“Is this your dad?” she asked, trying to get him to talk.
He simply nodded.
The other parents, ready to go, said goodbye to Miss Young.
“It was nice meeting you,” she said. “I’ll see you on Monday.”
They took their children and went out the door.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Bannerman,” she said and held out her hand to Travis.
“Likewise,” Travis said, as let go of his son’s hand and took her hand in his to shake.
The touch of their hands ignited something between them, an electricity of some kind, and their eyes widened again as they looked at each other. Both had felt it immediately. Though it wasn’t the first time they’d touched, whatever the chemistry between them had been before, it was full on now.
She pulled her hand back quick, touching it to her hip, as if to ground herself.
There was no one else in the room except the three of them and for a moment it had felt as if the world had stopped rotating.
Travis however was not given to flights of fantasy or romance. The moment passed.
She spoke to Scotty again. “Would you like to see your seat now, and then your cubby for your coat and hat?”
He nodded.
She walked over to a blue plastic chair, kindergarten size and pulled the chair out. “You can try your seat out,” she said. “There’s a place underneath your desk for your crayons and pencils. I have a list of the things you’ll need to bring.”
Scotty walked to the desk and sat on the chair.
Moving to her desk, she picked up a paper and then handed it to Travis. “Everything is on this list. Some things he may run out of before the school year is over, such as Kleenex. If he runs low on anything during the school year, I’ll let you know.”
“Thank you,” Travis said. “We’re both new to this. If there’s anything I need to know, you can call me here.” He reached into his wallet and pulled out a business card with the Brotherhood Protectors logo on it, the main office number, and his cell phone. “That’s my personal number,” he said as he handed it to her. “Twenty-four seven.”
“Okay,” she said.
This is a first.
But then she’d never had a parent who was a Brotherhood Protector Bodyguard before. Or anything even close.
“If Scotty has any problems, I want to know,” he said. “But I expect he’ll do great.”
He knew Scotty was listening to every word, though the boy was now standing up again and looking around the room.
“Over here is where you’ll put your coat and hat when you come in,” Miss Young said. “Can you find the one with your name on it?”
Scotty went right to it and pointed.
“Very good,” she said. “Now do you see the rug in the middle of the room with the alphabet letters?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Scotty said, quietly.
That’s progress, Travis thought.He’s talking not mumbling and he’s remembering the manners we’ve been working on.
“Each of you will have a letter on the rug to sit on and this is where we’ll have our circle time,” she said. “Sometimes I’ll read you a story. Sometimes we’ll sing songs together. We might even play a game. Every day we’ll have circle time. Does that sound like fun?”
Scotty nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good. Let’s sit down now and try it out.” She sat down at the back of the circle.
