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I could see Mary’s pouty face from the rearview mirror.
“That’s why I was late. I had to wait for Daddy to finish taking a shower.”
“Mary, you have your own bathroom,” Sarah said.
“But there was a spider in there the other day,” she whined.
I laughed.
Mary had screamed so hard that I thought she’d slipped, fallen, and broken a bone. I’d never, ever experienced such fear for a child before. This was all so new to me, and my imagination was taking me for a ride.
After the incident, I’d disinfected and cleaned her bathroom, to the point where you could basically eat off the floor, but the girl was traumatized. She wouldn’t be using her bathroom again anytime soon.
Mary flipped to other topics. At times, she’d go into full-on question mode, asking me about things I didn’t want to talk about—mainly about me and her father.
“You think you’ll get married soon?” Mary asked.
“Stop with your questions, Mary. You can’t be asking those types of things,” Sarah responded.
“But I wanna know when I can start calling her mom. Is she still our babysitter? What do I tell my friends?”
“You tell them it’s none of their business.”
Thank goodness for Sarah because I didn’t have to answer the difficult questions.
I pulled into the school parking lot, noting the bustling parents trying to get their kids off to school. Usually, I’d drive through the drop-off line, but this time, I had to go down to submit Mary’s preschool field trip form, so she could go to the pumpkin patch today.
When I stepped out of the car, two small hands filled mine—Sarah on my right side, Mary to my left—and we crossed the parking lot as a threesome. My heart filled so high that I thought it’d spill over.
I swung their hands between us as we entered the building. Before I had the chance to tell them to have a great day, tiny arms wrapped around my waist, and a body crushed into my side.
“Thanks, Becky. See you later,” Mary said, squeezing me tight before skipping down the hall to her classroom.
Sarah side-hugged me before scurrying off. I watched her walk leisurely down the hall, her strides long and confident and with purpose. And then I smiled.
This was my life now.
My mornings were filled with breakfast with the family, whom I’d grown to love, and my nights were filled with me being in Charles’s arms. Some days, I had to pinch myself to make sure it was all real.
I entered the office, and my high suddenly deflated. Carol, the principal, was at the front desk, talking to her office assistant. Maybe it was childish, but I still couldn’t get over how she’d dealt with the whole bullying situation with Sarah and that other little girl. I was sure Charles had taken care of it with the parents, but I was still sour about it.
When Carol’s eyes met mine, I focused on the task at hand and placed the signed permission slip on top of the table. I wasn’t going to get into it with this woman today and ruin my mood.
I turned my attention to the secretary. “I’m just dropping this off for Mary Brisken. It’s her permission slip for the pumpkin patch. It’s late, so I wanted to turn it in directly to ensure that she can go today.” I offered a small smile.
“She’ll be able to go. Thanks for dropping it off.” Carol smiled.
I tipped my chin in farewell. I was about to turn and face the door when she approached.
“About the other day,” Carol began, “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to escalate the situation and have both girls in the room. I know that the Brisken girls have been through a lot, but that doesn’t mean that Sarah’s actions should be overlooked.”
My whole body tensed. “Did I ever say that?” My voice came out low, barely controlled.
Carol raised her hands, already on the defense. “I’m not saying you said that.”
“If you know Sarah, you’d know she wouldn’t do something unless she was provoked. I’m not excusing her either, but that other girl should have held some sort of responsibility in the situation.”
Carol’s face softened. “I know. What I wanted to say is that I’m sorry how it came across. Jennifer and her parents have been talked to. Sarah and Mary are great girls. It was very out of the ordinary, what happened, and I admit that I could’ve handled it in a calmer and more collective way. For that, I apologize.”
