Chapter 291

Megan

I stand waiting for Ella to come out of class. She’s finishing earlier than usual. The school had called me to ask for a meeting regarding her schooling. They want her to go into Grade 3 next year instead of Grade 2. I’m not sure how I feel about it. She’s only four. She’ll be with kids double her age. It’s not ideal. They told me I could look into a gifted school for her or homeschooling. She’s becoming bored in her lessons, resulting in her acting out and being rude to her teachers.

Her teacher brings her out of class. Her blue eyes light up when she sees me. I kneel to her height and give her a tight hug.

“Why are you here, mommy?” she asks.

“I needed to speak to your teachers,” I say to her and look at the teacher whose class she’s just been in. She’s lovely looking as if her job suits her. With her mousy blonde hair and soft brown eyes, I bet she’s very nurturing.

“Do I have to leave? I like Art,” Ella asks. I feel that’s more to do with her teacher than the actual subject.

“I need to talk to you about some things, that’s all,” I say and then turn to her teacher. I thank her and walk Ella out of the school.

“Am I in trouble, mommy?” she asks as we walk down the school street.

“No, not completely. I had a meeting with your homeroom teacher and your principal. They said you’ve been rude to some teachers,” I tell her.

“No, mommy, they’re stupid,” she says, and I frown at her. “I know I shouldn’t call people stupid, but they marked my test paper down because I didn’t show the working out that they wanted me to show. I still got the answer right,” she huffs. I smile a little and stroke her hand with mine. “And sometimes the class is boring, they won’t let me read the books I want to read, and they say I’m a know-it-all,” I notice her get a little upset over that.

“Is class not challenging enough?” I ask her.

“No,” she says with a shake of her head.

“Don’t cry, it’s ok, you’re smart, and you’re not in trouble for being smart,” I say to her. I notice the cafe we usually go to whenever she gets a perfect score on a test, which is a lot of the time. “Shall we get some ice cream?” I ask her. She nods at me as she sniffles.

Maybe we shouldn’t bring up school again for a little while. I think I know what she would want to do. Perhaps I should look into specialist schools because, at some point, the school she’s in won’t be able to teach her much more. I’d have to look at my finances to see if I can make it possible. I’d like nothing more than to nurture her and provide her with the education and support she needs. I’m just not sure if I can, and that hurts.

“Can we take Max for a walk around the park?” she asks as I open the door for her. She pulls me in with her as she runs up to the display case of ice-cream.

This cafe is run by an Italian family who has owned this cafe for decades. Ella loves coming here. I think it’s because the older man that owns it adores her. He seems to be a natural with kids. He always gives her little extras on anything she orders. His wife Nera is the same. I believe that’s why they are still going in this area. They get to know their customers.

“We’ll see,” I tell her.

“Ella,” the old woman calls once she sees us. Ella looks up at her, and smiles widely. “I got something for you,” she says.

“Is it chocolate fudge cake?” she asks. I sigh and shake my head. This girl is going to have such bad teeth.

“It is. I made a new one today just for you,” Nera tells her. “Giovanni was upset because you were upset over not having any last time, so he asked me to make some for you,” she explains and walks into the back. A couple of seconds later, Giovanni walks out.

“Stellina,” he calls loudly and walks around the counter to her and bends down to her level. He holds his arms wide and looks at me as if asking me if it’s ok. He always hugs her, and he always seems to ask permission silently. I nod and watch as he hugs her. “Did you have a good day at school?” he asks. She nods before telling him why she’s out early.

“How are you, Megan?” Nera asks me as she walks out from the kitchen with a small cake for one. I watch her start to box it up.

“I’m good. The semester ended, so I’ve got much more free time at the moment,” I explain as I take my wallet out of my bag. “How much do I owe you for the cake?” I ask.

“Oh, it’s on the house,” she says with a wave of her hand. I smile a little and look at Ella to see her picking out the ice-cream she wants with Giovanni. He seems to be talking her into going for a lemon sorbet instead. She agrees with his reasoning that she already has chocolate cake, and with it being hot outside, the lemon sorbet will be more refreshing.

“Every child should be like Ella,” Nera says.

“You wouldn’t be saying that when she’s in a mood, she acts like a teenager a lot of the time,” I state. She grins.

“But she’s so cute. My children all have boys. I just want a granddaughter,” she huffs, making me grin.

“Sometimes, I think a boy might be easier,” I say and watch as the young girl behind the counter fulfils Ella’s order.

“Is that a new dress, Bambina?” Nera asks Ella.

“No, mommy got me it at Christmas, but it didn’t fit me until now,” she says and gives a little twirl.

My daughter loves attention when it’s from people she knows. I try not to spoil her as she has Courtney and Yasmin for that, but sometimes it’s complicated. Sometimes I think subconsciously I do because Logan isn’t in her life. I have to be both, and it’s challenging to get the right balance.

I bought her a denim effect shirt dress with pink flowers printed on it and a skinny belt. I know it’s corny, but I tend to buy her things that are similar to what I have so that we can match. Courtney thinks it’s adorable to have a mini-me. She does it too and dresses her in the exact same clothes as her whenever she’s taking her out for the day. I’m wearing a denim shirt dress with the same coloured belt. We’re both wearing matching converse.

“It is adorable, on you,” she says, “you look like a mini mommy,”

The girl behind the counter hands Ella a card bowl with her sorbet. I look at the selection on offer and decide to go for lemon and raspberry sorbet.

Once out of the cafe, Ella’s mood seems to have lifted. I don’t think she’ll be happy staying at the school she’s at right now. I might have to cut back on a few things, possibly take more shifts at Masked to pay for tuition to a school she’ll be happy at.

We walk into the condo building, and the doorman flags me over.

“Are you ok, Lionel?” Lionel is our other doorman.

“You have some visitors, Miss Wright,” he states, and he looks a little nervous. “I have told them to wait in the seating area. I’m just warning you; they’re from child protection services,” he whispers the last part to me to not alert Ella. I frown and look towards the seating area to see two women, one in a light grey pants suit and the other in a summer dress with a cardigan and a police officer.

“Why are they here?” I ask him.

“I’m not sure,”

“Ok, thank you for letting me know,” I say and take Ella towards them.

The women stand up as I walk towards them. The woman in the grey suit is tall, slim, blonde and seems to have a stricter aura to her than the woman stood next to her. The woman next to her is petite and has brown hair; she looks friendlier just by the smile on her face when she looks at Ella.

“You must be Megan,” the brown-haired woman says. I don’t miss the slight Hispanic accent. “My name is Sophia, and this is Rachel, my colleague and officer Hudson,” she tells me. I cut in.

“I know where you’re from, and I would prefer it if you didn’t say it in front of my daughter; she picks up on things,” I say. “We can talk in my home,” I tell them and motion for them to follow.

“Who are these people, mommy?” Ella asks once we’re in the elevator.

“They’re just people who want to talk to me,” I answer.

The last time the CPS was called on me was when I was in LA. My grandfather had done it to get me to move back in with him. Unfortunately for him, he wanted to go for custody of her. There was no reason to take Ella from me. She’s well looked after and happy. I text Courtney and Yasmin in our group text to let them know. They’re both in, and I know they won’t be satisfied. I have an idea as to who called them.

I texted Logan yesterday morning, telling him to give me time to talk to Ella about him, and once I have, I’ll set up a meeting with him. He never replied. I just figured he was still annoyed about me shutting the door on him the other day. It turns out he was making good on his threat about me regretting it. Joke's on him, I don’t regret it; if anything, I still stand by what I’ve said and done.