I look at my watch.“I’ve got forty-five minutes before a video meeting with our San Diego team.How about we go for a nice swim before then?”
“Why do I thinkswimis a metaphor for something else?”
I clutch at my chest.“Straight to the heart!Do you think I want to ravish you?”
“Yes.”
“Smart woman.”
It’s our usual banter, but it’s hollow.We walk in silence the short distance to the house.
“I need to talk with you about something, Finn.”
That sounds ominous, but at least she wants to talk, which is a huge development.
“Of course.”
“I had a conversation with Jasmine’s teacher this morning when I dropped her off.”
Relief washes over me.For some reason, I thought this was going to be heavy news.“Her grades?Talking in class?”
“She hasn’t been turning in her writing assignments.”
“Jasmine’s got summeritis,” I say.“Her head’s in the clouds thinking of some uninterrupted time with her pony.She’s been like this since they shortened summer break, which I still don’t get.”
I open the front door of the house and let Emma go in before me.I’m just about to wrap her in my arms and give her the kiss I’ve been dying to give her for the last ten minutes, when she puts her hand up for me to stop.
“What is it?”
She frowns.Her eyes are troubled.
“Is it the nightmare?”
“No.It’s not about me.It’s about Jasmine.Can we sit down for a minute?”
“Sure.”I take her by the hand and we sit at the bistro table under the tree.I keep her hand in mine, but it feels lifeless somehow.“What’s wrong?Is she angry with you about something?I can’t imagine that—”
“Finn, please just listen.Jasmine told me this morning that she doesn't turn in her assignments because her letters are upside down and backwards, and she doesn’t know how to fix them.She’s afraid she’ll get in trouble.I saw one of her assignments and—”
“That’s normal.”I don’t like where this conversation is going.“She’s young.You don’t have the full context for this because you’ve never raised a child.”
“She’s not that young, Finn.She’s going into fourth grade.I think she may be dyslexic.”
I feel rage building in me, and I try to tamp it down.I can keep my composure around a wild stallion, but nothing can keep me calm when my daughter is attacked.
That’s what’s happening here, right?Emma is attacking Jasmine?Am I overreacting?
“My daughter is a smart cookie.Intelligent and wise for her age.She doesn’t have a reading problem.”
Emma just nods.“There are many dyslexic geniuses, Finn.It isn’t about a lack of intelligence.I’ve read a lot about it, and I’ve helped two foster kids who had it.”
I stare at her.
Emma bites her bottom lip.“All I’m doing is trying to help Jasmine, because I know it can be managed with the right training.She just needs to be diagnosed, and then the school can arrange for a therapeutic approach for her, or you can work with a private therapist.”
“Diagnosed.Therapy.”I laugh, and I don’t like the sound of it, but I can’t stop myself.“Jasmine is a perfectly normal girl, with an emphasis on the perfect.Let’s drop this.”
Her arms hang limply at her sides.“Jasmine needs your helpright now.Take her to a specialist.Do whatever you can to ensure she doesn’t experience a childhood filled with shame.”
