AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Yes." He said with a decisive nod. "But you can't be mean to my mommy if you are my friend. Mrs. Johnson says you must apologize for not being nice to your friends."
Perhaps Jade had been right. I probably shouldn't have raised my voice or tried to have a serious conversation in front of a child. He was innocent in all of this, and now I felt bad about it.
"You are right, and I will be very nice from now on. Okay?"
"Okay. You have to eat your vegetables too. Mommy doesn't like it when I don't eat my vegetables," he said.
I smiled and promised to eat my vegetables, wondering how I had found myself in such a silly conversation. I was trying to erase Jade from my mind, and here I was, talking to her son like all was right with the world.
"You should go before you get in trouble with your teacher."
He grinned. "Mrs. Johnson likes me, I always do my homework, and I don't get my spellings wrong."
"Is that right? Then you are very smart."
"Mommy says I am," he replied.
I smiled because he reminded me so much of myself when I was younger, always confident without hesitation. A few people would say that confidence had blossomed into arrogance but who cared anyway? I felt a strange connection to the boy now, and if he were older, I probably would have asked him to be an intern at my company. No doubt he would be a force to be reckoned with when he got older; he seemed to be a brilliant little kid.
"She said that's why I had to change my class and go to the bigger kids," he continued, looking very proud.
That piqued my interest, and I had to ask. "How old are you?"
He raised six fingers excitedly. "I am six."
"Robin!"
We both turnedto the woman walking fast towards us, looking as panicked as she sounded. She reached us and held her hand for Robin, which he took.
"You know that you are not supposed to leave the group, Robin," she said to him before turning to me. "I'm sorry. I hope he wasn't bothering you. He's a very curious boy. Too curious at times."
Robin rolled his eyes, making me struggle not to smile. "Michael is my Mommy's friend and my friend too. Right?"
He looked at me so earnestly that I had no choice but to nod.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you worry. Robin just saw me and ran over to say hi." I gave the teacher my most charming smile, and she looked flustered for a second.
"Of course," she said. "We just try to be careful. You know how kids are."
"Yes, ma'am," I replied, then looked at Robin. "Next time, you ask your teacher first, okay?"
"Okay. Bye, Michael."
"Goodbye, Robin."
They walked away, and I turned back to the receptionist, smiling to myself.
"All cleared?" I asked, hoping that she was done now.
Talking to Robin helped to take my mind off the frustration of having to wait. I hoped she had used the time well and finally had my appointment sorted.
"I'm sorry," she smiled. "It seemed there was a miscommunication with the main office. Your appointment is set for eleven, but you must forward them the plans again."
I sighed but nodded, knowing that these things could take time sometimes. That was always the case with bureaucracy; so many offices to pass through before you got what you wanted. Since I had about an hour before my appointment, I decided to go back to the office and get other work done while I waited. It was only when I got into the car that it finally hit me. Robin was six years old.
Which made him the right age to be–no, I couldn't even finish that thought.
Was her life the only thing that Jade had lied about? I knew now that everything I thought I knew about her had been a lie, which meant I couldn't trust her. Was I grasping at straws and seeing things that weren't there? Was the boy's age just a coincidence?
