Introduction

I have been informed that my talking about Sewing Words Together without actually sharing any of it is quite indeed a tease ... I admit, I don't mind being a tease, but for the whole 2 of you who read this here goes nothing ...

THE INTRODUCTION OF SEWING WORDS TOGETHER

INTRODUCTION:
She stands against the wall, her hands behind her bottom between the dirty glass and the pretty dress, just like mummy told her to. She’s nearly six and today is daddy’s birthday so they have come again to visit. The room is small and there aren’t enough seats and so she stands against the wall and waits. Her coins are all ready, in her sticky hands, and her jacket with the pockets and her doll and her drawing for daddy are all tucked away safely in the locker. She looks around at the other visitors and worries if the locker will really be tough enough. It’s not right for dolly to be locked away in a cold dark room all by herself. Sunshine knows that the picture for daddy will keep dolly company but she frets over her one eyed dirty mould of plastic.
Mummy is sitting between two other women. They are all talking, but mummy keeps looking over at the small girl. She is too small for her age, fragile and delicate looking, which makes people treat her much younger then she thought she should be.
Sunshine stays quiet and smiles only a little at mummy when their eyes catch each others. Mummy is big in the tummy with her baby brother or sister. She hopes for a baby brother, the girls at school are horrible and she doesn’t want one of them. Her baby brother would be so loved and played with; Sunshine was already learning how to make bottles up. The lady at the hospital last week showed Sunshine how to make sure the milk is warm enough, while Mummy was outside having a ciggie.
At last they start letting the people in, but as always it’s a long and slow journey. They check everyone’s clothing and run the thing over their outline, that doesn’t actually touch you. And then you know it’s all okay when they give your hands a wash so you don’t give any germs to daddy and his friends. People all around Mummy and Sunshine are talking, but Sunshine still stays quiet, she learnt that was best. She interlocks her fingers with Mummy’s once her hands have been washed and they walk along the line toward where daddy is waiting. She hears someone yelling at the men with the hand washing cloth but she closes her eyes and squeezes mummy’s hand tighter. Mummy squeezes back and they continue to follow the yellow painted line.
It’s the last time she will see her daddy, but of course she doesn’t know that. At first she is shy and nervous. All of daddy’s friends look at her weird and she doesn’t like it. She hates having to visit daddy here and only here. He is bigger in the tummy, just like mummy but she crawls up onto his lap, wraps her arms around his chubby neck and rubs her face in his bristly beard.
Daddy laughs and is playing with her and bouncing her on his knee. She laughs and he tickles her so much that she gasps for air between the giggles. Mummy stops them, but Sunshine is ok with that, because daddy’s friends are finished looking at them and are all too busy with their own visitors.
“I drew you a picture, but it’s in the locker. You can get it later.” She beams at him, her daddy.
“Oh that’s lovely of you Sunshine. Why don’t you tell me all about it? What’s the picture of?”
And she describes it in detail, and he asks question after question about her life and her drawing and she feels warmed from the inside out. His little Sunshine.
The questions start to peter out and she knows that soon it will be the grown up time to talk and kiss. Daddy goes and gets her a can of purple fizzy and a chocolate bar. She likes it when her teacher calls them candy, everything is candy to her. Lollies and chocolate, it’s all candy. She likes candy. So while she pretends not to listen to her parents talking she enjoys her purple and her candy and hears again how sorry daddy is. That’s why she doesn’t understand why he can’t come home yet. He’s said sorry, like a hundred times. Every time she is there he says it to mummy and she bets he says it when mummy visits without her as well.