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“I told Freddie that, but he kept insisting that a family is just a mom, dad, and siblings. I said that’s not true, but then he started to chant ‘only mom and dad! Only mom and dad!’ Then others starting chanting too, and I started to cry and I… I threw my pencil case at him!”
I jump back, shocked by the news.
“Oh my God,” I say in a fleeting voice, turning sharply to Miss Olson. “She has never acted like this before!”
“She was severely distressed by this teasing, Miss Mitchell. May I ask who Andrew is?”
“Sure, he…” I don’t know how much I can say in front of her, or Alissa. “He’s the hockey player who was here for her on Career Day. A friend of the family. We… we’ve been seeing each other.”
“I see,” Olson nods. “And I understand that Alissa doesn’t know her father?”
I swallow dryly and am barely able to answer. “No.”
“Ali…” She now addresses my sweet pea. “Do you want to meet your father?”
Alissa shakes her head negatively. “I wanted to, but mom and grandpa do everything a dad does. Plus, there’s Andrew now!”
“Oh!” Olson smiles. “What do you think of Andrew?”
My little sweet pea gets excited and releases me to gesture with her hands wildly. “Andrew is cool and funny. I like him!”
“And what do you think of your father?” Miss Olson asks, soft but serious.
Alissa visibly wilts and wipes at her eyes as if starting to cry again.
“My dad is yucky because he went away and left us all alone.”
Dr. Olson nods kindly, turns around and offers Alissa a tissue, and then continues, “And are you okay with Andrew taking a place that could have been your father’s?”
Alissa’s eyes widen, and she crushes the tissue in between her little fist.
“I don’t know,” she says simply, then looks up to me. “What if he goes away too, mommy?”
And I hold her tight as she sobs quietly, and in my mind, all I can do is ask the same question.
Fortunately, Miss Olson breaks the silence.
“With your permission, I would like to see Alissa for individual sessions three times a week. We need to work through this small bout of aggression, and her confusion about her father and your new boyfriend.”
“Is Andrew your boyfriend now?” Alissa instantly stops crying.
“We’ll talk about it later, sweet pea,” I whisper then kiss her forehead. “You have my permission, Miss Olson. Will this be after school?”
The woman nods yes. “If she has other after-school activities I can check her schedule, but initially, it’s Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.”
“She has karate on Fridays, but Monday and Wednesday are fine,” I smile, but then turn somber. “What about the boy she threw the pencil case at… how is he?”
“Oh!” Olson offers me a pleasant smile. “He is fine, it didn’t even hit him. It ended up bouncing off his desk. I meet with his mom after school today, but mainly just as a formality.”
“Good,” I place a hand on my chest, relieved. “If his parents want to talk, I’m available anytime.”
Miss Olson nods and says, “I’ll talk with Freddie next, then with his mom when she comes to pick him up after school.”
She stands, and slowly begins a stroll towards the door.
“You’re free to go, Miss Mitchell. Take Alissa home early so she can come back fresh and well rested tomorrow.”
Miss Olson leans down and smiles, and Alissa smiles back. I pick her up in my arms. She’s already getting too heavy for me, but I love to snuggle her as I carry her. We walk after Miss Olson while she holds the door open for us.
