Awake and Dreaming - Kit Pearson [40]
When they’d finished, Sharon invited her to sit beside her on the couch. She looked excited and scared. “Let’s talk about our new life together. I’m not used to children, Theo. I helped look after you when you were little, but Ma did most of the work. I was out all day at my business course. What a cute little thing you were, with those big brown eyes! You were so good. Ma heard a woman on the radio say you could read to babies. She tried it and you actually listened! You never got restless or tore the pages. When you were a toddler, you’d sit on her lap for ages staring at the pictures.”
Something in Theo stirred. “Did she ever read Peter Rabbit?” she asked.
“That was your favourite! Do you remember?”
“Sort of. When did my grandmother die?”
“When you were five. Two years after Rae took you back.” Sharon sighed. “Ma never got over that. You cried and cried and you didn’t understand why she couldn’t come with you. At first Rae phoned once a month and we could talk to you. You always sounded bewildered, though. Rae came to Ma’s funeral, but she left you in Vancouver with a friend. After that she stopped phoning. I would have come to see you, but I didn’t know where you lived. The first time I heard from Rae was when she phoned last week. She had to try three S. Caffreys before she found me!” Sharon smiled. “You can imagine how excited I was to think of seeing you again!”
Sharon had one thing in common with Rae—she talked a lot. But she talked about Theo, not herself, so Theo had to try to pay attention.
It was strange to hear about things you didn’t remember. All Theo had kept in her mind was hearing someone read to her in a kind voice. Now she knew it was her grandmother.
“Ma would be so glad you’re back in Victoria,” said Sharon. “Even if it’s only for a little while. I’ll try to take good care of you, Theo. It would be much easier if I didn’t have to work every day, but that can’t be helped. You’ll have to start school tomorrow. It’s not far—I can drive you there on the way downtown. I’m a secretary—I work in the Parliament Buildings. There’s an after-school day care where you can go in the afternoons. I’ve drawn up a schedule so you’ll know exactly what’s happening every day.”
Sharon picked up a paper on the table. It was titled “Theo’s Schedule.” Theo stared at it while her aunt went over each time slot.
7:30-8:30:
Get up, get dressed, breakfast, brush teeth, make bed.
8:30-8:40:
Drive to school.
9:00-12:00:
School.
12:00-1:00:
Lunch at school.
1:00-3:00:
School.
3:00-5:15:
Day care.
5:15-5:30:
Drive home.
5:30-6:00:
Help prepare supper.
6:00-6:30:
Supper.
6:30-8:00:
Help clear up supper, help make lunch for next day, do homework, watch TV, etc.
8:00:
Bath, brush teeth, go to bed.
The schedule was beautifully printed in neat lines; Sharon had obviously taken a lot of time over it. “The weekends will be more relaxed, of course,” she said. “We’ll shop for food on Saturdays. And on Sundays we’ll go to church at the Cathedral. I often bowl on Sunday afternoons—you can come with me.”
She smiled proudly. “It’s not much different from the schedule I already follow—I like being organized. I wasn’t sure what time nine-year-olds went to bed. Is eight too early? You can stay up later than that if you’re not tired. Have you got any questions?”
The puppet Theo shook her head. “Eight is okay.” She almost added she’d been walking to and from school and staying home alone since she was six, but she didn’t want to hurt Sharon’s feelings.
“Good. I’ll post this on the refrigerator, so you can refer to it if you need to. Now, what would you like to do today? Shall I take you on a tour of Victoria?”
“I don’t care,” said Theo.
Her puppet self sat in the front seat of the car and tried to pay attention as Sharon pointed out the sights. She also talked a lot about her car. She’d saved up for it for years and explained technical things that Theo didn’t understand.
It was a grey, misty day—winter again. Theo’s eyes felt