The thought flashed through his mind before it had time to fully register.
“I would have agreed,” he said. “Until Maya.”
“You worry about her?”Allie guessed.
“I think every parent worries,” he said.
“Anything specific?” she asked. “Or just an overall feeling?”
“Both, I guess,” he chuckled. “I used to worry that someone would try to snatch her, or that she would get sick when she was too little to tell me what was wrong.”
Allie nodded, her eyes serious, and it felt good not to be laughed at for his fears.
“Now I worry about whether she’ll catch up in school, and behave herself, and have lots of friends,” he said. “And whether she’ll grow up to be happy.”
“I can tell you that she will absolutely catch up in school,” Allie told him. “And she already has lots of friends.”
“That’s good to hear,” Ash said.
“And shewantsto behave well,” Allie said. “It’s more of a challenge for her than for some kids. But that energy will serve her well later in life. And she’s not the only one in class who struggles. She’s just working against a really unfair double standard.”
“What do you mean?” Ash asked.
“Well, if she were a little boy, I don’t think there would be such a fuss,” Allie said. “When a little boy causes a disruption, shoulders are shrugged and people just seem to think,boys will be boys, even if they don’t say it out loud. Girls are the only ones who have such heavy expectations on their shoulders when they’re still so little.”
“Wow,” Ash said, thinking about it. “So, she’s really not the only child in your class who has a hard time sitting quietly?”
“Not at all,” Allie said right away. “I’ve got one littleboy who will just start yelling and marching around when he gets excited. He’s gotten into a few tussles during recess too, I’m told. But no one ever complains. He’s doing really well with the extra movement activities in class too, by the way, and that’s thanks to Maya.”
“Wow,” Ash said. “That’s great.”
“It’s why I got into teaching,” Allie said, her eyes dreamy. “I had a hard time myself, and then my second-grade teacher really helped me a lot. I wanted to be just like her.”
“That’s so cool,” Ash said.
“What got you into making drinks for people?” Allie asked, winking when he glanced over.
He smiled at the reminder of how Maya had described his work.
“I was close with my grandfather,” he told her. “But he was always too busy workinga real jobto do anything with his hobby except make small batches for family and friends. I was always business-minded, and when I got out of school the job market wasn’t great. I decided to start something of my own and marketing Grandpa’s cream soda and root beer was a natural choice. I just wish he’d been around to see it.”
“He didn’t know?” Allie asked.
“I asked him, of course,” Ash said. “I wanted us to be business partners. But he told me the recipes were mine, he just wanted to sit by the fire. And then we lost him before I even got into production.”
“That’s so sad,” Allie said, her voice full of sympathy.
“I’d like to think heknows,” Ash said.
But the idea that had always comforted him now made him wince.
What would Grandpa think of the Turbo Tailors?
Thankfully, he was turning into town now, and there was no time to worry about it.
“It’s so beautiful, isn’t it?” Allie asked, gazing out the windows at the glowing lights of the little town. “It’s always so magical at Christmastime.”
“Do they decorate differently each year?” Ash asked her.
