Chapter 8 #2
Andrea smiled gently. “If I can give you some advice. Do it now while school is in session. Everyone is there, and you aren’t going to have to wait for appointments or that sort of thing.
You can go right to LeTort and enroll him there.
They will help you with the testing you need.
They did with my two kids. It’s something they have to do for everyone whether they are homeschooled or not.
” She sipped her coffee and sighed. “This is good.”
They talked a while about schools and then moved onto a little neighborhood gossip.
Todd was able to relax a little as he listened.
Kenny eventually joined them, and Todd got him a glass of milk.
He wasn’t sure what to have for dinner, but he looked through the refrigerator and settled on BLT sandwiches, knowing it was one of Jamie’s favorites.
“I need to get going,” Andrea said. “But I’ll keep an eye out for our unwanted visitor.”
“Thank you!” Jamie saw her to the door while Todd checked on the bacon in the oven.
He made toast and cut some fresh tomatoes while he tried to keep track of all the things he needed to do.
It seemed like every day his list of things he had to do grew longer and longer.
When Jamie returned, he went to his computer and then got a few pages from the printer.
“What are those?”
“Calendar pages for you. Put your appointments and things on here—that way you won’t need to try to remember all of them. Then you look at the pages every day to know what you need to do.”
Todd thanked him and began entering all the things he could remember on the calendar. Then he checked on the bacon again and pulled it out of the oven before finishing the sandwiches. Kenny helped set the table, and then all three of them sat down to eat.
“What fun things did you do today?” Jamie asked Kenny, who told him about playing in the yard and finding worms and a toad.
“I didn’t pick it up because it might pee on me and then I’d get warts.”
Jamie laughed. “That isn’t how you get warts. Granted, it’s no fun being peed on by a toad, but when that happens, you just have to wash your hands.”
Kenny looked at him for confirmation. Todd nodded. “Pee is just pee. It doesn’t give you warts. Toads, frogs, you can pick them up if you want. Just be gentle and then let them go. But not snakes. You have to be careful of those because some of them can be poisonous.”
“I held a snake once. I found it in the woods. It was scared, so I put it down, and it slid away.”
“How could you tell it was scared?” Jamie asked.
Kenny looked at both of them like they were dumb.
“It stuck it’s tongue out.” Todd had no idea how that meant it was scared, but Kenny was so sure of himself that he just let it go.
“There was a turtle on the road today. Daddy said it was a snapping turtle, so we left it alone. It was really big.” He ate his sandwich and continued talking almost nonstop.
Todd ate quietly, letting Jamie and Kenny talk. His thoughts were elsewhere. Every time Kenny and Jamie laughed, he found himself watching Jamie. His laugh just warmed his heart and made Todd feel as though everything was going to be okay.
“Are you still feeling tired?”
“Yes, I guess.” He’d eaten half his sandwich, and he was already feeling full and worn-out. He’d tried taking it as easy as he could, but a five-year-old required a great deal of energy.
“After dinner, go ahead and go to bed if you want. Kenny and I can sit up for a while. He can watch cartoons, or the two of us can work a few pages in one of his books.”
Todd finished his sandwich and then hugged Kenny, kissed Jamie good night, and went to the bedroom. He got into his sleep clothes and climbed into bed.
Laughter reached his ears sometime later. Todd wasn’t sure how long he’d been asleep, but Kenny was laughing. He checked the clock. He’d been out for little over an hour. His throat dry, he got up and padded out to the kitchen.
“Daddy, watch,” Kenny said as he picked up the book. “The dog ran after the boy, b…, b….”
Jamie leaned closer and smiled. “The word is barking,” Jamie said softly.
“Barking and playing. The boy threw the ball, and the dog ran after it.” He put the book down. “I’m reading, Daddy.” Jamie nodded as if to confirm it.
“That’s really good, Kenny. Really good. Did Jamie teach you that?”
“Kenny was already able to read a little. We just worked on some of the harder words,” Jamie said. “What we’re going to do is have Kenny read to one of us each day, and we’ll read to him.” He ruffled Kenny’s hair. “Go on and get ready for bed. You and I can read some more tomorrow.”
“Okay. Night, Jamie,” Kenny said, hugging him and then he hurried to him.
Todd hugged Kenny tightly and then let him go. Kenny went to the bedroom, and Todd sank into one of the chairs. “How am I going to keep up with him?”
“Hey. He’s just starting out. We’ll keep up with him just fine. Go put him to bed and come back out here so we can talk,” Jamie said, and went to the kitchen.
Todd headed to the bedroom. He helped Kenny get ready for bed and then tucked him in, with Cindy jumping up to lie next to him. Once Kenny was settled, he left and closed the door.
“How am I going to do this? He’s so much smarter than I am.”
“Yes. But he’s a lot younger. I have to warn you, though… he learns fast. I took him through basic words and sounds, and he used those to work out larger words. It was like teaching a computer. And he loves to learn.”
“That’s what I mean.”
“The school will help you and him. What we can do is give him things that challenge him. So we’ll work on reading and math.
We can also work on writing. That’s something that is going to take him a while to master.
From there, we’ll take it one step at a time.
” Jamie placed a glass of juice in front of him.
“Drink that and try to relax. Kenny is going to be fine. I know you worry that you hurt him or set him back, but he’s smart, and he’s already blossoming.
That says a lot about how you treated him and sheltered him from the rougher part of your life.
” Jamie sat and took his hand. “You are a good father who put your son first. And you still are.”
“Sometimes I wish I could really believe that,” Todd said softly. “I did the best I could, but sometimes I think I should have done better. That I should have done more to make sure that… that he and I stayed safe.”
“Being homeless isn’t a crime. Forgive yourself for it, because Kenny certainly doesn’t hold anything against you,” Jamie said.
Todd hoped that was true. Good things were happening, but regardless, it was so much easier to believe that the bad stuff was just around the corner.