Jema

Stop Waiting {ten}

I drawed a penguin cause that's what we learned about in a place called kinder-garden today.

My penguin has purple skin cause I though the purple crayon was a black crayon, but Mommy said it looks good anyway. I think so too.

Penguins live in the cold downstairs of Aunty-Artica. I think penguins are gonna be my favorite animal forever.

It's a secret, but I drawed a penguin for Daddy.

I drawed him a sheep last week for a woolly coat that he has in the closet, but he didn't see my picture. He didn't come back last week and meanie Corey says he's never coming back but I'm not stupid anymore cause I'm in school too, now. I know Daddy's gonna come back even if Corey says he's not. And Mom waits by the window sometimes too so I'm not stupid if Mommy waits for him too.

Corey said, "Daddy's not comin' back cause he doesn't love us."

I told Mommy what Corey said and so she gave him one spank on his bottom. I laughed at that spank to myself. That's when I drawed my purple penguin.

Since I can see the time on the clock now I know that it's 8:37 p.m. at night, and that's why the sun is gone for now. I'm smart now that I'm in kinder-garden. Mommy sits on the chair at the table with a big newspaper. I'm not old enough to read that yet.

"Jema, sweetie, why don't we brush your teeth? I don't think Daddy's coming back tonight," Mommy says in her sweetie-pie voice. Her sweetie-pie voice makes me sad cause that's what she talks when something turns impossible.

"Can I wait until nine-oh-oh? Nine zero-zero?" My fingers point at the clock that says 8:39 p.m. at night now.

"No, honey. You have to get up for school tomorrow. If Daddy comes home, I'll give him your pretty penguin, okay?"

"I told him to stop waiting for Dad," meanie Corey says from the hallway. He's right. He told me one, two, three, four times to stop waiting for Daddy.

"Go to bed, Corey," Mom says to him. "Jema, come over here for a second." I walk over to sit on her lap. "Sweetheart, I know that you don't like to hear it, but I don't know if it's a good idea to wait for daddy. If he wants to come and see us, he'll let us know, okay?"

"But what if he comes back when I'm sleeping?"

"I'll wake you up. Ipromise."