“You made it,” said Simon, as Sarah stepped into the pottery studio after he had finished teaching his last class.
“Yes, my plane got in at two,” she said walking over and reaching up to give him a hug.
He stopped her.“You’ll get clay on your clothes.”He bent down to kiss her instead.“Happy birthday.”
“Mmm, thank you.”
“Was it a good flight?”he asked.“If you’re too tired, I can arrange to get the studio another time.”
“Are you kidding?This is my birthday present.I’ve been looking forward to making a pot for a week.”
He searched her face a moment and then, satisfied, walked over to the wall and pulled a smock from one of the hooks.
“Well, step one: cover up your clothes.”He handed her the smock, and she slipped it over her head and tied it at the back.
“Okay, now what?”she asked.
“Well, today, step two is this.”He pulled her close and gave her the hug she’d been craving since she had last seen him five days earlier.
“I like this step,” she murmured into his chest.
“I think this might be my favorite step,” he said.
They stood together a moment, glad to be holding each other.
“Ready for step three?”he asked gruffly.“Or should we put this lesson on hold and do something else?”
She stepped back.“Since you’ve gone to all the trouble to book the studio, I feel like I should at least learn step three.”
“Before we can start at the wheel, we need to prepare the clay.Over here.”She followed him to a large table at the other end of the room and stood on one side while he stood on the other.
“Take a lump of clay; we’ll start with enough to make a mug.”He handed her a wire with handles on each end, pointed to a block of clay beside her that was covered in plastic, and demonstrated how to cut a piece from the large lump.
She followed along and watched as he began the next step.“This is called wedging,” he said, pressing the clay onto a board in front of him.“And this is a wedging board.We do this to get rid of all the air bubbles in the clay.”
She watched him a moment and then followed along with his technique, enjoying the feel of the clay against her hands.
“How was the visit with your sister?”he asked.
“Noisy.The twins don’t have the same schedules at all.It’s good that Mom is there to help.My sister and her husband are completely overwhelmed, and his leave from work ends in a week.”
“And your mother?Is it going to be okay for her there?”
“She’s getting more sleep than they are.The room where she’s staying is at the other side of the house, so she’s not getting up in the middle of the night.But she’s been looking after them most of the morning to let Lynette sleep.”
“Your sister must be grateful your mother is there.”
“Oh, she is, but unfortunately for me we only have one mother.”
“Does that mean your mom plans to stay out there past August?”
“Yes.She sat me down yesterday to explain that she probably won’t be back until Christmas.Even then, it may only be for a visit.Lynette had a hard delivery and still isn’t recovered.And with her husband going back to his job, they need the support.”
“And how do you feel about that?”
“I guess I’ll have to find an afterschool program for Riley tomorrow.I don’t want her home alone quite yet, but it should be okay.We’ve survived a month without her.”She looked up at him.“Though I have you to thank for that.Do you have a program you can recommend?”
“Sally goes to one at the school.I can ask if they have room for another one.And if all else fails, Mrs.Waverly might help you out if you’re in a pinch.She really enjoyed Riley when she watched them last time.”
