Tao Read Free Page A

shop, so I could choose a present for myself too. Then she gave me a quick hug. I made my body stiff and kept my arms by my sides. She is not my mum. Kate isn’t really either because I’m adopted, but she is the only mum I ever want. Jo gave herself a little shake and said in a kind voice that made me feel a bit bad, “I also want to give you this … if you’ll take it.”
    I didn’t know what to say, so I just stood and watched while she pulled her bracelet off her wrist, the one she always wears with all the tiny stars and angels and hearts and other little things hanging off it.
    “I don’t want your bracelet,” I said.
    What would I do with a bracelet?
    “I know that.” She smiled and started taking a little silver wolf off the bracelet. “This is what I want to give you – it’s a charm.”
    I didn’t understand what she was talking about, so she explained.
    “This is a charm bracelet. All these little objects are ‘charms’ that I’ve collected since I was a little girl and each one is special in some way.”
    “Is it valuable?” I asked.
    “It is to me.”
    Which didn’t really answer my question.
    “It was given to me when I was ten by my grandmother. She got it for me on a trip she made to China. She said it would protect me and it has,” she said. “And now that you are ten, and as you are Chinese, I want to give it to you.” And she handed me the tiny silver wolf.
    “Why?” I asked.
    “So it can protect you.”
    “Against what?”
    “Oh, you never know when you might need protection,” she smiled. “Hopefully never.”
    “Shouldn’t you give it to someone in your family?” I asked. I didn’t really want it.
    “I am,” she said.
    You are not my family, I thought, but I didn’t say it. Then she handed me a small envelope and told me to keep the charm in that so that I would not lose it.
    “Thanks,” I mumbled and stuck the envelope in my pocket. It was a stupid thing to give to a boy. Maybe I should have said that, but just then Dad came into the kitchen so I let it go.
    Dad clapped his hands and said, “Let’s play pass the parcel!”
    That was not such a good idea. When Dad stopped the music, Rachel was holding the big messy parcel. She didn’t know what to do.
    “Tear off the paper!” I told her. But as soon as she started opening the first wrapping, Roger jumped up and grabbed at the parcel and started ripping it apart. Jo had to pull it off him and Rachel started crying until we all started pulling it apart together, even Dad. There was paper everywhere when we had finished, but Jo had put in three prizes, chocolate bars, so that Roger and Rachel and I all got a prize. Then she switched on the
Mary Poppins
DVD to calm everyone down while she cleaned up the mess and I sat on the couch and watched it with Roger cuddled up on one side of me and Rachel on the other, both with their thumbs in their mouths.
    Every Saturday with Rachel and Roger ends up the same – watching
Mary Poppins
. Everyone has their favourite bit. Rachel gets all excited when Mary Poppins starts taking all the things out of her bag that could not possibly fit in it and clicks her fingers. Rachel tries to click her fingers, but of course she can’t so I have to click my fingers for her and then she can’t understand why magic doesn’t happen when I do it.
    Roger’s favourite bit is the penguin dance. He jumps off the couch and pulls his trousers down around his hips and joins in the penguin dance … and he is much funnier than the penguins in the film. I haven’t really got a favourite bit, but I think I know practically every word of every song off by heart now.
    When
Mary Poppins
is over, it is almost seven o’clock and time for the twins to say “Nightie night” and for me to get home to meet Kalem and David for party number two.
    The Tenth Thing: SHE said that she would drive me home to get out of the house and away from the kids before she went completely out of her tiny mind, but it