by Gail Sattler
Josh quickly glanced over his shoulder at Bradley, who was shoveling the fries into his mouth three at a time. “I don’t know. This time I’m only on my lunch break, not on a test drive, so I don’t have time to stay and discuss it with you. I’ll have to have a little sit-down with him tonight.”
He turned to Bradley. “I’ve got to get back to work, Sport. See you at supper time.”
Bradley stopped eating and looked up at him, his mouth still stuffed full of fries. He swallowed with great difficulty before speaking. “Aren’t you going to stay and talk to Miss Klassen?”
“Not today—I’m going to be late. I just get half an hour for lunch, and it takes me more than that to drive back and forth.”
“Oh.”
“Bye, Sport, Miss Klassen.”
With a quick nod, he strode out of the school building and back to the van. The entire way back to work, he could only question why he’d been to the school at lunchtime three days in a row.
Quite honestly, he didn’t know what to do. He’d thought all the boys were adjusting well to their parents being gone, as well as accepting him in his new position of authority when he moved into their home. But now Bradley appeared to be making some kind of play for attention. Either that or he was challenging Josh in some way Josh couldn’t understand. As much as he could tell, it started when the dog attacked him.
Immediately following the incident, he hadn’t been worried about long-term trauma effects because he’d thought Bradley had handled it fine, and he had dismissed it. However, Bradley now seemed to be having some kind of delayed reaction. He didn’t want to contemplate that the attack by the dog triggered some kind of latent stress anxiety about his parents having to go away.
He prayed that wasn’t the case, because admittedly, Josh didn’t know a lot about kids, nor did he know anyone who did. The few married friends he had, hadn’t been married long. Of those who had been married for more than a few years, only a couple of them had kids, and they were still babies. The person he knew who had the most contact with kids was Theresa, but she was the last person he could ask as that would open a still very raw wound.
The only person he could think of who would have practical experience about behavioral problems with children would be Melissa, but he wasn’t sure that asking the boy’s teacher was appropriate. On the other hand, she’d told him he could call if he ever needed help, and this was definitely such a situation. The trouble was, he didn’t know how to approach her. He’d seen or spoken to her at least once every day since Thursday, and he feared she could already be sick of seeing him—and he didn’t want that to happen. He didn’t know why he cared, but he did.
This time Rick did notice him arriving back late from lunch, forcing him to explain that he was having trouble with one of the kids. To his surprise Rick not only understood but shared many of his own fatherhood experiences from when his kids were younger. Unfortunately, all Rick did was tell what he thought were amusing stories, none of which helped Josh with Bradley’s problem. While Rick talked and laughed at his own jokes, Josh sat and listened politely to his boss, thinking of how far behind he was getting on the repair roster.
When he finally managed to escape and get back to work, Josh prayed for an opportunity to talk to Melissa in an atmosphere where he didn’t have the kids listening or, even better, when he didn’t have to keep one eye on the time.
Five
Melissa had been anticipating the class’s free project time all day. Just like yesterday, most of the children scrambled to the fun areas first, but Bradley worked quietly at his desk with his printing workbook.
Again, she pulled one of the child-sized chairs beside him and lowered herself into it.
“Hi, Bradley. I see you’re working at your printing. Do you like printing?”
“Mmm,” he muttered as he carefully printed a series of the letter J.
Melissa smiled. Today’s class project had been printing the names of every member of every child’s family. Bradley had included his mother’s and father’s names as well as his uncle Josh. He’d had difficulty getting the J straight and was now practicing a series of very fine-looking Js. Altogether with his brothers, Bradley’s family consisted of eight names including his own, making Bradley’s list the longest of all his classmates.
One thing she had noticed, Cleo’s name did not appear on Bradley’s list.
“That’s good work on your uncle Josh’s name. Do you think you’d like to add Cleo to your list?”
Bradley stopped printing. “Cleo? But she’s not in my family.”
“Still, she lives with you in your house, doesn’t she?”
“Well, yes, I guess so.”
“Then don’t you think she belongs on the list?”
He broke out into a wide smile. “Yes. I like Cleo really lots. Did you know that sometimes she even sleeps with me?”
Melissa smiled back. Despite an improper relationship with Josh, it seemed Cleo was making an effort to fit in with the family. “That’s great, Bradley.”
“Most of the time Uncle Josh says Cleo sleeps in her own bed, but sometimes when I have to get up in the night, I peek into Uncle Josh’s room and see her sleeping in Uncle Josh’s bed.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “But don’t tell Uncle Josh I told you that.”
Bradley grinned, but Melissa thought she might throw up. She hadn’t wanted to know that.
“Do you have a dog, Miss Klassen? I was at your house, remember? But I didn’t see a dog.”
“No, I don’t have a dog.”
“But you have a car, right?”
She couldn’t believe the direction of their conversation, but if he said something that could give her a glimpse into what was bothering him so much that he’d called his uncle to the school three days in a row, Melissa planned to listen.
“Yes, I have a car.”
“Does it run good? Uncle Josh is a really good mechanic. Before my mom and dad left, our van made some funny noises, but Uncle Josh fixed it all up.” He paused to grin. “Me and Kyle got to help.”
