“Mummy,” Skylar said, launching herself into her arms, “come and meet my new friend, Olivia.” The little girl who’d followed Skylar came forwards a little more cautiously. “Olivia is new today, Mummy, and I was made her buddy. I’ve helped her and shown her where everything is. Can she come round to play?”
Skylar’s enthusiasm brought a smile to Star’s face.
“Welcome, Olivia.” The little girl looked on shyly as Star greeted her. “Of course Olivia can come round for a play-date, but I’d need to organise that with her mummy.”
Olivia’s face dropped.
“Oh, Olivia doesn’t have a mummy, like I don’t have a daddy. She only has a daddy,” Skylar chirped up.
Star smiled at the little girl, who’d obviously captured her daughter’s heart. “Well I’ll have to speak to her daddy then.” Olivia’s face picked up; a look of relief clear. Star got it; she wondered how many parents didn’t invite her round because she only had a daddy. Star had found that on a number of occasions, Skylar wasn’t invited one-on-one because Star was a single parent, as if it were contagious. Some people didn’t seem to want to look past the situation to the child. Star had removed as many small-minded people from their lives as she could, but it still hurt when Skylar was excluded.
“I’ll go and speak to Mrs Linford. I’ll leave my name and number for Olivia’s dad and ask him to ring me to see if we can arrange a get-together.”
The two girls ran off hand in hand, smiling and whispering. Star grinned, watching Skylar with her new friend. Most of Skylar’s friends didn’t have to go to breakfast or after-school club as their mums didn’t have to work, so it was nice that she would now have a friend to keep her company, and Olivia seemed like a sweet girl.
Mrs Linford looked up as Star approached and smiled. “Good evening, Ms Roberts. I would like to say what a beautiful young lady you have raised. She has been, as always, an absolute dream. Today she’s been so kind and caring where Olivia is concerned. She’s taken her under her wing and really looked after her.” Mrs Linford was obviously very proud of Skylar, which made Star feel equally as proud.
“Thank you, that’s lovely to hear. It’s actually the reason I’ve popped over. Skylar wants me to arrange a playdate with Olivia, and I was wondering if you could pass my number on to her dad when he comes to collect her.”
“Of course, that’s no problem.” Mrs Linford said grinning, “If you want to write your details down, I can pass them on. Hopefully he will be open to the girls getting together. It’s always hard when they are the new child in the school.” Grabbing her notepad, Mrs Linford indicated for Star to write down her name and number. “I’ll pop that in her school bag and let him know it’s there when he collects her.”
Star gathered together all Skylar’s belongings before she headed off in search of Skylar and her new friend. She found them playing in the new playhouse. Star let Skylar have time to say goodbye to Olivia before eventually coaxing her out of the school and into the car.
“Olivia is really nice, Mummy,” Skylar said, after filling her in on all the things they’d done together. Skylar told Star how her teacher had asked Skylar to be Olivia’s buddy. She’d obviously taken the job very seriously, introducing her to all her friends and making sure she sat next to her at lunch. “Olivia’s mummy left when she was a baby, and so she now only has a daddy.”
“Oh dear,” Star said, unsure what to say to her daughter, without knowing all the facts. She didn’t want to make a comment that could be passed back to Olivia and then her dad. Star knew all about the rumour mills and gossip.
“Yes, she just has a daddy. I told her that’s okay, as I only have a mummy.”
Star’s heart stuttered. It was very rare that Skylar mentioned not having a daddy. She had Toby, who had always stepped in and acted as a father figure, having been there since Skylar was born. She’d initially called him Da-da, not knowing the difference, but they’d gently corrected her until she could say Uncle Toby. Skylar had of course asked about her father, and Star had been as honest as she could without hurting the little girl. She’d told her that her mummy had loved him very much, but they’d had an argument before mummy knew she was pregnant. Then Lily had got sick and it was too late. The truth hadn’t been quite the fairy tale she’d painted, but the truth would have hurt Skylar and Star would do anything to protect her from that. When it had become clear Lily wasn’t going to recover, Star had promised she would love and cherish Skylar, raising her as her own. Star had promised Lily she would always be a part of their lives, and she would keep her sister’s memory alive, even when she couldn’t be with them.
This was partly why Damian had been the last man in Star’s life. Star had made a decision the day her sister had died that she would devote her life to the baby who had been left with no one. Star’s mother and father had disagreed adamantly, telling Star she should put Lily’s child up for adoption. Daphne Roberts had been devastated when Star’s relationship with Damian had ended, telling Star she was ruining her life for her sister’s mistake.
Star’s half brother and sister were cold towards her and her mother, and she couldn’t blame them. After their mother’s death, their father’s “other” life had become public knowledge, which was embarrassing for everyone involved. But Daphne loved it. She was now the society woman she’d always wanted to be and had the man she’d chased after for thirty years doting on her. Their relationship was a strange one, but they seemed to get along.
∞∞∞
Skylar was still talking about her new friend Olivia when they walked through the front door. Star hoped Olivia’s dad got in touch, otherwise Skylar was going to be very disappointed. After unloading the car with the food she’d bought, Star set Skylar up at the table to do her homework while she set about preparing dinner.
In between stirring the curry, Star helped Skylar with her homework. Skylar was a bright little girl, and she loved numbers like Lily had, although she struggled more with her reading.
“I read this one today with Mrs Linford,” Skylar grumbled, taking out her new story book and looking at the cover in disgust. “Do I have to read it again?”
“Well, I haven’t heard it,” Star said. “I also need to hear your version.” Skylar’s face lit up and she opened the book.
Star turned back to the stove and carried on stirring the curry. Skylar preferred to make up a story rather than read the actual words on the page. Skylar’s teacher had called Star in and discussed the issue, as she was falling behind her peers. She’d recommended Star let Skylar tell her version of the story and then read the story the author had written. It took more time, but the battle to read was less intense, as they got to discuss the pros and cons of each story.
“Once upon a time …” Skylar started. It was not long before Skylar was engrossed in her storytelling. With the curry simmering, and the naan bread rising, Star sat down and followed along, looking at the pictures. This was a story where Skylar and Olivia went on an adventure into space. Skylar’s characters always had amazing adventures and Star liked to encourage her imagination. When Skylar ran out of pictures, she announced “The end!”, and Star gave her a round of applause.
“Wow, Skylar and Olivia had some interesting adventures in space.”
“Yes, better than the actual author’s silly story,” Skylar said, pulling a face.
Laura had given Star several tips for helping with her reading, so Star decided to implement one now. “Your story was so great, but we still need to read what the actual author wrote so we can compare. How about you read a sentence and I read a sentence?” Not looking convinced, Skylar pulled another face, but shrugged. She’d had this argument with her mother many times, and she knew she wasn’t going to win. Plus, every other sentence was better than all sentences.
Together, they worked their way through the book. Laura came in halfway through and praised Skylar for her reading, before going to get changed. Encouraged, Skylar took over all the sentences. Mrs Linford had obviously worked hard to help Skylar earlier in the day because, by the time she was finished, Skylar was really proud of herself. She put her book away and handed Star her reading log for her to write in. Star made sure she put down a smiley face and a positive comment, reading it back to Skylar so she could hear the praise. Star let Skylar head off to play before dinner, just as Laura returned, in her sweats, dropping herself into the chair opposite.
Star popped the kettle on, making Laura a herbal tea. Laura had stopped drinking tea and coffee when the morning sickness had hit and had never restarted. Star still couldn’t get over this, as Laura had spent many of her formative years living on caffeine. At university, Laura’s day couldn’t start without at least two large coffees.