Page 60 of Teacher of the Year

“Um, hello. I don’t have any muscle.”

Illona giggles at this and says, “Marvin, you’re being too gentle. My hair has a mind of its own. You won’t hurt me.”

I tense my arms and hands to grab tighter, pulling my fingers through until I have something resembling a ponytail. “Okay?” I ask.

“Yup. Daddy does it much rougher.”

“Does he?” I ask, shooting Olan a look with raised eyebrows.

“Now, twist the elastic around the ponytail two times. That will be tight enough,” Olan says.

I follow his directions, and while nothing fancy, Illona’s hair is out of her face.

“How’d I do?” I ask.

Illona reaches up and feels the new ponytail.

“Amazing!” she shouts and throws her arms around my waist. Olan places his hand back on my shoulder, and being touched by both of them, I suddenly feel a little verklempt.

“You did a magnificent job,” he says.

“Now, to the ducks!” Illona yells.

Leaving our blanket and items, Illona grabs Olan’s hand, and we walk with her between us. Without warning, she leans over and grabs my hand so she’s holding on to both of us, and cue a warm glow overtaking my entire body.

She giggles. “Now it’s an Illona sandwich!”

Olan and I begin swinging our arms, and Illona levitates just the smallest amount. She tilts her head back, laughing with such joy. I genuinely hope she’s as delighted I’m here as she appears to be. As we turn a bend, a small inlet comes into view, and a faint quacking beckons in the distance. This must be where the ducks gather.

“Daddy, can I?”

Olan nods, and she lets go of our hands. She darts off but stops a few feet in front of us, turns around, runs back, and takes both our hands again. She forcefully places my hand in Olan’s like a factory line worker inserting a cog into its gear.

“There.” She nods and darts off.

Olan and I stop walking and look at each other.

“Well, that conveys how she feels about you being here. And about us.” He motions between the two of us with his free hand.

“What did you tell her?”

“I told her we’re friends and I care about you. She said, ‘Daddy, Kevin says Mr. Block needs a boyfriend. Maybe you could be his boyfriend?’”

“She did not.”

“She did.”

I sigh and briefly shake my head. “Why do my students all think I need someone?”

“Well, maybe because they see how hard you work. And they care and worry about you.”

“Well, teaching is not for the faint of heart. Everyone thinks teaching kindergarten is all fun and games. I mean, it is fun, and we do play games, but there’s nothing easy about it.”

“And the award. That seems to add a lot to your plate.”

“It does, but it’s important.”

“Of course. Let’s make sure this weekend you get to relax. No pressure to do anything. You can sleep in. Nap if you want. We’ll leave you alone.”

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