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She nodded slightly and bit her bottom lip. “About the little duck.”
Ah, the little duck of the story.
I smiled at her. “I think it was a beautiful story. Did you like it?”
“Yes.” She said shyly. “Miss Ross, if you’re sad, you should be like the little duck, too. You can spread your wings and fly and follow your dreams, too. Don’t be afraid of the winds and the buildings and the trees. The magpies and the starlings will help you!”
Then, she pulled out a slip of paper and shoved it into my hand before running out the door and into the warm sunshine, where her mom was already waiting for her. She turned to me briefly, smiled, and waved her arm at me.
I waved back at her. When I unfolded the paper, there was a painting of the little duck with its wings stretched out, ready to take flight. It was painted plainly but its dark eyes seemed to meet mine with steely determination, its resolve to fly to the other side of the world evident. I laughed a little when I realized that Cora had even added some eyelashes to denote that it was a girl duck.
I smiled softly and folded her painting, tucking it safely into my wallet.
Sweet, little Cora,I thought and let out a deep breath.
How lovely it would be to just spread my wings and fly off into the sunset in the way the little duck did! How wonderful it would be to learn to go out into the world on my own!
However, unlike the little duck, I found very little reason to leave Georgetown. I liked the peace and contentment it brought me.
I love it here. I have everything I need here,I told myself. Why does it feel like I’m actually trying to convince myself it’s true? Is there really something out there in the world worth going out for? Something worth daring?
I shook my head and began packing up the things and cleaning up after the kids. It would be a long time before I would return to the classroom, so I wanted to make sure everything was neat and tidy before I closed up.
Just as I had finished putting away the last errant paintbrush that had rolled under one of the tables, I heard my phone ringing from my bag.
I frowned to myself and took my phone out.
It was Oliver.
What could he be calling me about?
“Hello?” I answered the phone.
“Hey, Amanda, it’s me. Oliver.”
“Uh—yeah. I have your number saved on my phone.”
“Ah…Sure,” he chuckled a little self-consciously. “I was riding my bicycle past your house earlier when I saw Grandma Margaret collapse in the garden. I’m bringing her to the hospital right now, but I think she’s going to be just fine.”
How could a collapse be just fine?I wanted to scream.
Instead, I managed to say, “Which hospital?”
“I think the nearest one is St. John,” he replied.
“Okay, I’ll see you there!” I said. I grabbed my purse and hurried out into the car, driving to St. John like a madwoman.
Oliver said she is fine and he’s a great doctor,I tried to tell myself.Of course, nothing is seriously wrong with Grandma, right?
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
OLIVER
Iglanced at my rear-view mirror to check on Grandma Margaret, who was lying down in the backseat. She was still a little pale, a bit confused, but she looked otherwise alright.
I had just gotten off the phone with Amanda and she sounded reasonably anxious but from the looks of it, Grandma Margaret was going to be alright. We just probably needed some tests to get to the bottom of her sudden collapse in the garden.
I drove to St. John as quickly as I could manage in my Mom’s old car. After I managed to slide into the nearest parking slot, I carried Grandma Margaret over to the ER.
