Chapter 28
FRIEDA WHITLOCK
Days passed since I returned and after deciding to stay, I had to enroll Fransisco in kindergarten. He has stayed away from school for too long and I figured he was starting to get bored. hanging around adults only. He needed friends his peers but that was what worried me most.
What if he got picked on by the other kids?
“Bye Mom” I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard his tiny voice chirp excitedly. He was waving at me with a bright smile as his teacher took him along to his class.
While I stared back with my heart pounding in my chest, wondering why I let that happen, heard the head teacher commenting on how brave he was not to cry despite it being his first day. Other kids would pull the building down with their cries.
My son was special in all ways.
Smiling, I waved back stiffly. The urge to run up to him and hold him slowly consumed me. We had been together for days now and I didn’t want to let go of my baby. When his figure finally faded down the hall, I gulped down nothing and sighed, my shoulders hanging limply as I stood dejected.
The door to the head teacher’s door opened wider for Lyra and the middle-aged woman, to come out.
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“Don’t worry about anything Ms. Whitlock, your son is in good hands” She assured with a smile on her cherry lips.
I nodded and after a final goodbye to her, Lyra turned to me, “Let’s go?”
I hummed under my breath, quickening my steps to get out of there as soon as possible otherwise, Fransisco might leave with
me.”
“Do you think he’s fine on his own in there?” I asked when we got outside the building and was beside the car.
“I knew you were worried but not this much. Of course, he’ll be fine, relax Freda” Lyra assured. She didn’t seem worked up like I was and for a moment, I felt I was overreacting. This wasn’t Cisco’s first time in kindergarten so why wasn’t I used to the anxiety?
“It’s easy for you to say. He’s not found it easy adjusting to this place and now he’s in school. What if he gets bullied by the kids. here? What if he runs away one day and we can’t find him?” What if someone harmed him? I asked myself if this was right. I should have chosen homeschool. I was panicking already and Lyra seemed to find my actions amusing.
“What?” Her eyes widened and she chuckled at my wild insinuation. She stopped when she saw how serious I looked. Her face softened and she sighed, “Freda, calm down. Trust me, he’s going to be fine. I know it will take a long time to get used to staying here or even the school but you don’t have to worry about those things. This is the best nursery and kindergarten there is over here and the parents are well-informed about their kids’ school life,”
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“I know,” I think she had forgotten that we attended this school when we were younger and she was right, the authorities were very apt in involving the parents with their children’s school lives. Even though that fact made me relax, I could still feel a twinge of unease in my chest.
“Besides, if he has any problem he will share it with you. He’s a smart boy” She continued, there was a sparkle in her eyes when she spoke of Fransisco which made me smile a bit
“I don’t know Lyra-
“Freda, relax. If there’s any problem, I can put myself on the line” She uttered dramatically forcing a laugh out of me.
“You don’t have to put yourself on the line to earn my trust. I trust you, it’s just some mommy insecurities I’m dealing with” I playfully punched her and she laughed, opening the car door for me. She also rounded to the other side to get into the driver’s
seat.
“Dad is home alone,” She said when we hit the road.
I shrugged, watching as the trees and houses moved by as she sped down the road. “I think he’d be bored to death”
It was a joke but there was no sound of laughter of either of us. For the first time in our lives, a joke scared us and the reality was creeping above our heads. Dad would be gone soon. The thought made my heart sink and I wiggled in my seat with
unease.
“How about we take him out today?” Lyra asked breaking into my thought, “For a drive”
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I nodded at her suggestion. Along with Dad, I think we also needed to step out of the house for a while. We were home in fifteen minutes thanks to Lyra’s reckless driving. It was surprising that we didn’t get a ticket or even run over a red light.
“I should take up a career in track racing” She had said when we alighted the car. I only rolled my eyes at her as we entered the house.
We met Dad in the living room, leisurely gazing around, and before him was a deck of cards. We smiled when his face brightened up upon seeing us.
“What are you doing Dad?” I asked as we neared the sitting area
“I’m waiting for you girls. I can’t play cards alone right?” He asked, smiling. He had been doing that a lot these days, it was a bid to ease us, I knew but how could we fully be at ease when we knew we’d lose him soon?
“We have a plan better than playing cards. Let’s go for a drive” Lyra chimed, tugging at his arm and he grinned so brightly that the corners of his eyes crinkled. Tears welled up in my eyes but before either of them would notice, I blinked them back.
I.loments later, we were in the car and this time, I took the wheel. Lyra had done enough driving for the day. I drove us to the other side of Brookback County. The county was located in the countryside. The ambience there was peaceful and refreshing. At a point, we stepped out of the car and took a walk.
The chirping of birds in the stirring trees due to the gentle breeze wrapped us with a sense of tranquillity. Dad told us numerous stories of his visits to the county whenever he was
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on errands.
We had a peaceful walk. The morning was beautiful, and so was this place. I wished to live here forever.
“I don’t know why we don’t live here instead” I heard myself mumbling when it was time for us to leave. Dad looked tired and it was time for him to rest.
We were back home a few minutes before Francisco’s school dismissed for the day. While I waited in the car for Lyra since she insisted on coming along to get Cisco, she took Dad to his room for a rest.