Page 27 of Power Play

“Ice cream! I love ice cream!” Rory shouts, causing me to laugh and the other kids to look up from their blocks.

“Maybe one day I’ll bring you all some ice cream,” I tell her with a wink.

“Yes, please! Please!!!” Rory says, while the other kids come over to join us.

“I love ice cream too, Ms. Daniels,” Matthew chimes in.

“Oh, don’t worry, Matthew, I would never forget you! I would never forget any of you. You’re all special to me,” I say, beaming at all the kids.

I had tried everything with Rory all week to get her to open up, but somehow chatting about dinosaurs and our favorite yummy snacks is all it took to get her smiling and playing with the other kids. Oh, and the promise of ice cream. That’s something I’ll need to run past their parents first.

* * *

Hours later, after the daycare center has closed, it’s just Rory, Grace, and Madeline dancing around with me. It’s honestly the most fun I’ve had since I started working here. Watching the girls get so excited to learn ballet made my heart so happy. Madeline and Grace were the first to get picked up, leaving just Rory and me to run around pretending we’re ballerinas in The Nutcracker. It was adorable to see Rory play with the kids tonight, she finally seemed like she was having a good time.

“Ms. Daniels, that was so much fun. I love ballet,” Rory says.

“I’m so happy to hear that, sweet girl. We can do ballet, and other dances any time you want. Plus, I think next week, we’ll have another late night so we will have to plan something fun for then!” I tell her with a smile, loving the way her eyes light up hearing that.

“Yay! My daddy works at night sometimes. He goes to hockey games. But now I’m happy. This was fun!”

“Does your daddy work a lot of nights?” I ask, unsure of what he does for a living. We usually learn most of the information about the families from their kids, and Sarah tells us the important things we need to know, but what they do for a living doesn’t fall under that.

“Not too many. When we lived in Texas my grandparents would watch me sometimes.”

“Does your mommy go with him?”

As soon as I ask it, I wish I could take it back. Rory quiets almost instantly and looks a little lost. Fuck… me and my big mouth. I might have just undone everything I’ve worked on to get her to open up to me. Don’t get me wrong, I adore all the kids who go to this daycare and want them all to be happy coming here, but there’s something about Rory. Something that calls me to her and makes me want to get to know her. For being only four years old, she’s such a smart and kind-hearted girl.

“I don’t have one,” Rory says.

“You don’t have what?” I ask, ensuring I understand what she means.

“A mommy,” she explains, seeming detached.

Damn. Who’d have thought I’d want to bawl my eyes out at work.

“I’m sorry, sweet girl. I didn’t mean to make you sad.”

“Oh, I’m not sad. My daddy’s the best daddy ever,” Rory says, brightening up immediately.

“He always spends time with me when he’s not at work. He’s my favorite.”

“I thought I was your favorite,” a voice calls from the doorway behind us, surprising me but not Rory, who immediately jumps up excitedly.

“Auntie Lala! You’re here,” she says as she jumps into her arms.

“Hey, Ro! Of course, I’m here. I told you I’d pick you up when your dad has to work.”

“Auntie Lala, Auntie Lala! This is my friend, Ms. Daniels! She’s the best! We did ballet today, and she told me about ice cream and she’s sooo pretty, just like you!”

I blush at her little declaration, secretly loving that she feels this way.

“Hi, I’m Stella, or Auntie Lala,” she says with a smile, extending her hand to shake mine.

“Hi, I’m Sawyer, also known as Ms. Daniels, here at the center,” I say with a smile.

“She’s so nice, Lala! And! She loves the sour people like we do!”

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