And no, Lauren had not taken up another spot on the photo, nor had she cheekily gotten behind one of the guys on the left. Linda sighed. She backed away from the picture. For a moment, she did not know what to do. A pan lid clinked quietly in the kitchen.
Linda ventured in there, and she saw Inge working at the stove, stirring pots full of heating fluids. She turned and saw her. Still holding the wooden spoon above the pot, she said "Ah, finished with your nap? I'll have lunch ready soon."
Linda stood at the entranceway , once again torturing herself over whether she should tell Inge what happened. She lifted a finger and started to speak, but stopped herself.
Inge placed the wooden spoon down onto a towel on the counter. She wiped her hands on her apron and gave Linda her full attention. "What is it?"
No, Linda thought. She'll think I'm weird and about to draw pentacles on the floor and hold animal sacrifices in the fireplace. Besides, at that moment she realized who she should be talking to instead of Inge. But she had to say something. Searching her mind, and scrambling for something plausible, she said "After I pick up Hayley from school, we're going to be out for awhile. And Stephen and I will probably go out to dinner later. You can go home early if you want."
Inge smiled at her. "That's very nice."
Linda turned away and climbed the stairs for the master bedroom. Inge would probably stay until four the way she always did.
Later, after lunch, she happily drove back to the school to pick up Hayley. She drove up the circular entrance and waited in a line, the same as before. Rather than wait in the car for Hayley to pile in through the opened door, Linda put the Jeep in "park" with the engine running and stood in front of the passenger door, waiting for her.
As her daughter emerged from the glass door at the front of the school, Linda thought her heart would melt. Hayley's oval, delicate face broke into a wide, glowing smile as she saw her. She ran from the door, down the steps and to the sidewalk and the curb. At the last moment Linda knelt down so she could receive the hug that was coming at her daughter's level. When Hayley reached her they held each other for several moments, rocking back and forth and cooing, as if they'd been apart weeks rather than hours.
As a celebration for her first day of school, Linda took Hayley to the ice cream parlor. They reached the counter and played the same game they always played. Linda would look down at Hayley and say "What kind would you like?"