I’ve tried patience. I’ve tried calm. I’ve tried letting the school handle it. I’ve tried waiting for Sadie to tell me more. But there’s a stark difference between who she is at home and how she folds in on herself when it’s time for school. Even more so right after it—before she’s had time to shake it off.
I’m done.
“Go on,” I tell Sadie gently. “Head inside. I’ll walk you.”
She nods, still holding my sleeve.
I walk her up to the doors and crouch down so I’m level with her.
“Stick with Micah if you want,” I say quietly. “You don’t have to play with anybody you don’t want to.”
She nods again.
Then she’s gone, swallowed up by the crowd and the noise and the building that I hate a little more every day.
I stand there for a beat.
Then I turn.
Carol sees me coming. Her smile tightens. She already knows what this is and intends to win it.
“Boone,” she says brightly. “Good morning.”
“Carol,” I reply. “We need to talk.”
Her eyes flick quickly to the other parents nearby. The audience. The optics.
“Now isn’t really the best time,” she says, still smiling.
“It is for me.”
The smile slips for a fraction. Then it resets, sharper.
“Fine,” she says. “Walk with me.”
We move a few steps away from the doors, still in full view. I don’t lower my voice.
“Your son has still been saying things to my daughter.”
Carol blinks as if she didn’t hear me right. “Excuse me?”
“Eli,” I continue. “He’s still been teasing Sadie.”
Carol laughs.
Actually laughs.
“Oh, Boone.” She waves a hand, treating me as if I’m being ridiculous. “Kids tease. They’re learning social cues. I’m sure it’s being blown out of proportion.”
My jaw clenches. “Sadie comes home quiet. She asked me if it’s bad she doesn’t have a mom. That’s not social cues.”
Carol’s expression sharpens. “Eli would never be intentionally cruel.”
“Intent doesn’t change what it does to her.”
Carol sighs, and it’s the kind of sigh someone gives when they’re forced to entertain a conversation beneath them.
“This feels like you projecting,” she says. “You’ve always been… sensitive about your situation.”
