Page 68 of The Newcomer
“I will,” Ava promised.
Maya peeked around the corner of the reception desk and gave a shy wave to the two older women.
“Hello there, young lady,” Billie said, leaning down. “What are you working on today?”
“I write my name,” Maya said. She held up the workbook sheet where she’d laboriously traced the letters of her name, and then wrote the letters freehand, wobbly, but legible.
“Look at that, Ruthie,” Billie said, pointing to the worksheet. “Isn’t that good? And she’s what? Five years old?”
Maya held up her hand with her thumb tucked behind her palm. “I’m four. How old are you?”
Ruth snorted. “She’s seventy-two. Eleven months younger than me.”
“My birthday is in September. And I will be five and I will go to big-girl school. When is your birthday?”
“Actually, Ruth’s birthday is next week,” Billie volunteered. “But we’re both all done with big-girl school, thank God.”
“Will you have birthday cake?”
“No,” Ruth said quickly. “Grown-ups don’t have birthday cake.”
“I’m sorry,” Maya said politely. “You can come tomybirthday party and have some ofmycake.”
“Awww,” Billie said. “That’s the sweetest thing I ever heard of.” She nudged her wife. “Isn’t that sweet? Maya invited us to her birthday party.”
Ruth managed a smile. “That is sweet. Thank you, Maya.” She turned to Billie. “Okay, time to hit the pool again.”
“I like to go swimming,” Maya said.
Billie nudged Ruth, who gave her a questioning look.
“Letty,” Billie said. “Would it be all right if Maya went swimming in the pool with us for a while? We’d be very careful. You know, I used to be a Red Cross lifesaving instructor.”
Letty could hardly believe the offer on the table. “Really? That’s awfully kind, but I wouldn’t want her to interrupt your lap swimming.”
“We did our laps earlier,” Billie said. “It’ll be fun to have an excuse to just splash around. Won’t it, Ruthie?”
“I suppose,” Ruth said.
“Obviously, Maya would love to take you up on your offer,” Letty said. “If you’re serious, I’ll just run her back to our place and get her bathing suit and towel. And I’ll meet you at the pool. Okay?”
“Yes! Swimmy, swimmy, swimmy,” Maya said, hopping up and down with excitement. She grabbed her aunt’s hand. “Letty, hurry. I want to go swimming.”
“That sounds fine,” Ruth said stiffly. “We’ll see you at the pool.”
“Will wonders ever cease,” Ava said, as soon as the older women left the office. “Ruth came this close to cracking a smile at Maya just now.”
“I’m glad you were a witness, because I wasn’t sure if it was a smile or just gas.”
“See, they’re really not that awful, once you get to know them,” Ava said. “Now you better get Maya over there before Ruth changes her mind. When you get back, let’s talk about ordering some replacement lounge chairs.”
“Badnews,” Letty told her boss when she returned to the office. “Ruth was right. Every single one of those loungers is on its last legs. All the webbing is rotted out. And if one of the oldsters does fall through one and get injured, I’m afraid we’ll have a lawsuit on our hands.”
Ava smiled at Letty’s use of the word “our” but didn’t make mention of it. She pointed to the computer screen, where she’d been pricing lounge chairs from a commercial furniture company.
“Those don’t look much better than what you’ve got now,” Letty said. “What about something a little sturdier? Like cast aluminum, or better yet, teak?”
“Like this?” Ava scrolled down to a photo of a grouping of teak outdoor furniture. “See the price of them?”
