MAYA POV
"Alright, so we've heard from Carl's dad who's a rocket scientist. Now we're going to hear from Isabella's mama Dr Deluca" Mr Smith introduced my wife. Mr Smith had slowly been working his way through the mass number of parents standing at the back of the classroom. Some of the jobs were unique and interesting but for the most part there wasn't much to their jobs.
"Hello everyone. I'm Dr Deluca, and I work in a big hospital. My job is to help mamas give birth to their babies. I might have helped your own mommies give birth to you. Does anyone have any questions?" My wife finishes her own introduction. A hand shoots up, the blonde-haired boy had been questioning everything and everyone throughout the day.
"Can daddies give birth?" He asks, the adults in the room do everything to stifle a laugh.
"I haven't helped a daddy give birth but I'm sure there is one out there who has" Carina tries to answer as professionally and democratically as possible.
"But Luke over there has two daddies" The same boy calls out.
"Luke is very lucky to have two daddies." Carina replies, hoping that would be the end of the interaction and thankfully it was.
"My mama cuts babies out of mommies' bodies" Our daughter called out; the look of horror spread across every kid's face in the classroom.
"I think I should explain what Isabella means by that" Carina chuckles and a few of the students nod while their shocked face remains.
"Sometimes when mommies have babies, they need some help and that's what I do. If I help a mommy in this way, it is usually because the little baby needs help and I need to help them" Carina explains in the most basic way possible, and the kids seem to be okay with it.
A few more questions and explanations were thrown out before I was asked to talk, I was last on the list and couldn't help but keep my eyes on the clock as I began.
"Alright, so my name is Maya but at work I am known as Bishop. I'm a firefighter instructor which means I help teach the new firefighters. I used to be a firefighter and a captain." I introduce myself and arms start to shoot up.
"How hot is fire?" One kid calls out, he gets a pointed look from Mr Smith.
"That's a good question. We have three categories of flames. You have the red flames, the orange flames, and the white flames – and each type of fire has a different temperature. We sometimes have a fire that is invisible, we need to use special technology so that we can see it" I answer. I'd practiced that explanation with Carina, it was a question that I'd expected and for which I'd practiced a long answer – apparently 7-year-olds don't need to learn about the differences, the rates of fire spreading, etc.
"Is that why you wear those big coats?" A girl asks.
"That's exactly why we wear those coats. It protects us from the fire and other dangers like glass or broken wood." I answer her and work my way through the student's questions until Mr Smith asks the children to get ready for lunch. Due to the fire, the students and parents were moved into a shared canteen with most of the student body. The students sat away from us until they'd finished their lunch.
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As I waited for my beautiful wife to get her lunch, I observed Isabella. I'd never really seen her look so happy and so unbothered by the world. She was sat between two friends, they whispered and giggled, and pointed at pure randomers in the canteen. The two girls next to Isabella listened closely to what she'd say and laugh with her. Is it stupid that we'd never connected with the parents of Isabella's friends? Is it naïve of me to miss out on the fact or mere idea that my daughter would have friends, that my daughter, would have classmates fighting over who can sit on her table or not.
