Bernadette Dear

The Corry Routine

Two

"Hallo, Bernadette lieve , hoe gaat het vandaag?" (Hello, Bernadette dear, how are you today?) It was broken up and said slowly with an American accent, barely could be considered Dutch. I knew who it was immediately.

I glanced from my book to see beat up sneakers and gray jeans inches away from where I sat on the floor. I looked up to see Corry smiling down at me proudly, making sharp dimples appear on his cheeks. He looked so adorable and proud, I couldn't help but challenge his newly found Dutch skills.

"Heel goed, dank je voor het vragen . Hoe zit het met jou?" (Quite well, thank you for asking. How about you?) I said smoothly with a smirk.

"Hey! You can't go too hard on me yet, that's the only full sentence I know so far." Corry removed his hands from where they were jammed in his pockets, and slid down to me. "You're lucky that I learned even that. I also learned a bunch of other random words just last night. And I found out Ms. Suiker's name is actually Ms. Sugar."

"Cool, isn't it? I always envied her last name." I had remembered to wear jeans today, so I could now sit in more comfortable positions without having to worry about exposed underwear. I shifted into criss-cross, and said "So, did you just wanna join in on me and Ms. Suiker juicy conversations about the latest gossip in town, or what."

He pursed his lips and bobbed his head. "That and like you said, I do live in a place now where Dutch is a common language."

"True." I looked up to hear Ms. Suiker calling me over to help her get down some books.

"Je houdt gewoon de boeken terwijl ik geef ze aan u , oke lieverd?" (Just hold the books while I hand them to you, okay dear?) Ms. Suiker stood atop an old wooden ladder that looked like it could break and come crumbling down at any second, taking fragile, old Ms. Suiker with it. I asked her if this was a good idea but she just shook her head and waved me off, like she had everything completely under control.

I held out my arms and book after book I collected, making a growing tower of old novels in my arms. She handed a few to Corry to put on her desk every once in a while, so he wasn't just standing there awkwardly.

After a few minutes I asked Ms. Suiker why she needed to get all these books down in the first place. She began to say that she needed to get rid of some of the older books to make room for- And then she stopped. And all of a sudden. Just as I expected. The ladder flew out from beneath her.

It all happened so fast, yet I saw it in slow motion. Ms. Suiker slipped and her arms flailed as she flew towards the ground, the ladder flying out from her feet. Corry lunged forward and grabbed Ms. Suiker right out of the air, all before the books he had dropped had even hit the ground.

I stood in awe for a solid 4 seconds before I even dropped my own books, making a huge mess of dusty novels clatter noisily to the floor. Perfect, Bernadette, just what we need right now.

I rushed to Ms. Suiker, who was currently being cradled by Corry like a baby.

"Oh my god!"

"Are you okay?"

"Are you hurt?"

"Can we help?"

Corry and I were both frantically repeating the same things to Ms. Suiker, forgetting for a second that she didn't even speak English.

"Yes yes, ." (I am fine I am fine) She said harshly, waving us off again. Ms. Suiker was many things, but a wuss was not one of them. Corry gently set her down and once she regained balance, she patted the boy's chest and kissed his cheek. "Thank you." she said slowly.