“That’s ‘Kyle and I got to help.’ ”
“Did you help Uncle Josh fix the van too? I never saw you at our house. Kyle never told me.”
Melissa shook her head. “No, I didn’t help your uncle Josh fix your van.”
“How is your car? Does it ever make funny noises?”
“Sometimes, I suppose. But I think all cars do when they’re cold.”
He nodded knowingly, and Melissa smiled at the future budding mechanic, imagining Josh tutoring the boys on the fine art of spark plugs and oil changes. She had no idea how the conversation changed from Cleo to her car, but she had run out of time to ask more questions without Bradley figuring out what she was trying to do.
“I think it’s time for story circle.”
The rest of the afternoon progressed in a blur of activity, allowing no time to speak with Bradley in relative privacy again. When the final bell of the day rang, Bradley dashed out the door with the rest of his classmates, so Melissa tidied up, as she did every day, and went home.
With no plans for the evening, Melissa settled onto the couch after supper, all prepared to watch a little television, when the doorbell rang.
Before she opened the door, she peeked through the mini-blinds to see an increasingly familiar blue minivan parked on the street.
She ran to the door. “Josh? What are you doing here? Is something wrong?”
He smiled, and her heart made a foolish little flutter.
“I’m not sure. I’m here to see what we can do about your car.”
Melissa blinked and tried not to let her mouth hang open. “My car? There’s nothing wrong with my car.”
Josh’s smile dropped. “Bradley said your car was making strange noises, and you needed someone to fix it.”
“But. . .” She let her voice trail off, then lowered her head and pinched the bridge of her nose with her forefinger and thumb. “We were talking this afternoon, and he as
ked me if my car ever made funny noises. So I said it sometimes made funny noises when it’s cold. But all cars do.”
“Well, not really. Do you want me to have a look at it anyway?”
She tried to smile. “I don’t think that’s necessary, but thanks for asking. Since you’ve come all this way, I hate for it to be for nothing. Would you like to come in and have coffee?”
He didn’t move, but instead stood in the doorway and checked his wristwatch. “I guess I could. Tyler is baby-sitting his brothers, and I told him I’d be about an hour. I’m probably safe to stay for coffee. Thanks.”
He followed her through the living room and into the kitchen, making her very glad she’d done the dishes before relaxing. She set about measuring the coffee while Josh sat down at the kitchen table.
When she finished, she turned around to see Josh smiling, his gaze somewhat unfocused. As soon as he noticed her looking at him, he sat back in the chair and crossed his arms over his chest, not losing the smile. “It’s so quiet in here. I’d almost forgotten what it was like.”
“They can’t be going strong twenty-four hours a day. Surely your house is quiet at night.”
“That’s true, but by the time Tyler goes to bed, I have to rush around getting things ready for the next day, and then I’m so tired, I just fall into bed. I never knew this was going to be so much work.”
Melissa pulled out the other chair and positioned herself across the table from him. “I can’t imagine adding five boys to my family overnight.”
“They’re not that bad, really. It’s kinda nice, in some ways.”
A comfortable silence remained in the kitchen while Melissa poured two cups of coffee and slid one across the table to Josh. He sipped the hot brew slowly, closing his eyes while he did so. Watching him let himself be so relaxed in her presence made her feel peaceful too.
He held the mug below his chin and smiled lazily. “I think I’ve figured it out. Bradley has a crush on you.”
Melissa sputtered into her coffee. “A crush on me?”
Josh nodded. “You should hear him. He’s always singing your praises, telling me about what a good teacher you are and how nice you are. And now this, sending me over here to fix your car when there’s nothing wrong with it. He wants to do something special for you.”
She could feel her cheeks heat up. “I don’t know. I don’t want to sound arrogant or anything, but other little boys have had crushes on me as their teacher before, and he’s not acting the same.”
“But not all kids are the same. I’m learning the hard way how different kids can be, even in the same family. I wouldn’t have believed it until I moved in with them. Sometimes it’s hard to believe they’re even related.”
She couldn’t help her grin. “I don’t know. Being with all of you together on Sunday, you all look very related to me. Everyone has the same hair, even you. And all of you have the same chin. All of you have brown eyes too, except for the oldest boy, Tyler, is it? It was actually quite amusing.”
His grin changed to a very engaging, roguish smile. “Yeah. Us McMillians are all handsome louts, aren’t we?”
“Oh, puh-leeze.”
Instead of responding, he continued to smile brazenly, and then he winked.
Melissa cleared her throat. “When Ryan was in grade one, I remember meeting their father, and as I recall, you two look a lot alike. He’s quite a bit older than you, though.”
“Yes. Brian is thirteen years older than me. I was Mom and Dad’s little ‘surprise.’ ”
Melissa turned to look out the window, wondering if all the McMillians were prone to giving out more information than she needed to know. “You have no other brothers or sisters?”
“No, it’s just the two of us left now. Mom and Dad died five years ago.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Please tell me if this is none of my business, but how come your nephews have never been to church in their lives? Isn’t your brother a Christian?”
