little wing

act 1, scene 1 mother and daughter, driving in rush hour traffic, music plays on the radio

chellam and mom enthusiastically and loudly, if somewhat inaccurately, sing along to 'jukebox hero' 

act 1, scene 2 mother and daughter, at the dining table, settling down to some post dinner work, the first bars of music float out on mother's computer

mother - chellam, what music's that?

chellam - eyes flicking up from her book to an empty space on the wall in front of her

mmm...that's not jazz... it's blues. naice! who's the guitarist? 

mother stops just short of throwing herself across the table and smothering chellam with hugs. homework and other work is forgotten for a few minutes as mother and child talk about blues guitar and stevie ray vaughan

homework time, 3 vignettes

chellam - ma, is 39 the cube of anything?

me - mmm...13?

chellam, bursting into laughter - ma, you're hopeless with numbers, aren't you?

me, trying to look intimidating  - want to play a game of scrabble with me?

she quickly gets back to her maths

*****

chellam - ma, did that doctor call to thank you after you sent the money?

me - nope

chellam - so it was like throwing the money into a dustbin, right?

*****

chellam - ma, can i have a sip of your wine?

me, glaring at her

chellam - just one teensy weensy sip, please

i hand her the glass. she takes a small sip.

chellam - mmm...nice

takes a bigger gulp and her face twists into indescribably horrible shapes

chellam - slightly sour, no?

i burst into laughter