Page 14 of It Never Happened
Me: Can I pick him up and go to the library for a while?
Courtney: That’s fine. Will you be here on time, or do I need to bring him to my classroom first?
Me: I’ll be there.
And I am. At ten after three, I am waiting by the door.
“There’s my dad! Bye, Mrs. Lattner!”
“Joey, wait. Let me walk with you.” I watch as Joey and his teacher approach; him with a huge smile, and her with a reluctant gaze.
She puts her hand out in a formal way and introduces herself.
“Hi, I’m Jack, Joey’s dad.”
“Yes, Miss Becker let me know you’d be picking him up today.”
I roll my lips inward and bounce on my toes when she doesn’t offer any other information. I always feel like I'm under a microscope here in this town. “Okay, great. Sothat’s everything? Joe, do you need to bring anything home?”
“Nope! I'm all set.” He swings his backpack from his arm and pats it. “Got my Christmas gifts for you and Mom in here!”
“That’s great, pal. We can wrap them later.” I look back to the woman who is still watching me with narrowed eyes. “Have a wonderful break, Mrs. Lattner.”
I grab Joey’s hand and we walk back out to where Larry is waiting for us.
“Alright!” He pumps his fist in the air. “I love seeing Larry!” He runs ahead, and I laugh at his exuberance as he skids to a stop in front of the truck. I open the door and help him in. “Hi, Mr. Larry! This is so cool! Thanks for picking us up!”
“My pleasure, Joey. How was the last day of school?”
“It was good! We watchedThe Grinch!”
I climb in behind him and shut the door.
“Oh yeah? I love that movie. Bet your dad does too.” I connect eyes with Larry in the rearview, and his are twinkling with laughter. I raise a brow but my lips twist. This Larry character is something else.
“It’s because I’m green, isn’t it?” I point at Larry and recite the line from the movie. He lets out a boisterous laugh and Joey cackles along with him.
“Where to, boys?”
“Can you take us to the library?” I look at Joey. “Let’s hang out there until your mom finishes up and then I’ll bring you home.”
“Yeah! They have lots of board games.”
“Okay, let’s do it.”
We take off through the streets that are continuously plowed at this time of year, and within minutes arrive at theBluemoon Public Library. We enter and the woman behind the desk greets Joey but doesn’t acknowledge me. I just shake my head and follow his lead to the section with the board games.
He rifles through all the games while I grab a table. “How about Sorry? He calls from the other side of the room.
“Sure, bring it on over.”
We set the game up and play for a few minutes. I’m really needing this one-on-one time with him. I miss him more and more each day.
“Do you really have to go back to New York, dad?”
“I do, bud. But you’re coming with me. We’re going to have fun.”
“But it’s only for a week. Then I won’t see you again for a whole year.” His eyes are downcast, and he plops his chin on his fist looking at the board.
