After an incredibly stressful weekend, Adam takes Ryan to Kindergarten. Michael had spent most of the weekend in heaven, and while he had assured Adam that it wasn’t another world-ending scenario, it was still dire enough to warrant his near-constant presence. Therefore, instead of Michael dropping up Ryan and picking him up, Adam dropped him off in a hurry before work.
Sam picks up Ryan and leaves Adam a message that the teacher is weird, but Adam doesn’t think anything of it. Adam’s on quarters for that night, so he won’t even see Ryan until he gets him from school the next day, and he’s got other things on his mind.
When Adam picks up Ryan, he’s on time. Just barely, but he’s still in the middle of the crowd of parents waiting outside the classroom. He looks frazzled – he’s just come off a shift that lasted a lot longer than the twenty-four hours it was supposed to, nor did he really sleep that night – but he showered and ate, and he really shouldn’t get the stares that the other parents keep giving him. It’s not like this is new, after all, though it’s usually Michael getting him. Adam loves his job, but trauma surgery doesn’t have the most reliable hours.
When a parent breaks through, Adam stifles a yawn and forces a smile. "Hey,“ he says from behind his current cup of coffee.
“I just wanted to say, from all of us,” she gestures to the crowd, “you are in our prayers and if you need anything, please call.”
Another parent takes that as an invitation. "Hi, I’m Danielle, one of Reena’s moms? Ryan is adorable and if you find you need someone to take him while you sort everything out, I would be glad to do it. Reena adores Ryan.“
"I – uh, thanks? I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Feel free to text or call me too! Any time of the day, really, my wife’s just a GP, but I do know the physician life style, and after such a tragedy, it can’t be easy to adjust. I’m Bob, by the way.” He holds out a hand, which Adam cautiously shakes.
“Thanks…” He doesn’t know what is going on, but there seems to be some joke that he’s not in on. He’s going to have words with Sam later.
The door opens, finally, and the kids come spilling out. Or everyone does, except Ryan, who comes last. The rest of the parents have left, after giving him pats on the shoulder or at least these commiserating looks. Ms. Mitchell comes out, her hand clasped on Ryan’s shoulder. "Hey, Ry, ready to get going?“ Adam is so ready to get out of there.
Miss Mitchell releases Ryan and shoos him off to the playground. Adam steels himself. "Dr. Milligan, I just wanted to express how sorry I am for your loss, and to let you know that the entire class is behind you in your time of need.”
“…my loss?” Adam blinks. It is either way too early or way too late for this nonsense, and all he wants to do is get home, put a bunch of Disney movies on queue in Netflix for Ryan and take a nap.
“Yes, Ryan told us about his mother’s death.”
What the – “His mother’s death?” This makes absolutely no sense.
“Yes, on Monday we were talking about our families, and Ryan told the class that his mother was in heaven and an angel.” She pats his shoulder. "My dad died when I was a child, and I remember how hard it was. I have to say that Ryan seems to be taking the loss remarkably well.“
Oh, for the love of - He sighs. "His mother is not dead.” Before Ms. Michtell can say anything else, he hurries on. "He - uh, we were talking about heaven and angels and how my mom is dead over the weekend; she died when I was in college, so he must have gotten confused.“ Not completely untrue.
"So your husband is okay?”
“My husband is perfectly fine. He’s just away on business, so my brother stepped in to help.” Adam takes a gulp of his lukewarm coffee, wishing there was something stronger in it. "Wait…did you say something to him too?“
Ms. Mitchell suddenly looks uncomfortable. "Well, yes, I told him that we were sorry for your loss.”
And that explains Sam’s message.
“Well, um, we’re fine. Busy, but good. Do you uh –” He gestures to Ryan, who’s building a sand castle. "I think I’m just going to take him home now.“
"Of course! I’ll notify the parents of the mix-up.” She bustles back into the classroom to tell the aide, who had been not-so-covertly eavesdropping.
Hours later, after dinner but before bath time, Adam is lying across the couch with a bunch of plastic dinosaurs on his stomach, and Michael comes home. He smiles when he sees their kid throw himself at his mom – Michael’s choice of term – and Michael leans down and scoops him up into a big hug, whispering an endearment in Enochian.
Adam props himself up on an elbow, being careful not to jostle the dinosaurs too much. "Hey, Michael, we need to talk…“
2087
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