Best of Women

Lin

On Monday morning, Rio was complaining of an upset stomach.  I know he was just faking to try to get out of school again.  The bullying incident had happened on Wednesday, and it was time for him to go back.

"Rio, I know it's hard, but you've gotta go," I told him as I rinsed out dishes at the sink.  "You can't hide every time something's hard."

"But Dad, Mark and Sam will be back today," he complained.

"And they've been told to stay away from you," I reminded him.  "If they bother you, you go straight to the teacher or the principal."

"Dad, can't I stay home for one more day?" he pleaded.

My heart hurt for him, but what kind of parent would I be if I let my kid stay home from school all the time?  "Sorry, bud.  You need to go. I'll take you in."

Rio didn't argue with me anymore, but he wasn't happy about it.  He grumbled and moaned as he found his shoes and backpack.  He'd kept up on his schoolwork thanks to his teachers emailing me.

I rode the subway with the kids and walked Rio into the office, where the principal was talking to the secretary.

"Rio!  Mr. Miranda!" he walked around the counter.  "Good to see you back.  We missed you, bud."

Rio gave a half smile, obviously not so enthusiastic.

"I reminded Rio that if anything happens, he should find a teacher or come to you," I said, looking down at my son.  "But he's a little nervous about the boys being back today."

Dr. Fisher nodded.  "I told the teachers to be on the lookout with the two of them," he said.  "You're not the only one who's reported being bullied by them.  Hunter has a zero tolerance policy for bullying."

The principal and I shared a few more words, then he walked back to his office.  I squeezed Rio's shoulder and turned him towards the wall.  "You're gonna be fine," I told him.  "Take a few deep breaths. Pippa will pick you up after school."

"Why are you dating her?" he asked me.  He hadn't said a thing all weekend to me and now he was bringing it up a school.

"Does that bother you?" I asked gently.

"A little," he admitted.  I guided him to sit on one of the chairs, and I sat next to him.

"Is it because of your mom?" I ventured.  He shrugged, which I figured meant yes in this case.

"Rio, I'll always love your mom, and I'll always miss her," I told him honestly.  "But she wouldn't want us to be sad and lonely for the rest of our lives.  She'd want us to be happy."

"But what if what makes you happy makes me unhappy?" he asked.  Wow, that was deep.

"Does Pippa make you unhappy?"

"I don't know," he mumbled.  It was pretty much impossible not to like Pippa.  She was one of the nicest people in the world.  I think he was just uncomfortable with the idea of me being with anyone besides his mother.  Out of all the kids, he was probably closest to her.

The school bell rang.  "Let's talk more after school, alright?"

I squeezed his shoulder one last time and he walked off to find his homeroom.  I sighed as I watched him go.  My little guy.  He was only five when his mom died.  Way too young to be without a mother.  I worried about him a lot because of that.

I rode the subway home and got to work.  I was half expecting another call from school that Rio needed to be picked up, but he seemed to make it through the day.  Pip was super busy this week with her show, so I'd made arrangements to take the girls to the gym.  Rio walked with us and we set up in the stands.  I'd brought them all a healthy snack to eat on the way.  Rio munched on his trail mix as we sat in the stands and the girls warmed up.