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‘C’mon, it’d be great for you. You need to do something for yourself. I’ll even take you out for a night on the town. What do you say?’ Miranda patted Cara’s hands with enthusiasm.
‘Well, my birthdayiscoming up, maybe I should treat myself, but I’d have to ask Pete; make sure we can afford it, and it would have to be on one of his weekend’s off, and – ’
‘Cara.’ Miranda placed her hands firmly onto Cara’s shoulders. ‘You need this. You need a break. I want you to go home and tell Pete,not ask, but tell him that you need a weekend off, and you’re going to book into Harbourside Towers.’
‘Geez,’ responded Cara. ‘Lily’s not the only bossy one around here.’
FOURTEEN
Grandma Joy’s Words of Wisdom:
‘What is life for, if not for having a little fun?’
Cara Collins~ My life is like a never-ending episode of Play School meets C.S.I: “Which one of you put paint on the carpet?” *Innocent expressions on all three kids* “Jacob loves playing with paint,” Lily deduced. “Wasn’t me Mummy,” he defended. “Well, it wasn’t me,” Lily replied. “And Toby’s been playing with blocks the whole time.” *Jacob looks like he’s suddenly transformed into a lightbulb* “Mummy wuvs paint too – you did it Mummy, didn’t you! Are we going to make a painting on the carpet? Can we, pweeeease?” ...Stay tuned for next week’s riveting instalment.
Cara was bubblingwith excitement and nerves as she waited for students and parents to arrive at the PenguinsPre-School Art Exhibition. She was even wearing light pink lipstick for the occasion, which she’d bought from the one-dollar bargain basket at the pharmacy. Cara and Mrs Fern had made quite a good team – organising the logistics, handing out invitations, and setting up the room. But with kids involved, you could never be too sure of the outcome. If it all went to crap on the night, at least she had her night away at Harbourside Towers this Friday to look forward to, having organised it following Miranda’s advice.
At six-thirty the doors opened, and a stampede of four-year-olds entered with mums, dads, siblings, and grandparents. Smiles of accomplishment graced the faces of the children as they pointed to their very own framed piece of art. Cara glanced at Mrs Fern with a rewarding smile. Unlike the usual display of drawings and paintings tacked loosely on walls or stuck to the fridge, Cara had transformed the play room into a children’s version ofThe Louvre. She’d placed the fairy statue from the garden in the corner, and had pushed the toy boxes together in the middle of the room, covering them with fabric and cushions to make a bench seat. She’d made cardboard frames for each artwork, and all the kids had contributed to a group painting called ‘United’, which was to take pride of place in the entry area of the pre-school. Cara even brought in a few of her own artworks to display; one being the portrait of Jacob, another a painting of a fairy with glittery wings, and another; an abstract symphony of cool colours swirling together, entitled ‘Bliss.’
Mrs Fern took on the role of curator, leading the group around the room painting by painting, interviewing each artist as she went. Lily, and a couple of older siblings of kids in the art class who had ‘volunteered’ – ahem – beentalked intobeing waitstaff for the night, carried around trayswith meatballs on toothpicks, cubes of cheese, and carrot sticks with hummus. The children devoured the meatballs and cheese in minutes, leaving the adults to munch on the carrots like starved reindeer.
‘Before we conclude the exhibition,’ Mrs Fern said later, addressing the guests. ‘I’d like to say a special thank you to Mrs Collins for making tonight possible. Children, let’s all thank Mrs Collins.’ She gestured towards Cara.
‘Thankyou Mrs Colliiinnns!’ the children chorused.
‘In honour of your effort and contribution to tonight, and the Wednesday art class, I’d like to present you with this certificate.’ Mrs Fern signalled to little Sienna who brought forth a laminated certificate with Cara’s name on it.
Her heart leapt. She hadn’t expected anything like this. ‘Oh, thank you Sienna!’ Cara bent down and accepted the certificate, one hand over her heart in humble gratitude.
‘And we have a little gift as well ... Benjamin?’
A bunch of flowers moved towards Cara, revealing a chuffed looking Benjamin behind them as he held them out for her.
‘That’s the most beautiful bunch of flowers I’ve ever seen, thank you, Benjamin!’ Cara scooped them up, relieving the boy of his florist duties. He walked back in confidence and stood next to Sienna. Everyone clapped, and Cara’s heart did a little somersault. Pete, carrying Toby, winked at her from the corner of the room, and tears of joy welled up in her eyes. Maybe the argument on their anniversary was behind them now.
When most people had left, a few parents still chatting and ignoring their child’s attempt to drag them outside, Benjamin’s mum approached Cara.
‘Well done, Cara,’ she said.
‘Thanks, it turned out to be a great night.’ Cara gathered up the empty trays of food.
‘I’m glad you displayed some of your own artworks tonight, I didn’t realise what a gift you have.’
‘Oh, thanks! That’s nice of you to say.’
‘Have you got a business card?’ Benjamin’s mum asked.
Cara’s eyes widened in surprise. ‘A business card?’What? I don’t have a business, let alone a business card!If she had one, it would probably read: ‘Cara Collins – Bachelor of Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Breastfeeding, with first class honours majoring in Housekeeping, First Aid, and Rescue Missions.’
‘Sorry, I don’t have any with me tonight. Can I ask why?’Nice save.
‘My sister-in-law owns an art and gift shop in the Queen Victoria Building, you might have heard of it; Queen of Arts?’
‘Um, I think so.’ She hadn’t. Cara hadn’t been back to the QVB since Jacob was three, when he’d knocked over and broken a pot plant, and when they tried to escape via the elevators, he’d somehow caused a malfunction by pressing all the buttons on and off repeatedly, confusing the hell out of the electrical control system and setting off some alarm.
‘She’s on the lookout for new pieces to sell in her shop, and from what I’ve seen here, I think she’d love your work.’
Stunned, no words came out of Cara’s mouth.
