“I think they’ve always been mean. It sucks that they are after Jace.”
I drove to the school with her providing me directions. She went right to the front desk and demanded to speak to the principal. She was pissed. I didn’t blame her. I was pissed and it wasn’t even my kid. We were led into the principal’s office which was just a little too familiar to me.
“Have a seat, Miss Conway,” the principal said. “You are?” he asked and looked at me.
“A family friend,” I replied. “I’m here for them both.”
He nodded but I got the feeling he wasn’t thrilled to have someone else involved. “What happened?” Saige asked. “Did they attack him again? I told you I would not stand by and let this continue. I want to talk to parents. Either you facilitate the meeting, or I will.”
“Miss Conway,” the man said and held up a hand.
“Don’t call me that,” she snapped. “I’ve told you to call me Saige.”
“Saige, Jace didn’t get attacked. He did the attacking.”
“What?” we both said together.
“There was a situation on the playground after lunch. The boys aren’t talking but every kid we talked to said Jace started it. He threw the first punch.”
“Why?” Saige asked. “Were they provoking him?”
“I’ve been unable to get the full story, but Jace has admitted to starting the fight. This is an ongoing issue and I have to stop it. Jace is suspended next week. I’m only suspending him for one day, but if this nonsense continues, there will be further action taken.”
Saige snorted. “Of course, you start suspending now. Jace is likely standing up for himself and you’re punishing him.”
“The other boy involved has been punished as well. This is my final warning. I will not tolerate this kind of behavior in my school.”
Saige got to her feet. “Good. You shouldn’t. For anyone. I’ll talk to Jace and I expect this problem to be solved because we both know Jace is not the instigator.”
I got up and stood beside her. I was getting to see her fierce warrior mama come out. I didn’t think she needed me as backup, but I was there just in case. I put my hand on her shoulder. “Let’s get Jace,” I told her. I was a little concerned she was going to launch herself across the desk. She looked pissed. She looked scary. I would not want to be in her way if she lost her cool.
She walked out of the office and stomped down the hall. She clearly knew her way around the place. Jace was sitting in a small room with another kid and a teacher. “I’m here to get Jace,” Saige announced.
I stayed out of the way. When Jace came into the hall and saw me, he smiled. “How come you’re here, Nash?”
I shrugged. “I brought your mom.”
“Oh.”
“Car, young man,” Saige ordered. “We are going to talk.”
I felt bad for the kid. He was only sticking up for himself. I hoped she didn’t get too mad at him. I would have loved to give him a high-five. I kept it to myself and walked to the car. Once inside, Saige turned around to look at Jace in the backseat. “What happened?”
“That same bully that said mean things to me was being really mean to Caitlyn,” he said. “She was crying, and all the kids were laughing at her.”
“What?” Saige gasped. “Is Caitlyn okay?”
Jace nodded. “They said she was ugly, and I was her boyfriend. He was really mad at her for getting him in trouble last week.”
“What did you do, Jace?” Saige asked.
Jace raised his little chin. “I hit him.”
I grinned, and this time, I did hold up my hand for a high-five. “Good job, man!”
Saige glared at me. “It is not a good job. You never fight. You never hit someone because they say mean things.”
I turned back around and started the car. I didn’t want to get in trouble with the kid.
“Mom, they were being really mean,” Jace argued. “Caitlyn was crying. You told me it was a nice thing when she stood up for me. I was only being her friend and sticking up for her.”
“But you hit him?” Saige asked incredulously.
“Only one time,” Jace said.
I chuckled but quickly stopped when Saige shot me a dirty look. “This is your fault. You did this.”
“What did I do?” I asked.
“You thought it would be funny to teach him how to fight. Violence isn’t funny. This would have never happened if you didn’t show him how to box. Now he thinks it’s a game.”
“I didn’t tell him to hit anyone,” I argued. “And I didn’t think it was funny. I was trying to help.”
“Mom, I didn’t hurt him,” Jace said. “It wasn’t a hard hit. He hit me harder.”
“What?” Saige gasped and quickly went from pissed to concerned. “Where? Are you okay?”
I looked in the mirror to check his face. I didn’t see any visible signs of injury. “I’m okay. He hit me two times.”
Saige stared straight out the window. “This is out of hand. I’m talking to the principal again on Monday. I’m done. This is going to stop.”
“I’m sorry,” Jace murmured.
“We’ll talk more later,” she snapped. “This wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t butt in. Jace threw the first punch and now he’s hurt.”
“He’s fine,” I said.
She glared at me. “You don’t know that! He shouldn’t have to be fine. If he wouldn’t have started the fight, he wouldn’t have gotten hit. What if he got seriously injured? What if the other kids jumped in and beat him up? Would it be fine then? I don’t know why men always have to talk with their fists. It solves nothing!”
I decided it was in my best interest not to talk. I kept my mouth shut the entire drive back to the office. Every once in a while, she would shoot off about something. Jace was exercising his right to remain silent as well. Saige was talking enough for all of us. I pulled to a stop next to her car.
“Can I come over?” I asked. “I’ll pick up some pizza.”
“No!” she practically shouted. “You are not coming over.”
“I only wanted to try and talk to him. I’ll explain violence isn’t always the first response.”
“I don’t need your help. Quit trying to act like your Jace’s father. I can handle this. Jace, come on. Get in the car.”
“Saige, I wasn’t—”
“You’ve done enough. Thanks for the ride.”
“Can I call tomorrow and see how things are going? We could go to lunch or maybe fishing. It’s supposed to be nice tomorrow.”
“No! Didn’t you hear me? This is done. You don’t get to play daddy with my kid. You don’t get to screw up my kid and then move on with your life. Just don’t.”
She slammed the door and got in her own car. I watched her speed away and knew I had stepped in it. She was pissed. I didn’t see it as a big deal, but clearly, she did.
It was a little playground scuffle. She had to know these things happened. Boys did this kind of thing. Her words stung a little, but I wasn’t going to let them bother me too much. She was pissed and worried about her son. She’d cool down and we could talk.