Page 13 of Time To Learn

Shrugging, I tilt my head at her. “I was just thinking about how good a life we have it here, Ailith and me. That’sall.”

Mum sits back and looks me over, and it makes me squirm in my seat. Then she turns to Ailith sitting next toher.

“Didn’t you say you met a nice man in the city yesterday?”

“Mum!” I protest, shaking my head ather.

“Yeah, we did. It was really neat that he gave me a book, wasn’t it?” Ailith beams ather.

“Oh, yes, absolutely.” Mum’s sharp eyes flicker back to me. “You didn’t get hisname?”

“No,” I gripe. “He vanished into thin air like a fairy.”

Ailith giggles and I chuckle when I notice Mum’s aggravatedgaze.

“Don’t anger the fairies, Laura. You ought to know better thanthat.”

I bite my tongue, only just catching the scathing words from escaping mylips.

“Pity,” Mum mutters. “I’d have liked to meethim.”

“Mum, he was a complete stranger,” I sputter. “But, you’re right, it was a nice gesture, and while it doesn’t sit well with me that I didn’t manage to thank him properly, that’s all it was—a stranger who made my girl very happy. Nothing more, nothingless.”

“He had a lot of tattoos on his arms,” Ailith butts in. “They were so colourful and cool. I think I saw a dragon! When I grow up, I want lots ofthem.”

Mum and I look at each other, and I have to laugh at the horror in her eyes. Shrugging, I turn my attention to Ailith.

“Sweetie, you can have as many tattoos as you’d like once you’re all grown up and move out, okay?”

“Okay, Mummy,” she beams atme.

“Right,” Mum wipes her mouth on a napkin and stands up, looking pointedly at my plate. “Time to head to work, I believe.”

Quickly, I eat the rest of my food and jerk my chin at Ailith.

“Help me feed the horses, please?” I askher.

She jumps up immediately.

“Okay.” She marks her book, causing me to wince slightly as she bends one of the pages instead of using a real bookmark, and then she whistles at Sally lying on the floor.

“Come on, girl.” She claps her thigh as she walks to the backdoor and pulls on her boots. The dog sighs softly but obeys her, as usual.

I move to clear our things, turn on the dishwasher, and then I’m out the door aswell.