Past Forward- A Serial Novel: Episode 11 (24 page)

“
Willow?
”

She hurried into the hallway surprised to see Chad standing there with a look of misery on his face.
“
What is it?
Are the boys ok?
”

“
I just
—”
He sighed.
“
I overheard you.
It breaks my heart that you didn
’
t have a father
—
that you don
’
t know the love and protective care of a
daddy
.
It
’
s so foreign and horrible to me
.
Every girl should have a daddy to tell her she’s pretty and the most special girl in the world.
”

“
But I did,
”
she assured him.
“
I did.
I had my Abba who protected me better than any daddy ever could have
,
and I knew He loved me and held me close in His everlasting arms.
What child could want for more than that?
”

“
Dad, she meant it.
I didn
’
t know how to argue
it,
but we weren
’
t designed not to have both fathers and
—”

“
Son, don
’
t press it.
Someday she
’
ll have children who have both and then she
’
ll see
.”

Chad sighed.
“
I took you for granted nearly every single day of my life.
I
’
m sorry
, Pop
.”

Christopher sighed.
He had his son back.
It
’
d had started when Chad came to him for help
,
and through the months it
’
d grown into even better than the
ir
old camaraderie.
“
Son, we all take one another for granted.
I think if we didn
’
t, we
’
d explode with gratitude
.”

Willow
’
s home was nothing like the Stuart children had ever seen.
Though not as electronically addicted as many children, they were accustomed to an occasional movie, computer game, or even the
I
nternet for school research.
Laird found digging through Willow
’
s heavy encyclopedias for answers to simple questions tedious.
Candlelight and oil lanterns while quaint seemed silly
,
especially
after
the children
discovered
that there was electrical power to the house and it just wasn
’
t used.

They played Yahtzee and Chinese checkers after dinner.
Willow didn
’
t know how to
play with
only one column
in
Yahtzee and one color of marble in Chinese checkers.
The children didn
’
t know how to pass the time without more direction than Willow knew to provide.
By eight forty-five, everyone
had become
frustrated and impatient.

“
I think it
’
s time to put away the games and get ready for bed
.”

Laird grabbed the checkerboard and carried it upstairs without a word.
Tavish shrugged and picked up the Yahtzee box and said goodnight.
With an eager hug for Chad and a tentative one for Willow, Ellie raced upstairs to change for bed
,
laughing with the boys and giggling over inside jokes as she did.

One glance around the room and Willow felt overwhelmed.
Stacks of books lay in piles here and there
,
while afghans draped casually over every sitting surface.
It was a mess like Willow had never seen
—
even at Christmas and birthdays!

Chad followed the children upstairs.
Squeals erupted in Ellie
’
s room
,
sending Willow upstairs to see what the matter was.
She found Chad sitting on the edge of the bed, praying with her and wishing her pleasant dreams.
As Willow pulled her own pajamas from her drawer, she heard Chad enter her mother
’
s room and tease the boys into their bed
,
laughing and joking about things that made no sense to her.
She stood in the doorway as Chad prayed over the boys and sent them to sleep with promises of sled rides the following afternoon.
He grabbed his duffel bag and uniform from inside their closet and smiled at Willow as he passed her in the hall.

“
You ok?
”

“
Just changing too
.”

“
Need the bathroom before I shower?
”

Willow shook her head
, as she slowly closed the door
.
“
I
’
m fine
.”

Freshly showered, shaven, and ready for work Chad
jogged
down the stairs in his stocking feet
,
ready to put on his work shoes just before he left.
Willow, hair tousled and hanging free, sat on the couch
,
glancing through one of the textbooks the children
had
left lying around the living room.
Impatiently, Willow forced her hair behind her ears in order to see as she turned the pages, occasionally pausing to read something, and then quickly flipping again.

Chad sat down next to her and laid his arm across the back, his hand resting on her shoulder.
“
What are you reading?
”

“
This book
—
Health C.
I can
’
t understand the purpose of it
.”

The book wasn
’
t one he
’
d ever seen, but it looked like every other health textbook with reminders on brushing teeth, basic first aid, and why fruit is better for you than candy.
“
It
’
s just a normal Health text.
What
’
s wrong with it?
”

“
Aren
’
t those children a little old not to know this stuff?
Isn
’
t this the kind of thing you learn when you
’
re really little and your mom teaches you?
”

Chad shrugged.
“
Yeah.
I think I knew most of this before kindergarten.
Got a refresher course every year until about fifth or sixth grade
,
an
d then things got a little more—” he altered his word for one less terrifying to her, “—
detailed.
I think they do it for the kids who don
’
t have parents who care enough to teach it
.”

“
So why is Aggie making her kids read this stuff if they already know it?
”

That question was more difficult to answer.
“
I guess it
’
s just what someone recommended so she bought it
.”

“
So what do they teach in fifth or sixth grade that
’
s any different?
”

The topic was no longer comfortable.
“
Well you know, they got into diseases, reproduction, substance abuse
—
”

“
What abuse?
”

“
You know, drugs, alcohol
—
”

“
That
’
s not really the point of school is it?
I mean,
”
she tried to clarify quickly;
“
I thought you went to school to learn history and geography and how to write and communicate effectively.
I thought it was about math
—
the old readin
’
,
‘
ritin
’
, and
‘
rithmetic
.”