Chapter 9
THEO
“Are you ready, buddy?” Nina asked, twisting back in her seat to look at Jack. Jack was sitting in the back of Theo’s car on his booster seat, his new backpack on the seat next to him. His hair was neatly combed, and he wore jeans and a white T-shirt with yet another superhero on the front.
“Yeah, Mom,” he said, nodding. “I’m ready.”
Theo pulled up in front of the school and put the car in park.
The day before, the three of them had stopped by to fill out paperwork and have a tour of Jack’s classroom.
Jack had spent the rest of the day talking about how excited he was about attending his new school and meeting all his new friends.
Now, though, he seemed a little subdued, and Theo realized he was nervous.
“I wish I was going to school here,” Theo said.
“Really?” Jack asked, leaning forward.
“I do.” Theo unbuckled his seatbelt and twisted back to look at Jack. “I wish I could go to a class with a superhero like you. Your classmates are pretty lucky.”
Jack beamed, and Nina gave Theo a warm smile that made his chest tighten. She was dressed simply today in a pair of jeans and a knit sweater with a high neck. Her long, black hair was pulled into a bun. She looked pale and nervous despite her smile.
“Shall we go in, then?” Nina asked.
“Okay.” Jack unbuckled his seatbelt, and they all got out.
The front of Holyoke Academy, a brick building covered in climbing ivy that looked more like a college campus than an elementary school, was buzzing with parents and kids.
The semester had started a few weeks ago, so most people already seemed to know each other.
“Jack?” A young man with glasses came over. They’d all met him yesterday on the tour — this was Jack’s teacher, Ryan. All the teachers here were called by their first names, which seemed strange to Theo, but perhaps this was how things were done now.
“Hi,” Jack said, a little shyly.
“I love your T-shirt.” Ryan beamed down at Jack. “I also brought your buddy. This is Sam. He’s going to help show you around today, and if you have any questions, you can ask him.” He gestured to a boy Jack’s age, who gave him a big smile and a wave.
“Hi! I’m Sam.”
“Hi,” Jack said.
“Want to go to class?” Sam asked. “You can sit next to me.”
“Okay.” Jack smiled, and the two boys started off towards the building without looking back. As they left earshot, Theo heard Jack ask, “Do you like superheroes?”
“I love superheroes!” Sam replied enthusiastically. Nina’s shoulders visibly relaxed, and Theo smiled at the sight.
“Do you have any questions for me?” Ryan asked.
“I think we’re good,” Nina said. “Thank you. And thanks for giving him a buddy.”
“No problem,” Ryan smiled. “All of Sam’s older siblings went to Holyoke Academy, too, so he’s very at home here.”
“Perfect.”
“I’ll see you at pick-up.” Ryan waved and headed off. Theo took the opportunity to scan the crowd of parents and kids, looking for Charles Ackley. He was nowhere in sight.
“You must be new.” A woman with bright red lips and a pantsuit came over and held out a hand to Nina. “I’m Amanda Peters. My son, Scout, is in kindergarten.”
“Our son, Jack, is in kindergarten, too,” Nina said.
“Oh, how lovely. Come, I’ll introduce you to the other mothers.” Amanda took Nina’s arm and pulled her away. Nina shot one worried glance back at Theo, who hid his smile. He found it endearing that she was nervous about networking, but easily handled the difficulties of life as a single parent.
Theo turned and started talking to a small cluster of dads who were also dropping their kids off. It was easy to join their conversation, and within a few minutes, he’d found out that one of the dads owned a successful tech company and another was CFO of a prominent pharmaceutical manufacturer.
Even without Charles Ackley, it was clear that the drop-off line was a goldmine of potential connections, just like Theo’s friend Alexander had told him.
Even Alexander was there, dropping off his daughter, and he gave Theo a quizzical look followed by a friendly wave before hurrying off.
Theo made a mental note to catch Alexander up on his cover story as soon as possible.
After about fifteen minutes, all the kids were inside, and the parents started drifting away. Theo made notes of the people he wanted to talk to more — and started forming a plan to rearrange his days so that he could always come to drop-offs and pick-ups. Nina returned to where he’d been standing.
“Let’s go?” she suggested.
“Sounds good. How did it go?” he asked her as they got back into the car.
“Um, it was good.” She tucked a strand of hair that had escaped her bun behind her ear and looked down. “I felt a little self-conscious, though. More than a little. All of these women are so successful, and I’m not.”
