Free Wonder Women by Rosie Fiore Page A

sheet of news-print, as big as the table. There were pots of finger paint, and home-made stamps cut out of potatoes, and she had bought two all-over plastic bibs to protect the kids’ clothing. She popped Imogene into the high chair she kept for the grandchildren’s visits and set about getting the kids smearing and printing. Austin wandered in and smiled at the scene. Lee gave his dad a hug and they stood watching as Zach worked his way around the table with a dinosaur stamp, printing bright green dinosaurs all over the paper,and Imogene smeared paint on the tray of her high chair and gummed a chunk of raw potato.
    â€˜I wish I could play too,’ said Lee. ‘It looks amazing!’
    â€˜You can, as long as you don’t get paint on your shirt,’ said Betty with mock sternness.
    â€˜No dinosaur for Daddy!’ said Zach possessively. ‘Mine!’
    â€˜Any more potatoes, Mum? Can I make my own stamps?’
    â€˜Of course!’ Betty brought him a few spuds and a sharp knife. Austin showed Imogene how to dip her fingers in the paint and draw on the paper, and tried to stop her eating too much of it, and Lee sat carving an intricate abstract pattern into his potato. Wonderful smells wafted out of the kitchen, and his mum emerged to bring drinks out for everyone.
    â€˜Beer? Wine?’ she asked Lee.
    â€˜No, thanks, Mum – I’m driving and in sole charge of two small children. Better not.’
    Betty nodded approvingly and passed him a glass of juice. ‘How’ve you managed? Has it been hectic?’
    â€˜It’s been great. Jo’s loving her course, and I’ve just had a brilliant time with the kids. I’ve missed her, of course, but it’s been kind of nice to have Zach and Imi all to myself.’
    â€˜How’s the house? Bomb-struck?’
    â€˜No! I’ll have you know I did all the housework before I came here today.’
    Betty raised an eyebrow. ‘Well, Jo’s a lucky woman then, isn’t she?’
    Lunch was delicious, and afterwards both kids fell asleep on the sofa with their grandpa. Lee gently lifted Imogene and laid her in her pushchair. She snuffled and put a fingeron her mouth. He looked at her long eyelashes and perfect little apple cheeks for a long time. Zach looked perfectly happy, sprawled halfway across Grandpa’s belly, his mouth slightly open and a smear of gravy on his chin. Lee tiptoed into the kitchen to offer to help, but Betty had already loaded the dishwasher and put the coffee on.
    He wandered back out to the conservatory, where the detritus of the painting was still spread all over the table. He tidied up and then idly picked up a potato and a sharp knife. With the tip of the knife, he scored a curve in the potato, and then carefully marked out the shape of a sleeping woman. He cut away the bits around his outline, dipped it in royal-blue paint and tried it out. It was a little uneven, so he dried the stamp, corrected the shape with the knife and tried again. Then he took another potato and carved a lithe and slippery fish and made a number of prints with the bright yellow paint. He was on a roll, and he started carving lots of different shapes, human and animal. Some didn’t work at all – the octopus was too intricate and made a huge, messy blob, but some were interesting and primitive. Tired of the bright primary colours, he started to mix more subtle shades. Once he’d covered a large area of the paper with stamps, he hunted around for a brush and started to paint a vibrant sky with clouds and a crimson sunset, and bits of landscape between the printed animals. He’d been going for about an hour before he was aware of Betty sitting quietly near the kitchen door and watching him. He smiled, a little embarrassed. ‘Just playing, Mum. I’ll clear up after, promise.’
    â€˜It’s lovely to see you paint again. Knock yourself out.’
    â€˜Zach’s going to