Read Online 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith - Free Book Online Page A

children, I suppose – no more than twenty-two years – but I do think that most children have their little gifts. Certainly Bertie is quite good at assembling the train set. And he’s not bad when we have our little sing-songs.”
    Irene struggled to contain herself. “And his Italian?” she blurted out. “His Italian? Have you noticed that he speaks Italian?”
    Miss Macfadzean had, but too much was at stake now to tell the truth.
    “Italian?” she said. “How interesting. Are you Italian? Or your husband? We often get bilingual children in – when one of the parents speaks another language. Children pick it up so readily in the home. They’re remarkable linguists. All of them – not just Bertie.”
    “I am not Italian,” said Irene. “Nor is my husband, for that matter. Bertie has learned Italian. It is an accomplishment he has – one of a number of accomplishments.”
    “How useful,” said Miss Macfadzean coolly. “He will be well placed should he go on holiday to Italy.”
    “That’s not the point,” said Irene. “He has learned Italian to read it and appreciate the culture.”
    “How nice,” said Miss Macfadzean, glancing at her watch. “Such noble people the Italians, sometimes.”
    “Yes,” said Irene. “And he’s recently passed Grade six saxophone. Grade six.”
    “What an active little boy!” said Miss Macfadzean. “I’m surprised that he finds time to come to playgroup! We’re obviously very lucky to have him.”
    “He needs more stimulation,” Irene pressed on. “If you could find the time to work with his reading …”
    “Out of the question,” said Miss Macfadzean. “There are all the other children to think about. I’m sorry.” She paused for a moment. “Anyway, I did want to have a word with you about Bertie’s behaviour. He needs to work a bit more on his co-operation with other children. He’s not exactly gifted in that respect. Sometimes there are incidents .”
    “Incidents?”
    “Yes,” went on Miss Macfadzean. “He likes the train set. But he must learn to share it a bit more. He destroyed a rather nice little station set-up that one of the other children had made. He said that he had blown it up. He said it was something to do with politics.”
    Irene smiled. “Dear Bertie! That’s the trouble, you see. He’s so much more advanced than the other children. They won’t know anything about politics. They won’t even know the word.”
    “No, they won’t,” agreed Miss Macfadzean. “But he shouldn’t really spoil their games. We have to teach them how to live and let live. We have to encourage socialisation.”
    “Bertie knows all about socialisation,” said Irene quickly. “The problem is that all the other children are … well, sorry to have to say this, but they’re just not up to him. They won’t understand him. And that means he gets frustrated. You have to see it from his point of view.”
    Miss Macfadzean glanced at her watch again. “Perhaps he needs to be left alone a bit more. Perhaps he needs a little more space to be a five-year-old boy. Do you think …?” She tailed off weakly, disconcerted by Irene’s stare.

    “Bertie is a very special child,” Irene said quietly. “But not everyone seems to understand that.” She glanced at Miss Macfadzean, who looked away again. It was hopeless, Irene thought; hopeless.

 
     
     
     
    18. The Works of Melanie Klein
     
    The unsatisfactory interview over, Irene walked back to Scotland Street, giving a wide birth to the section of pavement which had been the cause of her downfall. She knew very well what Miss Macfadzean had thought of her; it had been apparent in her every look and in her every insulting remark. She thought that here was another pushy mother – one of those women who thinks that their child is special and is not getting enough attention. That’s what she thought about her, and it was all so wrong, such an unfair judgment. They had never pushed Bertie – not for one