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“Of course, and my first name is Riley.”
He repeated my name, and I found myself rather intrigued by the man in front of me. He really was a handsome man. We continued to stare at one another for a few more moments, and a set of children’s feet running down the hallway brought me back to reality.
“I’m sorry, where are my manners? Please, have a seat. What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?”
The two of us settled into seats at the table. While they weren’t child-sized, they were smaller than adult chairs, and I suddenly felt like Alice in Wonderland as I continued to stare at Joe.
“I appreciate you seeing me on such short notice.”
“I try to make myself available for the parents whenever they need to speak to me.”
“Chip really enjoys having you as his teacher. It’s been rough moving here, but he seems to be doing pretty well.”
“He has a sister, doesn’t he?” I asked, remembering Chip mentioning someone but not recalling the name.
“Yes, Sasha. She’s in Mrs. Elmer’s class.”
“She’s a sweet lady.”
“Sasha really likes her too.”
It was apparent that this man adored his children. His eyes sparkled, and his voice sounded happy. “That’s good to hear. So, what can I do to help?”
The loving expression on his face shifted, and the sparkle that had been in his eyes slightly diminished. “Sasha’s birthday is in two weeks, and we are starting to plan it.”
“Okay,” I replied, not understand why that would be a problem. Birthdays for kids were always exciting.
“Sasha and her mother shared the same birthday. This year is going to be rough since it’s the first one we have celebrated since Suzanne died.”
I didn’t even hesitate as I reached out and touched his arm. “I’m so sorry about your wife, Joe. I can’t even imagine what you are going through. My brother has two children, and his wife passed from cancer a couple of years ago. I see what he goes through every day, and I am in awe of how he keeps it all together.”
“It’s hard some days. There are times when I just want to throw my hands in the air, grab a bottle of tequila, and say screw it.” He chuckled for a moment.
I gave him an understanding smile. “I can imagine. What can I do to help?”
“Nothing really, except if you’d keep an eye on Chip. He’s quieter these days, and I’m not sure if the anniversary is going to bother him or not. I don’t know what to expect.”
“Has he had a tough time with her death?”
“Yeah, some days are super hard for him. He saw it happen. He was waiting outside for Suzanne to finish her run. She had just turned onto our road, and he watched a car race around the corner and hit her. The driver struck Suzanne, but after she landed, he ran over her and kept on going. Chip saw the whole thing, and he ran to her and saw the carnage left. It was not a pretty sight.”
My hand had flown to my mouth. “Oh, my god! That’s awful!”
“Yes, it was. It’s the reason we moved. We had to get away from that street, had to gethimaway from those memories. I would find Chip standing in the front yard staring at the corner sometimes.”
“Oh, I can completely understand!” I thought for a moment. “You know, this makes a lot of sense now. Chip has said a few things that didn’t quite make sense, but now they do. Nothing major, just random comments at times that told me there was a story there.”
He nodded as he glanced around the room. “Yeah, well, I should have told you the story sooner.”
“I’m glad that we finally had a chance to talk. I’ll keep an eye on him, and if I see anything here in class, I’ll let you know. Is he in therapy?”
“He was, but after we moved, he seemed to be doing so much better, and he hasn’t seemed to need to talk to anyone.”
“Well, if you find out that he does, I know a really good child psychologist.”
“I appreciate that, Riley.”
“Anything I can do,” I replied as our eyes locked again, and I wanted to stress that comment—anything!
