41. Foster
FORTY-ONE
FOSTER
Two hours later, we’re sitting in the parking lot at the vet’s so I can get my car. The last thing I want to do though is get out of Sophie’s. I don’t want today to end. I don’t want to go home alone or for tomorrow to come. I want to go back to sitting in the restaurant with her while she smiles around the fufu and okra stew she’s got in her mouth. I want to take her home and get her to make those sounds she was making during dinner, but without the food.
“So I won’t see you much this week, I’m guessing.” She’s going to the other school tomorrow and then has a conference Wednesday to Friday.
“Think you’ll survive?” she jokes.
No? Barely? Maybe but it’s going to be hell?
“Seems unlikely.” I watch as her hands trace the steering wheel. How is she making that so hot? Am I getting turned on by a steering wheel?
“I was thinking that maybe on Friday night you’d want to go see The Magic Flute with me? Yasmine is an assistant to one of the directors with the Canadian Opera Company, so I can get tickets. I had a recording as a kid and was obsessed with it.”
“Papa…” I start to say.
“…geno,” she finishes.
“You used to talk about them like they were real. I think I thought you were talking about a horse.” The sound of our laughter fills the car.
I watch as she collects herself. The sun ablaze through the window behind her, making her even brighter than she usually is. She turns to me, a shy smile on her face. “So, wanna come with me?”
Picking up her hand, I keep eye contact as I bring it to my lips. “Yeah, sunshine, I’ll go watch an opera with you.”
Her responding smile puts the sun to shame.
I’m still thinking of that smile when I let a very unhappy Gary out of the carrier. He doesn’t even look at me as he scurries to the bedroom.
Gary is home. Thanks for the help.
LilWalsh
Good!
Are you going to Dad’s party on Saturday?
Dad’s party… I’d completely forgotten. Probably makes me a terrible son, forgetting his dad’s sixtieth birthday party. I’ll have to blame my infatuation with a certain beautiful blonde. Poor me.
I forgot.
Well, unforget, and bring Sophie. It’s going to be at Bennett and Marley’s now.
Why?
More people RSVP’d than Mom thought would. They don’t have room.
Well that’s nice of your boss.
They’re gone up north for the weekend.
Wait, do they KNOW?
LOL yes Bennett suggested it when I mentioned how stressed Mom was.
How are things going btw
With what?
Soph
Amazing? Confusing?, I wake up full of nervous excitement every day I know I’m going to see her?
Fine
Have you told her yet?
Told her what?
That you’re in love with her.
I’m… not not in love with her. But I can’t exactly say anything. It feels like a betrayal of what she asked from me if I pull her aside like, hey Soph, I know this was all for fun and all, but you’re the only one I’ve ever wanted a happily ever after with .
When I don’t answer, my phone rings. But I don’t feel like listening to whatever lecture she’s going to give me so I let it go to voicemail.
“What’s up, Pete?” I ask Thursday morning as he sulks at his desk.
He looks over at me and shrugs. “I feel… not good.”
“Like your stomach? Head?”
“I guess my head. That’s where the not good feelings are.” Oh.
“Can I do something to help?”
He shrugs again.
“Do you want to go for a walk?”
“No, my legs are tired.”
“Too much training for the marathon?” I tease.
“Mr. Walsh.” His eyes meet mine, and I see it then. The truth. “We both know I’m not running a marathon.”
I’ve been working with Pete for two years. Two years of banter. Two years of calming him down when his anxiety becomes too much. Two years of building up his confidence wherever and however I can. This is the first time I’ve seen him look defeated, and it’s by far one of the worst things I’ve ever seen.
“What brought this on?” I wish Sophie were here. She’d probably be a good person for him to talk to right now. She’d definitely be able to approach this conversation in a more impactful way.
“My mom.”
To say I’m shocked would be an understatement. Aside from myself, Pete’s mom is his biggest cheerleader. She’s one of those moms who looks at everything as an opportunity. She’s also a single mom with a full-time job and two kids, one of whom is eager to do and try everything.
“What happened?”
He peeks around to make sure no one is listening. “She said I couldn’t do it.” His eyes fill with tears. “She told me to stop bothering her to take me running because she doesn’t have time right now.”
I can’t even imagine this conversation happening. “What if I took you running?” I ask without really considering what it would mean.
He shakes his head. “I don’t want to be too much for you too.”
What ten-year-old thinks they’re too much? I didn’t think that set in until your twenties. “I hate to break it to you, bud, but you’ll have to work a lot harder if you’re gonna be too much for me. I’m very tall, remember? I’ve got room for more than most people.” That gets a smile out of him. It’s small, but it’s there. “I’ll talk to your mom, okay? And if she says yes, I’ll take you out on Saturday morning for our first training session.”
“Really?”
“If she says yes, really.”
Sunshine
I’ll pick you up tomorrow around 6? Show starts at 7:30.
I’ve never been to an opera. What should I wear?
Formal.
The last time I wore formal wear was our first “date,” and Sophie nearly killed me by wearing that dress. I can’t imagine she’ll be in something like that dress again.
I have the chance to speak with Pete’s mom on Friday after school. While Pete is in the hall waiting, she lets me know she’s been under a lot of stress at work and that Pete, who she calls the best thing in her life, has been nonstop lately.
“He’s got ten-year-old energy in a body that doesn’t allow him to expel it efficiently. I’m… I’m so tired,” she admits as she runs her hands over her face. “My entire life is working and then being a mom, and I love my kids but I feel…” she trails off, shaking her head. “Never mind. It’s just a lot, and when he came home a couple nights ago and told me what you’d said, I nearly cried.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“I don’t want you to feel like you have to do this, Mr. Walsh. He’s my kid, and I should be the one doing this marathon thing with him. I, well…” She shrugs and looks toward the door. “The thought of seeing him fail is almost too much. I’m scared of what the reality will be like.”
“He won’t fail,” I say confidently. “Some way, somehow, we’ll get him across whatever line there is to cross.”
By the time they leave, we’ve agreed that I’ll come over tomorrow morning so we can start and we’ll plan from there. I race through the door at home, barely sparing a moment to scratch Gary behind the ears as I strip and jump into the shower.
I’ve just pulled my shirt on when there’s a knock at the door.