Page 18 of Hearing Little Hadley

“Hello, Mr. Shane the Elf,” Nate said.

“I heard the Caterpillars Room loves to read.”

Everyone nodded.

“That’s great. I am here to read my favorite book to you,” he said, turning and holding the book so everyone could see the cover. “Today I’m going to readThe Littlest Elf.”

Hadley sat with her hands in her lap and her legs crisscross-applesauce while she listened to the story of a tiny elf with a very big job.

“Why dun you talk?” Nate asked, taking a bite of his spaghetti, slurping a noodle so hard, sauce splattered all over his face.

Hadley froze, his question making her tummy hurt.

“She does talk. Just not like us,” Lori said, shooting him a firm look.

Hadley took a small bite of her cheese stick.

“But why? Are you scared to talk? Was someone mean to you about talking? Was it here? Tell me their name,” Nate demanded. His concern helped ease the knot in her belly.

“Why do you always smell like a puppy dog?” Lori asked.

“I do not!” he yelled.

“Isn’t that what Little boys are made of?” Lori taunted.

“No, it isn’t!”

“Yas-huh, snails and puppy dog tails!”

“Nu-huh!” he yelled, slamming his green cup down on the table in frustration.

“Littles, do we need to have a silent lunch?” Miss Phoebe asked from where she was standing and feeding Mindy baby food from a jar.

“No, ma’am,” Lori and Nate answered together.

“Do you like being here so far?” Nate asked instead once the teacher had walked away.

Hadley nodded and zipped her lunch bag up. Maybe she could eat the rest when Finn picked her up. She kinda hoped he came soon. She missed him. She missed him a lot, actually.

Everyone was quiet for a few minutes before Mindy spoke up.

“Are you going to do any fun things while you’re visiting?” she asked, now sitting at the table with a small bag of animal crackers.

Hadley flipped through her cards and tapped the one that Finn had made for her last night.The Reindeer Team and the carriage ride.

“Oh! I’m on the Reindeer Team too. At 7:30. What time is yours?” Lori asked.

Hadley frowned before she shrugged. She wasn’t sure. Finn would know though, he always knew everything.

“It’s okay! We can ask your Daddy when he comes,” Nate suggested.

Hadley shook her head. Finn wasn’t her Daddy.

“He’s not her Daddy,” Mindy translated. “I think he’s her… friend.”

Hadley nodded, but the knot in her tummy grew. Why did it suddenly make her so sad Finn wasn’t her Daddy? He’d never been her Daddy. Did she want him to be? She pushed the thought away. Finn was a good pseudo-caregiver, but that’s all he was, and she was sure that was all he wanted to be. Besides, she could never risk losing him from her life by asking him to be more. Her struggle must have shown on her face because Lori’s hand moved to cover hers.

“Aw, don’t be sad,” Lori said, patting her hand. “It’s okay to not have a Daddy or a Mommy. I didn’t have one until I came here with my Daddy and now I have a Mommyanda big brother! He’s in the Butterflies class.”

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