“No. I was the only Christian in my family. I started going to youth group with my friends and came to know the Lord through them. By that time Brian was married and gone and already had kids, and my parents wouldn’t listen to me. Every day, I wish I had tried harder to show them God’s love and His wish for their salvation.”
“Don’t do that to yourself; don’t dwell on something that can’t be changed. I’m sure you did your best at the time. I think it’s great that you’re trying to show the gospel to your nephews now. You can really make a difference in their lives.”
“I hope so. Until now, I’ve been praying about what would be the best way to introduce God into their lives. So far I’ve just started telling them as often as I can how God loves them, and now I think is a good time to start explaining about Jesus and why His sacrifice was necessary. I don’t know if they really believe they’re all little sinners, but believe me, they are.” He gave a halfhearted laugh. “I hope and pray that I can answer their questions. Actually, I hope they have questions because that’s going to be the only way I know they’re thinking about it—and not letting everything I say go in one ear and out the other. I guess you know what that’s like, being a teacher and all.”
She nodded and smiled, and thought of what a good decision it had been for Josh’s brother to leave him in charge of the children. Josh truly wanted the best for his nephews, both physically by taking care of their obvious needs, but also, he was doing his best to see to their spiritual development and, ultimately, their salvation. She could tell how much he loved them and that they loved him back.
Josh McMillian was a very nice man. Not for the first time, she wished she had met him another way instead of their current and rather convoluted parent-teacher association.
Melissa immediately closed the lid on her thoughts. It wasn’t right for her to feel that way about him, not just because he was the acting parent of one of her students. Despite the impropriety of his living arrangements with Cleo, he was taken.
She sipped her coffee to help get her thoughts back to where they should have been in the first place. “Yes, sometimes it’s hard to know what is really sinking in, especially with younger children. Sometimes you don’t think they’re paying attention, and then they prove you wrong at the oddest and most inopportune times by repeating what you’ve said, sometimes almost word for word.”
“That’s something else I’m finding out the hard way. I’m hoping they’re all being honest with me. I asked them all what they thought of church, and they said it was okay, because that opened up the door for me to talk to them about how God loves them all as individuals. That’s why I think this is a good time to buy them each their own Bible. I stopped off at the Christian bookstore last night on my way home from work, and I couldn’t believe how many there were for kids. It occurred to me that there’s a big difference in their reading levels, and I don’t know anything about that kind of thing. Bradley can’t read anything except for his name and a couple of short words, Kyle only reads books where something is getting blown up, and Ryan is somewhere in the middle. Tyler of course can read at adult level, but his brain just isn’t there. He’s fifteen, and it seems that despite his ability, all he reads are comics. Andrew will read anything, and he studies all the time, when he’s not on the computer, which kind of scares me at times. He’s the exact opposite of Tyler.”
Josh stopped to suck in a deep breath. “All Tyler can think about is turning sixteen and getting his driver’s license, but I don’t want to go there.”
Melissa smiled at his mock horror, which maybe wasn’t totally pretending. “I can only guess.”
“I was wondering if you could help me get something age appropriate for each one of them.”
“Sure, I could do that. What grades are they all in?”
She watched as Josh closed one eye and started counting on his fingers as he spoke. “Let’s see, you know Bradley is in grade one. Ryan is in grade three, which means Kyle is in grade five. Andrew is in grade eight, and Tyler is in h
igh school, I think grade ten or eleven. I sometimes forget.”
“That’s quite a spread. Still, I don’t think we’ll have any trouble picking something out for them at their own levels. When would be a good time for you to go shopping?”
“Tomorrow I have to be home right after work because I’m going to take them to the Boys Clubs you told me about, and Tyler wants to take his girlfriend to youth group, so I’ll have to get started making supper as soon as I get home. Thursday is swimming lessons and Cub Scouts, so that’s out. I can’t ask you to go shopping on Friday night. I’m sure you have better things to do then, so I guess that leaves Saturday, if I can convince Tyler to watch his brothers for awhile. I’m definitely not taking that rowdy bunch into a bookstore. I once thought I was doing a good thing by taking them all to the library. Never again. Have you ever been kicked out of a library? It’s really embarrassing.”
Melissa didn’t think she wanted to go there, either. “I’m actually not busy Friday night, but I think Saturday would probably be a better time for you. Let’s pencil in Saturday.”
Josh sipped the last of the coffee. “Saturday, then. I think I’d better get going. Are you sure you don’t want me to have a look at your car?”
“You drove my car Thursday night, remember? Did you think there might have been anything wrong with it then? I assure you nothing has changed.”
“Of course. But I had to ask. After all, I’ll have to give an account of my lack of fixing your car to Bradley. And speaking of Bradley, I sure hope he doesn’t play games with his lunch again tomorrow. We had a little talk about that.”
She smiled, thinking of Bradley’s concern for her and her car as she led Josh to the door. “I’m sure Bradley will start behaving now that you’ve talked to him, and you know what he’s up to. I’ll see you Saturday, I guess.”
❧
Josh could tell by the number of cars parked on the street and in the driveway that he was at the right house. Most of all, he could tell because Melissa’s car was one of them.