Crash Landing On You - These Are The Days

Playground Adventures With Mama

Warning: Gratuitous and unapologetic use of terrible, horrible stereotypes. No offence is meant by such, but you should be warned.

Amelie has a perfect life. She has an amazing husband, a beautiful little boy, and she sat on a number of boards of charitable foundations. Her house was grand and beautiful and her friends were the envy of her.

So when she saw the dark-haired little girl tumbled forward into the dirt and heard the definitely female laughter that followed, Amelie followed the sound with disapproval. The woman her eyes land on was indeed smiling in comfortable-looking jeans and oxford shirt. The little girl – Ri Da Eun, Amelie knew her, because she was in her son's class – looked up at the woman with the broadest smile Amelie had ever seen on her little face.

Da Eun, in Amelie's experience, was generally a shy little thing. She hid behind her father – Ri Jeong Hyeok and oh, oh Amelie certainly liked when he was at the playground with his three children or when he was at PTA meeting. But Amelie wasn't really sure she'd ever seen the woman before.

Oh, wait. She'd seen her. She joined the PTA meeting once, like a year ago.

Da Eun already brushed herself off and gone racing for the monkey bars and the woman, who can only be Da Eun's mother, watched with gentle, amused eyes. But Da Eun looked like a heathen and Amelie was sure she was bruised, with how she'd tumble forward.

And Amelie couldn't help herself. "Da Eun, honey, did you hurt yourself?"

Da Eun looked absolutely startled to find someone else calling her name, and Amelie watched a strange sort of horror as the little girl, dirt-streaked face and maybe a couple of little starches on her hands, turned shy and coy. Her little hands brushed quickly at her own shirt and jeans-matching, Amelie noticed, and Da Eun tucked her hands behind her back.

"No Mrs. Portmann." Da Eun said, polite as she could be.

"Da Eun?"

There was a strange twist to Da Eun's face Amelie had never seen before like she was fighting between two sides of herself. A thin, elegant hand landed on Da Eun's head, stroked through her hair.

"Mama, this is Mrs Portmann. Mrs Portmann is Ryan's Mama."

"Pleasure." But the woman didn't hold out her hand.

Amelie's back straightened. "That's quite the tumble your daughter took."

There was the judgement in every word, but to Amelie's horror, the woman just chuckled again. "She's done worse. Haven't you, Butterflake?"

And Amelie watched the most mischievous grin blossomed over sweet, little Da Eun's face.

"Which time, Mama?"

Something secret passed between mother and daughter. It hit Amelie then that the perfect little adorable Da Eun was just a front. It was not all this little girl was and the idea of a little trouble maker as the daughter of Ri Jeong Hyeok made her cringe.

"Jeong Hyeok works hard with her." Amelie found herself saying because the image of Jeong Hyeok's perfect family was on its way up in smoke at this woman's presence. "She's never a mess when he's here."

The woman seemed utterly unperturbed by the judgement, her hand still moving through Da Eun's hair softly. "Quite obviously you've never seen them paint together or playing instruments."

To Amelie's dismay, Da Eun giggled, turned her face into the woman's leg. And if that wasn't enough Amelie watched the woman, Da Eun's mother, in case she had any doubt as to the effects of nature versus nurture. It was so painfully obvious here – lean down to Da Eun's level. Da Eun's eyes were shining and bright like she knew what kind of game they were about to play.