Chapter 2 First Day of School

THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

         It was a bright hot morning in September. Jesse came into five year old Joey's room to wake him for the first day of school. "Wake up," he said, "Time to get ready!"

         Joey sat up. "Are you taking me to school?"

         "Yes. Your Grandmother couldn't get the day off so I'm elected. Come on Joey, pay attention. We can't be late! Go brush your teeth." Joey got out of bed and went into the bathroom. Jess said, "Hold still let me wash your face."

         "My face isn't dirty I haven't even used it since my bath last night."

         "Well humor me. Now let's get you dressed."

         Lillian had laid out his clothes, it was just a matter of getting him into them and ready to go.

         "I'm going on the school bus with you!" Joey said.

         "Well you are unless we miss it. Come here, let me help you with that."

         He was buttoning Joey's shirt. "Hold still. Look, Joey, if you're going to keep on jumping around I can't get you dressed."

         "Matt's in my class and Davy's in my class. And so's Minta June, but she's a girl."

         "But she's still your friend,".

         "She can't help it if she's a girl. Grandma said I was going to meet new friends. How does she know they're going to be friends if I didn't even meet them yet?"

         "You usually make friends with everybody you meet."

         "Does the kindergarten room have a blackboard? I was at your school last year. The whole wall was a blackboard."

         "Yeah, it has a blackboard." Jess tied his shoes.

         "Grandma said you went to Kindergarten in that same room."

         "Yeah I did. Come here, let me comb your hair."

         Joey handed him the brush. "You said the same thing twice, come here, comb hair."

         "You have to be real good in school. You can't run around the room or anything. You sit in your seat and do what the teacher says to do."

         "You told me that before. Grandma did too."

         "So we both told you. Come on, let's get breakfast." Lillian had prepared everything.

         "Do you always do what the teacher says?"

         Jesse forbore to answer that. "Let me tuck in your napkin, don't spill on your shirt."

         "Grandma said you'd give me milk money."

         "When we get there. She said if I give it to you too soon you'll lose it."

         "Can we do our homework together?"

         "They don't have homework in Kindergarten."

         "Then how am I going to learn anything?"

         "You know too much already. Come here, I have to put your name tag on you."

         "Why do I need a name tag? You don't have one."

         "Your Grandma said to put this tag on you."

         Joey looked at it. "What does it say?"

         "It says Joel MacIver route one."

         "What does route one mean?"

         "That's your bus number, so you don't get on the wrong bus."

         "I won't get on the wrong bus. I go on the one with you. Why does it say Joel instead of Joey?"

         "Because Joel's your real name. Teachers always call you your real name. They call me Jesse. Except some of them, they call me MacIver."

         "My real name is Joel Severn MacIver on account of Joel Severn was my grandfather."

         "He was your great grandfather. He was your grandma's father. Your grandfather was Jesse Andrew MacIver."

         "That's you."

         "Well it was him, too."

         "Did our family run out of names so they had to start using the same ones over?"

         "Something like that."

         Joey was quiet for a moment, then he said, "So my grandfather was your father. Who is my father?"

         That came out of the blue. Jesse was unprepared for it. He hesitated then he said, "That's something we don't know, Little One."

         "Will we ever know?"

         "I don't know."

         "Are you mad at me for asking?"

         "No of course not. It's just ~~ it's just something you're too little to understand. And I don't like having to tell you I don't know who your father was. Someday you'll understand that."

         "You said my mother went away. And my father was never here?"

         Jess thought, 'Oh yeah, he was here.' Aloud he said, "So they aren't here, but I'm here and Grandma is here and we love you and we take care of you."

         "Will you always be here?"

"Joey, on my thirteenth birthday, when you were this big, your mother gave you to me. You were my best birthday present I ever got. You belong to me. I love you and I'm going to take care of you and be with you. I promised her that and I promise it to you, too."

         Joey hugged him. "I love you too. So I guess we don't need them, do we?"

         "Grandma and I are going to take care of you."

         That seemed to satisfy the child for the moment. Jesse had been blindsided by the question but of course it was bound to come. Joey's friends all had fathers and mothers; naturally he would wonder why he didn't. Truth to tell Jesse himself could not have said why. They had this beautiful child! How could they not want to be with him?

         Joey finished his breakfast. Jess said, "We have to get going now. Do you have to go to the bathroom first?"

         "No."

         "Well come on, then." They went outside and Jesse locked the door and put the key in his pocket.

         The bus was coming up the road as they reached the end of the driveway. Jesse lifted him up and climbed up after him.