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Chapter Eighteen
“Principal Kidd, look.”
Ricky, Jr. ran over from his classroom door to greet Ron in the hall. His hands yanked at the bright red tie around his neck. The kid could’ve been a mirror image of Ron as a young boy running through these halls with his white collared shirt, dark slacks, and ever-present tie.
“I tied my tie myself,” the kid beamed up at Ron. “Well, my dad helped.”
Ron gave the kid’s tie an unnecessary straightening. It surprised him that Ricky, Sr. had stopped through town. The man traveled so much Ron only ever heard of him being around for the holidays. He’d always know that the elder Ricky had made a stopover or made time to call his son when Ricky, Jr. was beaming bright smiles for the next few days.
“It must be nice to see your dad,” said Ron.
“He’s only here for a few days. Then he’s back on the road. But we did play ball. Even though I’m not good at any sports. I taught him Magic the Gathering, but he wasn’t very good. But he said we can play online tomorrow night when he gets to his hotel.”
The kid ran off back to his class, beaming all the way. Ron had always had his father around every day of his life. Even after his parents divorced, his dad hadn’t moved too far, just a couple of streets over.
When his mother remarried, Ron had the luxury of two dads who were both amazing. Poor Ricky, Jr. only got a half a dad. If only dads knew how important it was just to call their kids, to be a part of their lives any way possible.
Ron straightened preparing to head back to his office. He had the strongest urge to call his dad just then. When he turned, he saw Molly Romano watching him.
“Hey, Molly.”
She didn’t respond at first. She chewed her lip as she regarded him. Ron had watched her mother do that when they were younger. It had been Kylee’s decision-making face. That was the face she made when she was chewing over whether an answer was correct, and she should mark it down.
“I don’t agree,” Molly finally said. “Sometimes dads don’t make it better. Are you and my mom gonna break up now that my dad’s around?”
When Molly had first shown up at Barton, she had been obviously trying to figure out how she would fit in. As a kid who hadn’t had much permanence in her life, she’d likely figured she’d take on the role she was most used to; the role of the outcast.
In just a week, she’d found her place at Barton. Ron had seen her at lunch the other day sitting with a group of kids from her class, laughing and giggling like a little girl should. He hadn’t heard a negative word out of Mrs. Steen about her. He’d peeked at Molly’s latest grades and was thrilled to see that she’d received the highest marks.
Having found her place, having figured out where she fit, had had a dramatic effect on her life. And now something, or rather someone, from her past had come back to shake it up.
Ron walked over to the lockers Molly leaned against. He put his back to them and then tilted his head up and let out a sigh.
“She’s been sad again since he came around,” Molly continued. “She laughed and smiled and was happy when it was just the two of you. Me, too.”
That warmed Ron’s heart to hear, that he made Kylee smile and laugh and happy. He felt all those emotions when he was around her. He’d never felt so devastated at the moment he learned her ex was back in her life and he’d stayed over.
No. He had felt this devastation before. He’d felt it when she’d run off with Jason ten years ago, leaving him and everything they’d meant to each other in the dust of Jason’s motorcycle exhaust.
“He never stays long,” said Molly. “He’ll probably leave after she gives him money.”
Ron looked down at the little girl. Her little shoulders were weighted down as though the world sat there. “Come here, Molly.”
There were rules about physical affection between kids and staff in an elementary school. But Ron didn’t bother to heed the rules at this moment. He bent down and pulled the little girl in for a tight squeeze; a squeeze he hoped would ring all the worries from her adolescent body and knock that heavy weight from her back.
“Listen, Molly,” he said, pulling away to look her in the eyes, “Promise me something. Promise you’ll let the adults deal with this.”
“That’s what my mom always says when my dad does something wrong. Which is a lot of the time.”
“She’s a smart lady, your mom. The smartest lady I know.”
Molly searched Ron’s gaze. After a moment, she nodded in agreement. He watched the little girl head into her class. She looked a bit lighter in her steps as she did so.
Back in his office, Ron looked down at the two pitch proposals on his desk. One
company made repeated mistakes but managed to maintain a stellar reputation based on past connections. Another company was filled with innovators led by a person who’d made one mistake in her past.
Ron couldn’t afford any more mistakes in the future of his school, his career, and these children. He knew what he had to do.
