The Three of Us

86. Miss Stacy Brightens the World

Walter liked when the Smiley Lady came.

When the Smiley Lady came, everything was different. His mama's voice changed for the better. Walter went from only hearing his mama's voice a little bit, once in a while- and sharply, at that- to hearing her voice go on and on and on, melodic and happy, as she talked to the Smiley Lady The Smiley Lady had a happy voice too.

As time went on, Walter began to forget what it was like to hear his mama shout, because she did it less and less.

He also began to be picked up and cuddled more. Not necessarily by his mama, but by the person he loved most in the world:

Guh Buh.

Before the Smiley Lady came, Guh Buh picked him up and held him a little while, but then set him down and opened up those flat things he brought to mama. Then Walter would listen to the pages crinkle as his mama and Guh Buh looked at those instead of paying attention to him. But now that the Smiley Lady came, she looked at those things with his mama instead, so he got to have Guh Buh all to himself for hours.

The reason he liked Guh Buh more than anyone else was because of the way Guh Buh looked at him. There were lots of other people who held him and looked at him, too, but not the way Guh Buh did. His mama held him when she had to, but she hardly ever looked at his eyes, and he missed that from her. Besides his mama, he had two Mmmmms- what to call them started with the same sound as Mama- and they were sort of the same as his mama because they took care of him too. There was the one who smelled like fresh laundry and soap, and carried him around with her and sometimes sat with him in the rocking chair and sang him little songs, and then the other one who came in later, smelling of grass and hay. That one didn't say much, but once in a while when no one else was around, he'd talk to him about the cows. Walter wasn't sure what a cow was, but he liked hearing about them, and he liked being held and talked to. Then there was the girl with the soft, light brown hair that came and fussed over him. She was always wanting to bring him home with her, though she never did. Walter liked her too, and he could tell that she was happier than his mama was to see him. And of course there was his baby friend- the only other baby he knew- who came to play. Sometimes she poked him in the nose, making him cry, but she always kissed him, and she shared her toys with him, and they laughed and laughed together.

But, Guh Buh outranked them all as his very best friend. Guh Buh looked into his eyes in a way that his mama wouldn't.

And there was something in his eyes that let Walter know that Guh Buh thought he was the most important person in the whole world.

--

"I thought today we'd focus on geometry," Miss Stacy said to Anne. "Gilbert told me that's your favorite subject."

Anne gave a disparaging look to Gilbert, who ducked his head, hiding a grin.

Meanie, Anne told him with her eye contact alone.

"It's not exactly my favorite," she admitted, now turning to her teacher. "I'd rather study history or literature."

"Let's focus on geometry today," Miss Stacy insisted. "We haven't done that at all yet, and math is something that you can lose quickly if it isn't consistently put into practice."

"Well...I haven't worked on geometry at all since..." her eyes traveled over to the baby.

Miss Stacy followed Anne's gaze. She smiled at the baby who was snuggled against Gilbert's chest. His little fist had been tightly grasping Gilbert's thumb, but as he'd fallen asleep, his hand had relaxed and was lying open in Gilbert's palm.