Page 84 of One and Only

“You all right in there for a minute?” I asked her.

She nodded.

I closed the door and pulled my phone out, pulling up Cameron’s contact info. He answered on the second ring.

“What’s up?”

“How do we feel about threatening children?”

“Bad?” he answered immediately.

I rolled my eyes. “I mean, like a bully. I’m at Olive’s school, and some little a-hole kid pushed her down and ripped her picture. I’m probably supposed to walk away and be an adult, but this kid is big, and he’s mean, and they can’t do anything about it because no one saw it happen.”

Cameron whistled.

“I know,” I huffed. “And I just saw him knock over another little girl. He’s amenace.”

“Greer.” He sighed. “You’ve already decided what you want to do. I’ve got a hundred things waiting for me right now, so if you don’t mind, I need to get back to work.”

“So I can go threaten him? Think about what you’d do if it was your kid.”

“Olive isn’t your kid,” he reminded me quietly. “You’re in her life for a short time, and yes, you can make a positive impact, but you’re not her mom.”

My eyes burned as I stared at her little face through the window. With the back of her hand, she swiped underneath her nose.

My ribs squeezed.

“I know she’s not,” I said. But I couldn’t do nothing either. If it was a niece or nephew or one of my cousins, I’d feel this same hot flare of protectiveness.

“Don’t do anything crazy, Greer,” Cameron warned. “I’ve gotta get back to work.”

He hung up, and I kept staring at that playground.

There was something uncomfortable about how far I’d go to take this feeling away from Olive. And wonderful. Because I’d never quite felt it before.

Only for my family, I realized. And they’d never beenhelpless. Not like this. Not the kind of helpless that a little girl felt when a larger, scary boy set her in his sights.

I opened the door. “I’ll be right back, okay?” I told her.

“Where are you going?” she asked. Her eyes were big and scared.

I leaned in so she could see my face. “Just right there by the fence. Your teachers can’t do much about this because they didn’t see it happen, and they have a lot of rules they need to follow. Which is good. Teachers need rules to keep order, right?” I tapped her nose. “I don’t.”

When she gave me a tentative smile, I smiled back. She unhooked her seat belt and scrambled around onto her knees so she could see out the back window of my car.

By the time I approached the fence, the kid was dragging a huge stick along the metal edge.

“Hey, kid,” I said.

He glanced over. “What?”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“It’s a free country, lady, you can do whatever you want.”

What apeach. I took a deep breath.

“What a true statement that is,” I murmured. “You the one who pushed my stepdaughter and tore her picture?”

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