Hidden Burdens (working title)

Chapter Four

Miguel was the first kiddo to pick up from school, who went to a faith-based Pre-K school. He was already filling Ben in on how well his day was as they made their way to Ben's truck, while showing him a picture he had painted of a ladybug. "Can we put it on the fridge?"

"You bet, buddy," Ben assured him with a smile and opened the door to the back seat for the kid, letting him climb in himself.

"How come you're here?" Miguel asked Claudia when he looked up while climbing.

Ben set the kid's backpack and painting on the floor at his feet before closing the door.

"I took a sick day today, squirt," she answered playfully.

"You're sick? Are you con-tay-gious?" Miguel's eyes were wide in fear, not wanting to miss a day from school.

"Not that kind of sick," she explained. "The kind you get when you have a bad day."

His worried expression changed to that of concern. "Oh, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm better than I was this morning."

"That's good." Miguel slid down from his booster seat to inch closer to Claudia and held out his arms to offer her a hug.

Claudia twisted around in her seat and held her arm around the kid. "Thanks, squirt."

"No problem," he replied with a smile and scooted back to climb into his seat again, where he finally fastened his seat belt.

The next stop was Mary's school, which they had to wait about twenty minutes for school to let out. Miguel also filled Claudia in on his day, and showed her his painting, deciding he wanted her to have it instead of putting it on the fridge.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I can make another one to put on the fridge," he said, sure of himself with a firm nod of his head.

Claudia thanked him for the painting. "I'll hang it on my bulletin board. How's that?"

Miguel lit up with wide eyes. "Yeah."

Ben smiled, listening to the foster siblings while he was checking his emails on his phone.

Eventually, the kindergarten through eighth grade school released, and Mary found them waiting for her. As soon as the fourteen-year-old came into view, Claudia climbed into the back with Miguel, with Ben suddenly flinching his head back, nearly getting kicked in the head. Or what it seemed like, anyway.

"For the love of Pete, would you use the door?" he pleaded with her in mild annoyance.

"Who's Pete? Is that someone Kayla should know of?" she asked as a joke and added in a sing-song voice, "Oh, I am so telling on you." 

The door to the front seat opened. "I can sit up front again?" Mary asked, slipping her arms out of the straps of her backpack.

Ben shrugged. "All yours, kiddo."

Mary set her backpack on the floor and climbed in, pulling herself up by the handle on the ceiling.

As Ben followed the traffic out of the parking lot, he asked Mary how her day was, which Mary instantly insisted was lame. Apparently, half of her teachers decided it was time to take notes all on the same day. She shook her hand to emphasize how much writing she had to do.

Ben never told the kids to "stop complaining" and allowed them to vent whenever they needed to. Though, he considered himself more of a listener, when Kayla always seemed to know what to say when a kid needed it. Not that he didn't try from time to time.