Page 99 of Ice Cold Hearts
“Squish-squash,” she sing-songs.
“Precisely, and I don’t think they have any Tupperware for me to scrape you off the floor into, so how about it?” I ask.
She slides backward on the floor and then holds up her hands.
“Please.” She hiccups.
I scoop her up and crush her to my chest.
“Too squeezy,” Audrey says, poking me.
“I’m sorry, Pumpkin. I was so happy to see that you’re okay. I guess I squeezed a little too tight.”
She pats my cheek. “That’s okay.”
I sit us down on a chair in the office. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see the principal standing in her doorway, but right now, all of my attention needs to be on Audrey.
“What happened today at recess?” I ask.
“We was playing bumblebees in the garden and this lady came right up to the fence and was asking me questions that didn’t make no sense.” She sniffs. “I tell her I don’t have to talk to her and to give my body space and then she yelled the questions louder. It was scary. I yelled and yelled for Teacher. And then when Teacher was running over, that lady took lots of pictures with a bright flashy light. It hurt my eyes.”
“That does sound scary. I’m so glad there was a safe adult to help you,” I say gently.
“Yeah, Teacher and Officer made her go away. They should get a sticker on their chart.” She nods sagely.
“Yes, they do.” I nod. “Do you know who else deserves a sticker?”
“Mrs. Principal?” she asks.
“I’m sure she does, but I was actually thinking about you when I said that. Someone made you feel unsafe, and do you know what you did? You used your big voice to tell them to stop and then when they didn’t, you went and got a safe adult. That was very brave, and I’m so proud of you.”
“But I was so scared,” Audrey says, wide-eyed.
“Let me tell you a secret about grownups,” I stage whisper. “We’re scared a lot too, but we use our big voices and ask for help just like you did today. Doing the right thing, especially when you’re scared, is being brave.”
“It is?” she asks.
“You'd better believe it, Kiddo,” I say and drop a kiss on the top of her head, “Now, I need to talk to your principal. Do you need anything else from Mama right now?”
“Can I have one more big squeeze? And can we go home?” she asks.
“You can have as many big squeezes as you want, but I do have to talk to the principal before we go home, okay? It’s important.”
“Okay.” She sighs.
I hug her tightly for a few moments and then look up at the principal when I let go.
“Is she able to visit with the counselor while we talk?” I ask. “I’d rather her not have to go through it all again while we chat.”
“Absolutely.” She nods. “Ms. McFale is ready and waiting for her next door.”
At the sound of her name, the counselor pops her head out her door.
“Hello, Ms. Hayes, good to see you.”
I nod. “Nice to see you as well.”
“Audrey,” she calls, “I’m having some trouble with my block tower. Do you think you could come help me out while your mom and the principal talk about grownup stuff?”