The Girl in the Rug Read Online Free PDF

car and
wandered over to the school entrance. She glanced at her watch it was 5.35, and
Maya should be out any minute…in fact she could see her, talking to a rather
animated woman in a multicoloured poncho on the steps of the school. They
seemed pretty deep in some sort of discussion so she kept her distance but
after a few more minutes Maya looked over to where she was standing and waved.
She rounded up her conversation and came running over her face glowing, and her
eyes full of love.
    ‘I so sorry,’ she gasped, ‘I am talking to Brenda…you know
from social services, and I forget the time.’
    ‘Hey don’t worry,’ said Helen with a smile, ‘I’m enjoying
being out of the house, Lena’s been on a cleaning marathon today, I don’t think
there’s a single thing that hasn’t been wiped down and had a Hoover run over
it. Even Benji’s goldfish was looking extra shiny by the time she’d finished
and she’s put little bows round the spare toilet rolls in the loos. I blame
Kirsty Allsopp; she’s never been the same since watching “Kirsty’s homemade
home”.’ Helen finished with a laugh, Maya smiled but Helen could see that she
was a bit preoccupied.
    ‘What’s up love?’ she said putting a hand on her arm.
    ‘Oh…is probably nothing,’ said Maya with a shrug. ‘Just work
stuff, Brenda says I am too much worrying, and yes she is right I guess…so how
was your day?’ she asked Helen with a determined smile.
    ‘Oh the usual…I finished that piece for the town hall, at
last!’ she said with an exaggerated sigh. She had recently taken on a piece of
work that had forced her out of her comfort zone, a portrait of the newly
appointed Mayor of Redbank, the Right Honourable David Wesley. Helen very
rarely did portrait work, she felt much more comfortable with her landscapes,
but the honour of being asked to paint the mayor had been a temptation too
great for her to resist. It had been a right bugger to do though, and she was
glad that it was nearing completion, not least because she wouldn’t have to
endure any more sessions in the company of said mayor, who was the most
pompous, self righteous idiot that she had encountered for a long time!
    ‘Oh I can’t wait to see,’ said Maya squeezing Helen’s hand,
she was really proud of her new wife’s talent and was always telling people how
amazing she was. Helen and Maya had married a couple of months earlier, very
soon after the law had changed enabling Gay and Lesbian couples to marry. They
were both still in the gazing into each other’s eyes, honeymoon stage of their
relationship, despite having two toddlers and a teenage daughter between them.
    ‘Well I shall be glad not to have to endure the awful Right
Honourable’s dubious company anymore that’s for sure,’ said Helen, getting into
the car. ‘He spent the best part of an hour this afternoon pontificating about
his latest piece in the ‘Gazette’ and his upcoming dinner at Downing Street.
The man’s a nightmare; so far up his own backside that he has completely lost
sight of the reason he was elected as mayor in the first place…pompous twat.’
    ‘Hmm,’ replied Maya who still seemed miles away, she was
used to Helen’s ranting about the Mayor and had only been listening with half
an ear. She was still worrying about what she had been discussing with Brenda,
who was a social worker attached to the school. One of the boys in Maya’s class
was causing her some concern. Social services were aware that there was a
problem with the boy and he was on the at risk register, along with his sister,
but as far as Maya could see nothing was being done to safeguard the two
children.
    They were both painfully thin, and usually inadequately or
inappropriately dressed for the weather conditions. Despite being a bright lad,
Andy Hunt had trouble concentrating and had even fallen asleep at his desk a
couple of times. He was constantly in trouble, fighting in the
playground…usually in defence of