She finally likes me!

I stood under the tree at the high school near my house, playing with my  phone to try to pass the time before my English department meeting would start when I saw, out of the corner of my eye, a man with his small child pull up on a moto. 

I walked over to Martin and greeted him and his daughter, Rolande, who, as usual, hid her face in her dad’s shirt instead of acknowledging me.

Usually, when they first encounter me without the security of a group of other kids with them, kids are scared of me. Especially babies. (In one case that I have yet to figure out, the 8-month-old son of my neighbor was not scared of me, but when I came back from my 5-day Christmas vacation cried whenever his mom tried to hand him to me.)

But, with as much time as I’ve spent with Rolande, (I was at her house for Easter, and she is a frequent attendee of our staff meetings due to the fact that both her parents work at the school.) that she is still scared of me is one of my greatest unaccomplishments here.

As usual, as I talked to her dad, Rolande ignored my presence, until she interrupted our conversation to point to her mom, a math teacher, walking across the school yard.

“You see Mom?” Martin asked. He lifted her off the moto. “If you follow Emily, she will take you to Mom.”

I held out the index finger of my right hand to her, and, to my surprise, she took my hand and led me across the courtyard.

This 10-second walk was the closest and most prolonged interaction she has ever allowed me to have.

Her mom met us near the buildings opposite of where we started. She greeted me, then motioned to her daughter.

“She accepted today?” she asked.