Under Her Wing

Chapter 31

Danielle POV

I packed two smoothies and some water into my backpack along with two apples and my phone. I turned to the kitchen table to see Amalia frowning at the screen.

"What work are you doing lovely?" I asked.

"Greg's just put the online maths and grammar worksheets up today," she replied.

"The ones you can print off?"

"Hmm, yeah I think so," she said, seeing if it had the option to print.

"Okay let's get them printed, we're going out," I told her with an excited smile.

"Danielle we're in quarantine," she pointed out.

"I know but we're allowed out for walks, you can bring these with you and do them outside. I'd rather that than you be staring at a screen all day," I explained, walking over to my printer to turn it on.

"Hit print my sunshine," I smiled.

"Where are we going?" She asked after selecting the sheets she needed.

"That's a surprise," I winked.

"Will there be a lot of people?" She asked nervously.

"No Mali, we can't go near people anyway," I replied  softly.

"Go grab your shoes and jacket," I told her, collecting the worksheets from the printer and putting them into my bag.

She soon rejoined me by the front door.

"It feels weird going outside," she giggled.

"I know, we've not been out in ages," I agreed, unlocking the door.

The two of us got into my car and I could tell Amalia was starting to feel apprehensive about being out because she went quiet and began tapping her fingers.

"You're safe with me Mali," I said gently, reaching to rest my hand on her knee.

She looked up at me and nodded.

"We're going to the beach?" She said excitedly when she realised where we were.

"We are sweetheart," I grinned, parking up the car.

"I've not been to a beach in forever," she said, eyes wide and glancing out the window.

"Let's go then my girl," I said happily, climbing out the car.

I quickly messaged Stefania and grabbed my bag.

The beach was quiet but with the nice weather, a few people had had the same idea as me and decided to come down for a treat. A family walked by us, followed by a man and his boyfriend walking their dog. Amalia took a step closer to me, I reached down and took hold of her hand, giving it a small squeeze.

"You're alright Mali," I whispered.

We walked onto the beach and took a left. As we were walking, Amalia started to relax. Her shoulders dropped and I felt her hand relax in mine. The fresh air and sea breeze is just what we both needed.

"Hey doesn't that dog look like Jeff," she said, pointing out in front of us.

I tried to hide the excitement from my face.

"Wait, that really looks like Jeff," she said slowly, looking up at me in confusion.

I simply shrugged my shoulders, not wanting to give anything away.

The dog was getting closer, clearly recognising us.

"That's Stefania!" Amalia shouted, pointing to the figure walking behind the dog.