Finger Paintings • gallavich

"My dad's a pimp!"

"Are you coming into school tomorrow with me?" Yev asks, kicking his feet excitedly back and forth.

"Bud, you know I can't," Mickey tells him, glancing back in the rear view mirror. Yev lets out a sigh and looks down at his old converses.

"But why?" He whines. "All of the other kids are having their mommy or daddy come into class to talk about their job. I want you to come so everyone can see how cool my dad is!" Yev says, grinning widely. Mickey wanted to go. As much as his wife, Svet, got on his nerves or annoyed the hell out of him, Mickey always loved his son. He would do anything for the boy. Just not go to school and talk about his job because if he did, he'd have a bunch of parents who weren't too happy with him.

"Remember what I told you, right?" Mickey asks.

"No telling anyone about daddy's job!" He says proudly. Mickey nods and smiles.

"That's right. Otherwise you know I'd be the first parent there for you."

Mickey hadn't wanted to tell Yev what he did. That he was a pimp and his own wife was one of his "whores". Kev just wasn't the best of babysitters and Yev kind of walked in on Mickey while he was in the middle of settling a debt some of his regulars owed him, so Mickey was forced to explain to Yev what was happening.

Yev sighs. "But that's not fair. Everyone's gonna make fun of me for not having a parent."

"Yev, I'm not arguing over this. I'll make up for it, I promise." Mickey says as he pulls into the parking lot of Yev's school. He parks the car and turns it off. He then unbuckled and got out of the car. Yev grabs his backpack with little rocket ships on it and climbs out of the car. He grabs his dad's hand and the two walk up to the main doors.

"You can make up for it by getting me ice cream after school," he says, grinning.

Mickey chuckles. "You got it, kiddo. I'll make sure I have a vanilla cone in the car for you when I pick you up."

"With sprinkles!" Yev reminds. Mickey nods and grins.

"With sprinkles," he says. Mickey crouches down and kisses his son's forehead. "Have a good day."

Yev smiles. "Bye daddy!" He says before walking into the school.

Yev walks through the hallways and into Mr. Gallagher's kindergarten class. Everyone else was already there so Yev was the last to arrive. "Hi Mr. Gallagher," Yev says, smiling.

Ian chuckled. "Hi, Yevgeny. Late again, huh?" He says softly.

"Blame my dad! He's the one that drives me," he says.

"What's your excuse this time?" Ian asks as Yev hands him his backpack. Yev always had excuses as to why his dad made him late and every time, they were true. But Ian always got a good laugh out of them.

"Well my dad was trying to make pancakes this morning and the fire alarms went off! So then my grandpa got really really mad and him and my dad were fighting but it's okay because Aunt Mandy made me a bowl of cereal." He says as he sits down in his seat.

Ian lets out a small chuckle. "Well I'm glad you got breakfast this morning," he says. He then hangs up Yev's backpack next to all the other ones and stands in front of all the kids. Finger paintings and other artworks from the kids littered his walls. It wasn't the most organized room, but Ian loved it anyways. The class began and it was just like any normal day. The kids would easily get distracted but Ian would win their attention back by bribing them with candy. Finally it was the end of the day and the last few kids sat in the corner waiting for their parents.

"Is your mom or dad coming tomorrow?" Yev asks a boy.

The boy nods. "Yeah, my mom is coming. She's a fireman!" He says proudly. "Is one of your parents coming?" Yev nods, lying. "What does your parent do?"