The Mare

Ginger

I called again the first week of school and nobody answered the phone. But the next day a teacher from Velvet’s school called me. She wanted me to know that Velvet had turned in a beautiful paper about a horse; she said it was probably the most beautiful paper she’d ever seen from a student. Technically, she wasn’t supposed to call me, but she knew it would really matter to me, and she wanted to tell me. I said, “How did Velvet react when you told her?” “I haven’t yet,” said the woman. “Velvet hasn’t been in school all week and I can’t get her mother on the phone. Do you know what’s going on?”