It’s taken Cheryl all morning to return home, after answering a bundle of questions Paisley has been throwing at me since she woke up ,apologising to Joan countless of times and trying my best to make it up to her Cheryl finally returned and ran straight up the stairs into her room like a teenager in a huff. I haven’t even attempted to speak to her and I’m not going to until I get Joan to take Paisley out, I’m still so angry at her. I refuse to even talk to her while Paisley is under the same roof, last night we were out of order and she nor Joan need to witness a full blown argument again.
“Are you going to go and talk to her?” Asks Joan as she dusts around the TV.
“I will later, I don’t really want an argument when Paisleys here” I watch Paisley playing with her doll on the chair. She has it lying on her lap with its head propped up on her arm. She keeps raising her eyes to me as she holds the plastic bottle to its mouth. She keeps looking at me every couple of seconds and I can tell she’s listening to the conversation. I better watch what is said around her.
“I’m taking her to the park in a bit, I’m picking the kids up on the way so we’ll be a while”
“That’s nice isn’t it Pai, your nana Joans taking you to the park”
“The smelly one?” She scrunches up her face and Joan laughs shaking her head.
“Exhibition park, it’s in town love. We can take some bread for the ducks”
She really isn’t impressed with the tiny park just outside of Joans street and I can’t say I blame her for not wanting to play there, I’m not sure I would even let her play there. Even though it’s there for children it’s been taken over by hooded teens and floosy girls smoking cigarettes and drinking on the near broken and heavily vandalised play equipment, just like almost everything it this estate it isn’t really pleasant.
“When are we going?” She questions and she now has her ‘baby’ sat on her knee, she hs a hand under its chin and she’s tapping its back with her hand, I’m assuming she’s pretending to wind it.
“In about ten minutes so can you please go and get your jacket and shoes for us?”
“Jacket?”
“Aye, look at the weather”
“Can I bring baby?”
“Just leave it here with me, me and your mam will look after it”
“Her!“
“Sorry, we will look after her”
She slides off the sofa and carefully brings her doll to me. She pats its head and grabs the magnetic dummy from the sofa. “Guess who I am”
“hmm … who?”
“I’m Casey!”
I start to laugh and Joan looks at me in confusion.
“Casey is one of Sally’s friends, she’s just had a baby”
“And you’re a little her? Bless you!”
*
“Paisley! Come on your nanas going” I shout up the stairs and it takes her a good five minutes to come down. “What were you doing?” I ask as she hangs onto the banister carefully coming down one step at a time.
“Saying bye to Mammy” She smiles.
“What’s she doing?” I quiz her hoping to find out her mood before attempting to fix this whole mess and Paisley shrugs her shoulders. “Well you must know what she was doing, you seen her”
