Page 24 of Sanctuary at MacLeod's Cove
‘There were 40 children in his class, and the school had around 2,000 pupils in all.’
‘Right. Do you know how many pupils attend the local school? The one I showed you yesterday, which is round the corner?’
He shook his head.
‘Fifty children in total. And there’s nowhere any children can bully other children even if the teachers didn’t care. And they do care at this school. I know, I help in the library most afternoons. So I’d be there, near you. Now, neither your mother nor I are saying you have to go, but we’d like you to visit the school and see what you think.’
Liam looked at Jen for support. She cleared her throat.
‘They have pets there, Liam, and a garden. It’s very different from the school in London. We could take a look around. I went to that school, and so did Lucy.’
‘So did you all.’ Kate sat back and smiled at Liam. ‘You can make lifelong friends at school. Of course there will be some not-so-good times, but there’ll also be some great times. And I’ll be at the library in the afternoons anytime you need to see me. What do you think?’
Liam looked from Kate to Jen and shrugged. ‘Don’t know.’
‘How about we go take a look? I think that’s a good strategy. It’s what we all do when we consider something. We need to look at something first before making a decision. That makes sense, doesn’t it?’
Liam nodded.
‘Agreed then?’
‘OK.’
‘Excellent.’ In went a third tick. ‘So that’s you sorted. Now, how about your mother?’
Jen opened her eyes in surprise as both Kate and Liam turned their serious gazes towards her. She felt about eight years old.
‘Do you think she’s sorted?’ Kate asked Liam, as if Jen weren’t there.
‘Yes! She’s going to wash up at Aunty Lucy’s.’
‘True. It will be good for her to mix with the community, like you will at school.’
Liam nodded again thoughtfully, apparently appreciating the comparison. ‘And she’s writing a book — I think?’
‘Ah, that is good news.’
‘I have writer’s block,’ said Jen defensively.
Kate frowned. ‘And how do you propose to unblock?’
Jen nibbled her lip. She felt as under attack as Liam must have felt. ‘Write?’ she ventured.
‘So that’s a plan,’ said Kate. She added another tick with a flourish. ‘I think that’s about it.’
Jen placed her hand on her mother’s. ‘Hold on a minute, you don’t escape this exercise.’
Liam giggled. ‘No, Grandma.’
‘What are you going to do?’ asked Jen.
‘About what?’ Kate replied indignantly.
‘This place for starters,’ said Jen. ‘You need to let us fix things. If you allow maintenance on the house to slide for much longer, none of us will have a home to live in.’
Kate jumped up. ‘That is my business.’ She turned to Liam with a smile. ‘Why don’t you check in the garden to see if those snails have stayed away from my seedlings?’
Liam didn’t need asking twice and was out of the door like a shot.
