Page 12 of Please Send Snow
I swallow hard and remind myself that I’m in control.
After getting nothing but indifference from his teachers and pleas from Dylan that he doesn’twanttolearn to read and write, I spent most of the fall feeling powerless about my son’s education. It’s not a feeling I’m accustomed to, but he was in the best private school in the Bay area, and the second best didn’t have a spot open, even for me.
Normally I wouldn’t have pulled him out of school for a business trip like this, but it was close to the holiday break anyway, and honestly, I was just glad to have a reason to get him out of there, even if it’s only until January. He’s been so miserable about school that I’ve been afraid he would never want to learn to read and write.
But there must be something special about Maddie Foster. I almost fell over when I saw the two of them bent over that letter today, Dylan applying himself enthusiastically to his task.
Dylan has always been such an openhearted and happy kid. I still don’t know how that stupid teacher stole away so much of his confidence in such a short time.
But I’m glad to see a smile on his face again now.
“Here we go,” I say, jumping in and starting the engine.
“We won’t fall off the mountain,” Dylan says, as if he’s not sure.
“Absolutely not,” I tell him. “We’re just going to climb back up a ways and then we’ll be home.”
“Not home,” Dylan says a little sadly.
I glance over at Maddie Foster to see what she makes of that, but she’s gazing out the window looking a little sad herself.
“Home for now,” I amend. “And we can make grilled cheese for dinner.”
“Yes,”Dylan says.
The ghost of a smile pulls up Maddie’s lips and suddenly I’m dying to know what made her sad before, and what I could do that might make her smile again.
Down, boy.
Focusing on the road, I can’t help admiring the way the tree branches meet overhead. In the summertime, this would basically be a leafy green tunnel.
For now though, it’s just a spectrum of browns and blacks with gray sky peeking through—the perfect setting for my dark mood.
Thoughts of my best friend and my wife—ex-wife—try to resurface and I push them back down where they belong.
Before long, we pass the first of the chalets on the way up the hill. Like the others, it’s basically a massive wooden box with walls of flat glass. If it’s anything like the one I’m staying in with Dylan, the inside is just as sparse.
If this is what’s selling, then it’s good news for developers because I can’t imagine anything cheaper or faster to build.
“Slow down,” Maddie says, her small hand reaching for my arm. “Look.”
I take my foot off the gas and follow her gaze. Just off the road, a mother deer and a fawn are nibbling at the bark of a tree.
“What is it?” Dylan asks.
“I’m going to pull forward very slowly,” I tell him. “Look out on Maddie’s side.”
“I can’t see it,” he whines.
I hate when he whines. I know he’s just a little kid, but I don’t want him to be a whiner.
“It’s okay,” Maddie tells him calmly, clearly not annoyed at all. “Your dad will make sure you can see it before we go. Now look between the trees…”
“I see them,”Dylan exclaims.“It’s a mommy and baby.”
“Yes,” Maddie says. “Aren’t they beautiful?”
“They’re eating atree,” Dylan says, clearly delighted.
