Jase jumps from the chair beside Malcolm and runs toward me. “Mommy, this is Mr. P. He says I’m doing good!” His sweet voice rings through the conference room.
“Good?” I can hardly speak as tears fill my eyes. It’s difficult to pull my gaze from Malcolm’s.
Jase grabs my hand and drags me forward. “He says we get to tell you.”
Malcolm still hasn’t said more than my name.
I look around. The receptionist is gone, leaving the three of us alone.
“Mr. P.?” I ask.
Malcolm's grin overtakes his expression of confusion as he shrugs. “Peppernick is hard for kindergarteners to say.”
I shake my head. “I knew you were a teacher, but you never said that you taught kindergarten.”
“I tried, but we agreed to keep everything centered on us—live in the moment.”
“B-but you're Jase's teacher? You’re my son’s teacher.”
Malcolm’s smile broadens. “And you’re Jason's mother. You have a marvelous son.”
The weight of the world lifts off my shoulders and my heart. I blink away the tears of relief. “I do.”
Malcolm lowers himself to one knee and looks at Jase. “And you, Jason, have a great mom.”
Jase's smile fills his entire face. “I do.” He turns to me. “See, Mom. I told you Mr. P. is cool.”
“Yes, Jase. Mr. P. is very cool.” I turn to Malcolm. “And this meeting isn’t to say there are problems?”
Malcolm shakes his head. “No, I’m sorry if my note scared you. I thought you’d realized how well he’s been doing.” Malcolm pulls out a chair for me at the large table. “Jason—”
“His name is Jason,” I say, interrupting. “But we call him Jase.”
Malcolm turns toward Jase. “Which name do you like better?”
I’m speechless, and my chest clenches as Malcolm asks for Jase’s preference.
Jase shrugs. “I like Jase best. Mrs. Williams called me Jason, and it felt mean.”
Malcolm nods. “Then Jase it is.” He turns back to me. “As I was saying, Jase is doing exceptionally well. He gets along with his classmates and is often the first to pick a learning center...”
I stare as Malcolm speaks, his deep voice washing away the fears and worries, and his blue eyes sparkling as if he’s walking a tightrope between Jase’s Mr. P. and my Malcolm. I remember the Gulf of Mexico when we were on the boat and Malcolm asked me what I thought. I remember asking him if there were ever times when words seemed insufficient. As he continues speaking and Jase’s little eyes watch with wonder and awe, I know that’s what I feel. I can’t describe it, but it’s overwhelming.
“...already reading. We wanted to show you.”
“Reading?” I ask.
“Yes.”
“Mom, can I show you?”
Still unsure how to verbalize, I nod and smile as Jase climbs onto my lap with a book in his hand. His soft hair under my nose smells of little boy, and I give his head a quick kiss as he settles.
“Mom, this is one of the Christmas surprises I have for you. The other one is at Grandma and Grandpa’s house.”
“I remember. You made it with Grandpa.”
Malcolm continues to stare at the two of us as Jase opens the book and begins to read. Each word is deliberate and precise. A few words Jase sounds out, taking time to make sure he’s right, and before long he says, “The end.”
I swallow back my emotions and give him a kiss on the forehead. “Baby, that was the best surprise ever.”
Malcolm shares a wink that only I can see. “See?” he whispers. “Surprises can be good.”
“I’m not a baby,” Jase says, concentrating on me.
“No, you’re not.”
“What happens now, Mom, after The end?”
My questioning gaze goes to Malcolm. I don’t know the answer. “What happens?”
“Jase, something tells me this isn’t the end, but just the beginning. But I’d like to ask what your mom thinks.”
I honestly don’t know what I think. It’s all so much. “I-I...” I take a deep breath and peer at the two sets of blue. “I think I’d like that very much.”
“Then, Jase, you heard your mom. This is just the beginning.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Malcolm
The Beginning
After our surprise meeting at school nearly three weeks ago, Mandy left with Jase.
I couldn’t wrap my mind around what had happened until I went back to my classroom, found my phone, and read her text. For a grown man, I couldn’t keep the moisture from blurring her words.
Sorry to bother you at work. I should have told you, but I was afraid. I’m at my son’s school for a meeting with his new teacher. I’m scared, and I wish you were here. He’s a great kid. You’re an amazing man. Can I introduce the two of you? I would love for you two to meet.
Her fear and bravery come through louder than her words. I want nothing more than to hold her in my arms. It may have been fate that brought me to this town, Mandy into my life, and Jase into my classroom, but this was more. This was Mandy’s invitation—what I’d been hoping for—and it came before her two worlds collided.
I texted back: He is a great kid. You’re an amazing woman, and I’m ready for the beginning.
Christmas music fills the air, playing from the speakers high above the zoo’s attractions. Though the snow has been cleared from the sidewalks, the areas that during the summer contain flowers as well as the trees and bushes are all covered with a coating of white. Lights of all colors create a magical scene as the three of us move with the other families through the holiday displays.
Families.
I turn as Jase’s mitten-covered hand fits perfectly in mine. The first thought running through my mind is that this is real. I’m really here with Mandy and Jase. I never imagined wanting a premade family while at the same time, I’ve never wanted anything more.
“Look, Mr. P.—I mean, Malcolm,” Jase says with a shy grin as he tilts his head toward the polar bear exhibit.
Before doing as Jase says and looking at the bears, I gaze over at Mandy. As our eyes meet, her cheeks rise, making her blue eyes shine. We both know that it’s an adjustment to start calling your teacher by his first name. Jase is finally getting the hang of it. The question will be if he can remember to go back to Mr. P. once school begins again in the new year.
“Let’s go see them,” I say, tugging Jase toward the crowd near the rail.
“You two go ahead. I’ll stay back here,” Mandy says as she releases Jase’s other hand.
“Are you sure?” I ask.
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
There aren’t words to express what it means to me that she trusts me with her son, even in a crowd at a zoo. With Jase in tow, I wiggle through the people until we reach the Plexiglas rail separating us from a large cavernous ravine. On the other side of the chasm, one large polar bear paces back and forth, eyeing the crowd, as another large bear and a small cub play in what has to be freezing cold water. Having a polar bear cub born in the zoo has been a recent claim to fame for this city.