particular version of the book.
As she opened it up, Maya took a bite of her yogurt. But by the time she was a page or two in, the little girl was too engrossed in thestory to eat.
“Did you like this one?” Allie asked Maya when she finished reading.
Maya nodded her head.
“What did you like about it?” Allie asked her.
“I like the dolls and toys,” Maya said. “And I like the engine being so strong, even though she was little.”
Allie smiled, there was a lot for a child to relate to in the book, whether they realized it or not.
“Was it hard for the little blue engine to pull the train up over the mountain?” Allie asked her.
“Yes,” Maya said.
“Why?” Allie asked.
“It was very heavy,” Maya told her. “It had lots of toys.”
“That’s very good, Maya,” Allie told her. “Why do you think she was able to get to the top?”
Maya frowned, deep in thought.
“Do you think she did it because she believed in herself?” Allie led her. “Because she said,I think I can.”
“Yes,” Maya said happily. “Yes, that’s why.”
“Do you believe in yourself, Maya?” Allie asked gently.
“I’m too little to go up a mountain,” Maya said, frowning again.
“Well, that’s a job for trains,” Allie said with a smile. “But do you believe you can do a great job in kindergarten and be a first grader one day?”
Maya nodded, but she didn’t look super convinced.
“Ibelieve you can, and youwill,” Allie told her. “You and I are going to work hard to make sure of it.”
