She walked to where he stood and then in a low voice told him what had happened.
“I see,” he said. Then he announced in a stern voice, “There will be no more show and tell. There will only be show. You can bring something to school to show. But no more tell. Does everyone understand?”
The children all nodded.
“Very good,” he said and then he went out the door.
Ellen was still stunned by the whole thing. In three years of teaching, she’d never had a problem like this before.
From now on there would be no show and tell. Only show.
She sighed. Now she would have to inform all the parents. Her face turned pink at the thought of having to explain the whole thing to Scotty’s dad. Scotty had sat there with his innocent little face, looking around, not saying a thing.
Thank goodness no strangeness is going on at his house. Mommy’s boyfriend indeed. What else was Harley seeing at home?
Now Ellen was dreading the hour when the parents would arrive for their children, and she’d have to start explaining there could be no more tell.
Maybe Mr. Campbell would help with that. He’d been very helpful just now.
* * *
Travis pulledin front of the school to pick Scotty up and just as he did, the principal came out of the front doors and went to stand at the end of the drive.
Uh oh. Something official is going on.
Travis could sense it and he could see it in the man’s body language.
He isn’t just there to say goodbye to the children.
Ellen came out with the children in her class following behind and she stood just outside the doors handing each child a sheet of paper before they left.
Whatever it is, they’ve typed it up.
There weren’t any buses waiting to pick up children for a day care center. In Eagle Rock, you’d have to find a babysitter, not drop your kids off at a daycare.
Then the kids were heading to their cars to their parents and handing them the papers.
Scotty seemed to be dawdling, hanging back. Then he tugged at Ellen’s skirt.
In his thoughts Travis called her Ellen. Though he’d call her Miss Young publicly, she would always be Ellen to him. He wondered what Scotty wanted to tell her that was so important.
She looked toward Scotty with a sweet smile and was ready to listen.
He couldn’t have asked for a better teacher for his son. Scotty was thriving and he loved school. Travis could see why.
Moving to Montana had worked out great.
Ellen looked over at him and raised her hand to wave.
Then Scotty said something else to her and she started to move toward Travis’s truck.
Travis watched her coming toward him and enjoyed the view.
Scotty walked alongside of her tamping down his usual run. But Travis could see all that energy coiled inside of his son, wanting to burst out. He got out of his truck and walked around to meet them.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Daddy can Miss Young come to dinner with us?” his son asked. “She gots a new house and her stove caught fire last night.”