“Don’t say that,” Theo protested. “You might not have a flashy career, but you’ve done a lot to be proud of. And most of those women came from wealthy families and never had to work very hard for what they have.”
“Lucky,” Nina muttered. She glanced at Theo. “Thanks, though. It just makes me worry about Jack. What if he feels out of place at the school?”
“I think he’ll be fine,” Theo said. “His new buddy likes superheroes too.” He fastened his seatbelt and put the car in drive. “Shall I drop you home?”
“Yes, please. Thanks.”
They started off, but Theo found that he was still thinking about Jack.
What if Nina was right, and the little boy felt overwhelmed?
What if he had trouble making friends? To his surprise, Theo found that he no longer thought of Jack as a prop for his ruse, but an actual little boy who he cared about.
“Sam seemed nice,” he said. Nina glanced at him and smiled.
“He did, didn’t he?”
“And Ryan knows to watch out for Jack.”
“True.” Nina took a deep breath. “I suppose you’re right.”
“Plus, we have the back-to-school brunch this Saturday,” Theo continued. “We’ll get a chance to scope out Jack’s classmates then.”
“And you’ll get a chance to look for Charles Ackley.”
“Also true.” Theo glanced at her, “Jack’s smart. Like you. He’s going to do fine.”
“You’re worried about him, aren’t you?” Nina sounded surprised — and pleased. Theo nodded.
“A little bit. But not because there’s anything to worry about — just because he’s young and it’s always intimidating to start at a new school.”
Nina nodded. “I remember. I was so nervous my first day of kindergarten that I pretended I was sick. My mom saw right through it, though. Especially when she realized I’d put the thermometer she gave me in my tea to heat it up.”
“Moms usually see through things like that,” Theo agreed. They pulled up in front of his house — their house — and he came to a stop. “Have a nice day.”
“You too.” Nina got out of the car and waved as he drove away.
Theo tried to put all thoughts of Nina and Jack out of his mind as he headed in to work, but to his surprise, he found himself distracted all day.
He even stepped out of a board meeting early to check if there were any missed calls from the school. There weren’t.
Was this feeling of protectiveness even a fraction of what parents felt every day? If so, Theo was thankful he wasn’t a real father. He couldn’t imagine how time-consuming it would be to worry all the time about a kid’s safety and happiness.
Towards the end of the day, he left work and went back to pick Nina up. Together, they returned to Holyoke Academy to get Jack.
“How was your day?” Theo asked as they drove.
“Good.” Nina paused and sighed. “Well, mostly good. I worked a lot, but I couldn’t help worrying. Jack hated his last school. What if this one is even worse?”
“Want to know a secret?” Theo asked. She nodded.
“I was worried, too.” Theo smiled at her, “I couldn’t focus.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“For some reason, that makes me feel better.” Nina took a deep breath. “Well, let’s see.”
They pulled up in front of the school a few minutes before pick-up and got out. As before, moms and dads in suits or chic designer athleisure were already waiting outside, talking amongst themselves. Theo made a little small talk with a few of the parents while they waited.
Then, the kids began to stream out. Theo scanned the group for Jack’s chocolate-brown hair, and after a few minutes, he emerged, side by side with Sam.
“Mom!” Jack hurried over, beaming. “I had the best day ever!”
“That’s great!” Nina smiled at him.
“Hi, Mrs. Thompson,” Sam said politely.
“Hi, Sam. Thanks for showing Theo around.”
“There you are!”
Theo turned towards the voice, hope soaring as Charles Ackley approached. For a split second, Theo thought Charles was talking to him, but then he realized he was talking to Sam.
“Hi, Dad!” Sam hugged Charles’s leg. “I made a new friend. This is Jack.”
“Nice to meet you, Jack,” Charles said.
“Nice to meet you,” Jack replied politely. Charles turned to Theo and Nina and introduced himself.
“I’m Charles Ackley, Sam’s father.” He held out a hand, which Theo took.
“I’m Theo, and this is Nina. Jack’s parents.”
“Well, lovely to meet you. Have a nice day, and I’m sure I’ll see you around.” Charles took Sam’s hand, and the pair went off towards a large car, picking up two other kids on the way.
“I think I just had the best day ever, too,” Theo joked to Jack. Nina nudged him with her shoulder.
“That’s him, huh?”
“That’s right.” Theo watched Charles disappear into the car with his kids and smiled. Next time, he’d strike up a longer conversation. For now, though, he bent down to Jack’s level.
“Now, tell me all about the best day ever.”
“Well,” Jack began enthusiastically — and he didn’t stop talking all the way home.