Chapter 466: I Miss Daddy
For weeks, Dawn and Jamal had avoided making a decision about Josh’s schooling.
At first, it had seemed pointless.
Josh was currently splitting his time between Tom’s home and Jamal’s, and neither of them wanted to enrol him in a school he would only attend temporarily. It felt unfair to make him settle into a new environment only to uproot him again once the living arrangements became permanent.
So they had waited. But now Josh had already spent far too much time at home, so both Dawn and Jamal agreed that they couldn’t postpone it any longer.
If they weren’t ready to choose a school near either home, then they would find one somewhere in between or close enough to Jamal’s office instead of his house.
A place that would work for everyone.
And so, on a bright Monday morning, the three of them found themselves driving across town to visit a school that sat almost exactly halfway between Tom’s house and Jamal’s office.
The drive started with a lot of excitement.
Josh sat in the backseat of Jamal’s SUV with his backpack on his lap even though he didn’t need it yet.
His legs swung back and forth as he looked out the window. “I’m going to see my friends today,” he announced happily.
Dawn smiled from the passenger seat. “You are?”
“Yeah.” Josh nodded confidently and lifted one foot proudly. “I’m going to show them my Spider-Man shoes.”
Jamal laughed. “I think they’ll be very impressed.”
Josh beamed. “I am taller than Noah now.”
Dawn’s smile faltered and she turned slightly in her seat. “Baby.”
Josh looked up.
“We’re not going to the school where Noah is.”
The excitement immediately disappeared from his face. “I want to see Noah.”
Dawn’s heart squeezed as she turned fully toward him.
She hated this part. She had been glad the whole time that Josh had been so agreeable and hopeful it would remain that way.
“Remember what we talked about?”
Josh blinked.
“Our old home was in West End,” she said slowly.
He nodded slowly.
“And now we live in Ludus. Noah doesn’t live here. We will have to travel all the way to Westend so you can see Noah. And that’s a really, really far distance.”
Josh’s small shoulders dropped. “Oh.”
Silence filled the car.
Outside, the city moved around them. Inside, nobody spoke.
Then Josh looked down at his backpack. “I want to go back to Westend.”
Dawn’s chest tightened painfully. She exchanged a quick glance with Jamal, who had been listening to the exchange calmly and waiting to step in when necessary.
When Jamal saw the worry in her eyes, he knew it was time. He smiled gently at Josh through the rearview mirror.
“You do?”
Josh nodded. “My friends are there.” His voice had bee very small.
Jamal kept his tone light. “So you want Mommy to take you back to Westend?”
Josh nodded again.
Jamal pretended to think. “Hmm. That’s possible.”
Dawn shot him a look, but he ignored her.
Then he asked casually. “What about Grandpa Tom? Do you want to go far away from him? Don’t you want to play at I-Global playground anymore?”
Josh blinked.
“What about Grandma Lucy and Grandma Candace? Don’t you want to see them anymore?”
Josh hesitated.
Jamal continued. “What about Greatgrandpa Aaron and Greatgrandma Debbie?”
Josh looked uncertain now.
“What about Aunt Genny? She is not going to Westend. She’s going to keep living here after she gets married to Uncle Stefan, and when they have babies, you’re not going to be able to see them because you’re so far away.”
Josh’s lower lip trembled.
“Stop that, Jamal,” Dawn said when she saw how distressed Josh looked.
Jamal ignored her. “And there are the Bees, Mila, Mari, Emily, Callan, and so everyone else. Let’s not talk about me.” Jamal’s voice softened.
The little boy’s eyes immediately filled with tears.
Josh stared at him. “You?”
Jamal nodded and kept going gently. “Yes, buddy. Our pany is here, remember? And our house is here. I won’t be able to go to West End with Mummy and you.”
That did it.
Josh’s face crumpled, and tears spilled down his cheeks. “I want everybody!”
The cry broke Dawn’s heart. “Oh, baby.”
She immediately twisted around in her seat and reached into the back. Her fingers wrapped around his little hand.
Josh grabbed her hand tightly. “I want everybody,” he cried again.
Fresh tears rolled down his cheeks.
Dawn swallowed hard as her own eyes burned. “I know.”
Josh sobbed. “I miss my friends.”
“I know.”
“I miss Daddy too,” he confessed.
The words hit both adults hard. Because neither of them had expected Josh to bring up Ryan this way.
It broke Dawn’s heart more than she cared to admit. A part of her had been hoping Josh would never mention Ryan again and that he had probably forgotten about him.
Dawn squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry we took you away from your friends, sweetheart.”
Josh cried harder. His small shoulders shook.
“But this place is safer. Remember what I told you about needing to be safe to take away my mask?” Dawn brushed her thumb across his hand. “Aren’t you happier here than you were in West End?”
Josh thought for a moment. Then sniffled as he nodded. “Yes.”
“Do you love the family here?”
He nodded again. “Yes.”
“Do you love your Daddy’s house? It will be our new home as soon as Daddy and Mummy get married?”
Another nod. “But I miss everybody.”
Dawn’s throat tightened. “That’s okay. You can miss people and still be happy.”
For several moments, nobody spoke.
Then Jamal slowly pulled the car over by the roadside when he finally found a spot he could do so.
Dawn looked confused as the vehicle came to a stop. “Jamal?”
Jamal turned around slightly. “We don’t have to do this today if you don’t want to.”
Josh stared at him.
“If you don’t want to start school now, you don’t have to. If you prefer to be homeschooled, we can do that.”
Dawn immediately turned toward Jamal. “He is not being homeschooled.”
Jamal glanced at her. He understood she didn’t want that because of her lonely experience growing up but this wasn’t about her. It was about Josh and doing whatever was best for Josh.
But he wasn’t about to tell her that. Instead he reached over and squeezed her knee briefly.
Then he looked back at Josh. “Should we turn around and go back home?”
Josh thought carefully for a few seconds then he shook his head. “No.”
“No?”
Josh wiped his eyes. “I want to go to school.”
Jamal smiled. “You do?”
Josh nodded. “Yes. You said we could go to see your office after visiting the school.”
“Yes. We are only registering you today and then we can both go to my office afterwards while mummy runs errands.” Jamal pointed at him. “But you first need to calm down and stop crying. Can you do that?”
Josh immediately sat up straighter and quickly wiped his face. His tears vanished like magic.
“I’m ready.”
Jamal looked at Dawn.
Dawn stared at their son, then laughed despite herself. “We should go.”
Jamal smiled as he reached for her hand and squeezed gently. “I’ve got you. We are in this together,” he whispered.
She let out a soft breath and squeezed back. “Thank you.”
Then Jamal pulled the car back onto the road.
User Comments
0 comments from readers