Free Beyond Midnight by Antoinette Stockenberg Page A

Katie up. Helen didn ' t know. But she couldn ' t misrepresent The Open Door, no matter how good she thought it would be for his daughter.
    " If you look around you, Mr. Byrne, you ' ll see that we expose the children to numbers and letters, to music and nature and science, " she said with more asperity than she ' d intended. " But we don ' t have a rigidly structured program. And that ' s by design. "
    " What do you do with precocious children? "
    " We encourage them. "
    " That ' s what you said about the timid ones. "
    " And I meant it. We have quiet corners; we have active ones. "
    Byrne seemed to be waiting for more. Helen looked him in the eye and lifted her shoulders in a tiny shrug. " I will not promise that Katie will be able to read or write at the end of the term, Mr. Byrne. "
    Byrne declined to argue further. He turned to Katie ' s nanny, who ' d been watching the verbal sparring with interest. " Well, Peach? Whaddya think? "

Chapter 6
     
    Pe aches went over to one of the toddler chairs and surprised everyone by sitting down in it and looking around the room from a three-year-old ' s vantage.
    " It ' s a very attractive room, " she said to Byrne. " Colorful without being overpowering ... lots of interesting, low-hung posters ... good light. And it srnells " —she took a deep breath— " clean, " she said, smiling. " Are the classes reasonably quiet? "
    Helen was impressed. Here were lots of shrewd, practical observations.
    " No preschool will ever be completely quiet, " she said honestly. " It would be bad if it were. But the noise is good noise, if you know what I mean. And the sounds don ' t bounce around; we ' ve insulated as well as possible. "
    She said to Byrne—because she knew he was responsible— " It ' s a shame you weren ' t in time to see the classes in session. "
    Unlike some schools and despite the security complications, The Open Door was available for observation, even during the tricky times: right after arrivals and just before naps.
    Byrne said snappishly , " I did the best I damn well could. "
    She saw his cheeks flush. She ' d hit a nerve. Good. He was a single parent now; with or without a nanny, he was going to have to work twice as hard. The sooner he figured it out, the better for Katie.
    " I ' m sure you did, " Helen said with a serene smile.
    He thought he was a hero, showing up personally at the school. The fathers often felt that way. It would be sweet if it weren ' t so sad. Still, he had shown up, late or not, and for that he deserved some credit. Helen resolved to give him the benefit of the doubt.
    " It can ' t be easy, " she said, " trying to fit a preschool screening into your terribly hectic pace. "
    It was supposed to sound sympathetic, but somehow it came out snotty. Helen couldn ' t believe it. She seemed to have no control over her own sentiments. Embarrassed by the sneer in her voice, she looked away, only to see Kristy and Peaches staring at her. Even more flustered now, Helen threw herself at little Katie ' s mercy.
    " Katie? Would you like to see the rest of the school? " she asked in a nervously high-pitched voice.
    Katie was busy trotting from DOLLS to PUZZLES to the big one—BOOKS—and wasn ' t all that interested in leaving. " No. I wanna stay here, " she decided.
    In the meantime, Byrne had taken Helen by the elbow and was saying, " May I speak to you alone for a moment, please? "
    " Of course, " Helen answered all too faintly. " Miss Maylen, would you mind explaining to Ms. Bartholemew the various scheduling options available? Thank you. We ' ll be right back. "
    She rallied and lifted her elbow pointedly out of Byrne ' s grip, then walked ahead of him into the hall. " We can use my office, if you like, " she said cooly.
    " Fine. "
    They walked in testy silence to Helen ' s office.
    Helen dropped into her swivel chair and pinched a droopy leaf off one of the freesias in the vase on her desk. " Have a seat, " she said, reasserting her authority in the