Page 25 of Uproot

"Do you want to see, Ms. Selah?" Edison asks, retrieving the frog from me and walking it over to her.

"Oh! No thanks, Edi!" Selah squeaks, scooting down the bench.

I smile watching her squirm away, "Not a big amphibian fan?" I ask.

She smooths down her dress, looking embarrassed. "Uh, no. Not particularly."

"How about we go back over to the pond and see if we can find a nice spot to get this little guy back to," I say, leading the boys away from her.

I look over my shoulder at her and she gives me a grateful smile. I wink at her, and put my hand on Edison's shoulder, leading them to the pond.

When we get there, Edison sets the frog down on the bank of the pond, and we watch as he quickly hops back to the water.

The boys call out their goodbyes to him, and one of them looks up at me. "Are you Edison's dad?" He asks, craning his neck up at me and shielding his eyes from the sun.

"No. I'm his uncle," I answer, putting my arm around Edison's shoulders.

"My mom told me that your dad went to jail. Is that true?" The redheaded boy next to him asks.

I frown, "Who is your mom?"

The boy points over to the group of chatty women who were watching Selah and I earlier, "She's over there! With the black leggings and PTSA shirt," he answers.

Figures.

I pull Edison closer to me, "No offense kid, but it's not really anyone's business what's going on with our family. Not even your mother," I respond.

I look down at Edison and I can tell his mood has been deflated from that one nosy question reminding him of the stress in his life right now.

"How about we head home, Edison? We can stop by the grocery store and grab some things. I was thinking we could have a fun movie night tonight," I suggest, smiling down at him.

The corner of his mouth lifts as he looks up at me, "Even with popcorn?"

"Come on now. What kind of bootleg movie theater would I be running without popcorn?" I ask, nudging his shoulder.

He laughs and I ruffle his hair, taking his hand in mine. We all walk back over to the playground, and Edison waves goodbye to his classmates before they go back to their parents.

"Does that little redhead kid bother you?" I ask, once we are alone.

"Gunner can be rude sometimes. Franklin is nicer to me," he answers, looking at the ground.

I stop walking, bending down to speak to him eye-to-eye, "You don't let any kid make you feel bad about what is going on in our family, ok? Life is rough for you right now, but none of it is your fault, and it doesn't make those boys any better than you are," I say. "You're aKade, Edison. I'm going to teach you exactly what that really means. You're going to be just fine."

He stares back at me with his haunting blue eyes that make me feel like I'm looking into a mirror. He jolts forward and wraps his arms around me, squeezing me tight, and I rub his back reassuringly. He doesn't say a word, but I know exactly what he is saying to me.

We make our way back over to Selah who is now standing beside the bench I left her sitting on, typing on her phone. She pockets it when she sees us, and smiles. "Did the frog find a good new home?"

"He did. He's happy over by the water," Edison says proudly.

"It's best to keep animals in their habitats, right?" I say, and Edison nods. I turn back to Selah, "Are you ready to head out?"

"Yes. I should go finish cleaning my house," she says, walking with us.

We head back to the street, and again I take their hands while we cross the road, and hold on to them as we walk back to Coco's. I take Selah over to her car and she looks up at me as she unlocks it.

I reluctantly let her hand go and open the door for her. "Come over tonight. We are going to watch a Disney movie Edison keeps going on about," I say, as Edison kicks a rock along the sidewalk.

She looks over at him, looking unsure, so I decide to sweeten my offer.

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