Page 69 of My One and Only

“He wanted to talk to your teacher. He was afraid you were too smart for first grade.”

Fiona giggled and said, “You’re silly, Jo.”

“Yeah, I know. You want to wait for him on the playground?”

“Yeah!”Fiona said. She grabbed Jo’s hand. “C’mon. I’ll show you where it is.” She turned to the girl she’d been walking with. “You wanna play on the playground, Mina?”she asked.

“I gotta ask my mom,” the girl said. She pointed at the sidewalk, where a woman wearing a hajib stood a little apart from the other parents, focusing on the kids coming out of school instead of talking and laughing with the other adults. “She’s waiting to walk me home.”

“Should Fiona and I come with you so your mom knows an adult will be with you?”Jo asked.

Mina began to shake her head. Stopped. “Yeah,” she finally said. “She’s weird about that stuff.”

Jo swallowed. Was it tough for Mina’s family? Being a minority in this town? “Okay. Let’s go.”

Fiona slipped her hand into Jo’s, and a lump swelled in Jo’s throat. Kids were so trusting. Her fingers tightened around Fiona’s, and the girl swung their arms back and forth as they walked.

Mina ran to a smiling woman standing on the sidewalk. The gold band on her hijab caught the sun as she reached down to pull her daughter into her arms. Mina began speaking, and she turned and pointed at Jo and Fiona.

By the time Jo and Fiona reached Mina and her mom, her mother was studying her. “Hi, I’m Jo Hatch,” Jo said. “I’m watching Fiona while her dad has a meeting in the school. Is it okay if Mina joins us on the playground? If you give me your address, we’ll bring her home after the girls are done playing.”

“I’m Nahid,” the woman said. “We live just down the street, at 1512. If you could bring her home, I’d appreciate it.”

“We’ll be happy to do that.” Jo smiled. “Very nice to meet you.”

“Are you and Fiona’s dad a couple?”Nahid asked.

“We’re just old friends,” Jo said easily. “We went to high school together. We won’t let the girls stay outside too long, and we’ll walk Mina home.”

“Thank you,” Nahid said, nodding. “Mina talks about Fiona a lot.”

“I’ll tell Cam to try to get them together after school one day when he’s feeling better.” When Nahid frowned, Jo explained, “He had a car accident several days ago. Got a severe concussion, but he’s doing better.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” She looked at her daughter and Fiona. “Have fun, girls,” Mina’s mom called as she walked away.

Mina waved at her mom but didn’t even look up. She and Fiona were too busy talking. As Jo followed them to the playground, she thought maybe Cam hadn’t needed to talk to Fiona’s teacher. Fiona had at least one friend in her class.

Both girls sprinted to the tower that held two slides. They climbed up the ladders and raced each other to the bottom. After a few minutes, two other girls ran onto the rubber surface of the playground and called out to Fiona and Mina. All four girls began an elaborate game that involved chasing each other and escaping onto the playground equipment.

Twenty minutes later, Cam slid onto the picnic bench beside her, watching Fiona. After a moment, he exhaled and his shoulders relaxed. “They look like they’re having a great time.”

“Yeah,” Jo said, keeping her gaze on the girls. “Fiona and Mina,” -- she pointed out the dark-haired girl, -- “walked out of school together. I spoke to Mina’s mom and assured her that I’d keep an eye on the girls, and we’d walk Mina home when they were finished playing. The other two girls showed up a few minutes later.”

Cam exhaled. “Well, that confirms what Ms.Christopher said. Fiona is friends with everyone in her class. She plays with different kids every day at recess, but most often plays with Mina. And she’s never alone at lunch.” He swallowed as he watched Fiona. “She doesn’t see any signs of social anxiety or reluctance to play with other kids. In other words, she’s normal.”

“Based on what I’ve seen here, Ms.C’s right.” She glanced over at Cam. “Now all you have to do is figure out a way to have Mina, and maybe other kids, over to play after school.” She touched his hand, the fleeting swipe of her fingers against his skin making her swallow hard. “You need to figure out a way to get them together at your house or your mom’s after school occasionally.”

“Yeah.” Cam watched the girls playing for a long moment. “After this whole mess is dealt with, I’ll talk to my mom. See if she’d let Fiona ask Mina or another girl over after school once or twice a week. Or stay at the playground with Fiona occasionally.”

“Definitely wait until we’ve rounded up everyone involved in the bribery scheme,” Jo said. “Until I’m sure it’s safe, I don’t want to get other kids involved.”

“Yeah,” Cam said. He glanced over at her. “Should we walk Mina and the other girls home, then head back to the house?”

“Yeah. We should.”

Ten minutes later, Mina and the other girls delivered to their homes, the three of them climbed into the truck. Cam buckled Fiona into her car seat, then swung into the passenger seat.

As they pulled away from the school, Fiona leaned forward in the car seat. “Why were you talking to Ms.Christopher, Daddy? Am I in trouble for something?”

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