Page 8 of Schooling Little Sage

“Nope, that’s a gift from me to you. Remember, take the elevator up to the third floor. I’ll be right here waiting when you come back.”

I stood there, wondering, and just as I talked myself out of asking, Warner beat me to it.

“Would you like a hug?”

I nodded my head. “Yes, if that’s okay?” He opened his arms and I dove right in. Attention starved, my parents had called it.

“Thank you for asking first, but just so you know, it’s always okay to hug me.”

I didn’t want to let go. It felt so good to have someone hold me, even if only for a few seconds. But the elevator dinged so I had to go. “I’ll be right back.” I hopped in, excited to see what Warner had gotten me. It took a couple of tries to get my thumb in the right place on the scanner, mostly because I kept wiggling. Once I finally got in, I dumped the bag on the bed and there it was, staring right at me. The stuffy that I had told him was my favorite and a bag of candy.

I couldn’t believe he did something so nice for me.

I hugged my stuffy tightly and kissed the tiny butterfly then laid him back on the pillow. “I’ll be back later and we’ll play, I promise.” New life, new stuff just for me. Hopefully soon I’ll have my first friend. Well, I guess I kinda did if what Sadie said was true, but maybe she was just being nice.

“Did you remember your phone?” Warner asked as I stepped off the elevator.

“Yes, Sir.” I held it up for him to see. “Thank you so much for the stuffy.”

“Thank you for sharing that brilliant smile with me. You should wear it more often.”

I had a feeling I’d be smiling a lot more. “It’s so pretty here.” We were back outside, walking through the grass.

“If you could do anything right now, what would it be?”

His question surprised me, but I knew the answer right away. “Take off my shoes and socks and run through the grass. It looks so soft and fluffy.”

“Take a seat on that bench.”

I ran over to the one he pointed out.

He sat beside me and took them off. “Well, have at it.”

“Won’t we get in trouble?”

“Nope, not at all.”

I zoom-zoom-zoomed around the bench. The grass felt just like I thought it would, all soft and squishy between my toes. I’d never felt as free as I did right now.

“How does it feel?” Warner shouted out.

“Even better than I imagined!”

He smiled at me. “Glad to hear it. You ready to meet the horses?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Let’s get your shoes back on then.” Warner helped me out, tying my tennies tight when we were done. “There you go.”

“Thank you.”

As we neared the stables, I spotted a big outdoor playground. “Are those goats?”

“Yup, and over there is Reese’s Perfectly Imperfect Animal Rescue and Petting Zoo.”

“Are we allowed to visit them or is it just for guests?”

“It’s for everyone. Let me show you around the stables first, then we’ll pop in there. I may have a map of the grounds in my office you can keep. There’s a lot more to this place than meets the eye, Sage.”