“Hi there!”
They all looked over to see a thirty-something woman entering the alcove from the main room, glowing at them.
“Hello Pam,” Joy greeted. Then she looked Brian and Rachel in the eyes and said, “Well come on kids, say hello to Miss Dever.”
“Hi,” they mumbled.
The woman nodded and replied in a syrupy sweet tone, “Hello children! Are you ready to have fun today?”
Rachel just stared at the woman coldly, but Brian managed a feeble nod. Danny on the other hand was clapping his clumsy hands gleefully.
“Okay then, say bye-bye to Mommy and we’ll join the others.”
They waited while Danny gave his mother a bear-hug that seemed to last forever. When she at last managed to separate from him she guided his hand right to Pam’s, letting her lead him away, still vigorously waving his goodbyes to Mommy.
The playroom the woman led them into was noisy and cluttered. In the far corner of the room a half dozen ‘children’ who looked to be in their early twenties were sitting on the floor at the feet of another adult carer. She was reading to them from a big picture book, holding open the pages so they could all see the illustrations. The young men and women gaped up at it in rapt attention. They appeared to be a bit ‘older’ than Rachel and Brian.