Becoming

Justice Of The Peace

Dave stared broodingly into an untouched cup of tea as a car door slammed. The engine started, and the car roared off into the distance. Only then did he get up and pop the tea into the microwave to re-heat. The habits of his childhood of poverty wouldn't let him simply pour out the tea and replace it with a fresh cup. As the microwave pinged, Tasha came dashing into the room.

"Morning, Daddy," she chirped. "Are we gonna go to the park today?"

"Absolutely, Princess," he told her. "I promised you we would, didn't I?"

"Well, yeah," Tasha said. "But I heard you and Mommy... well, you weren't yelling at each other, but you sounded like you were mad at each other. So I thought maybe you were mad and didn't wanna go to the park for some reason."

"Oh, no, Tasha," Dave hastened to reassure her. "No, we're going to the park. Mummy and I were arguing a bit, sure, but we can have disagreements without being angry."

"You can? Huh. Why were you arguing?" Tasha wanted to know.

Dave hesitated but decided to give a simple but honest answer. "Well, Tasha, you know I had to leave school at the earliest possible age to help support my family, right?" At her nod, he continued. "Well, that means I never got to go to university like Mummy did. I got lucky that I had my music, and that Iron Maiden got popular and all, but truth is, if I hadn't got lucky, I'd most likely still be selling shoes at a little shop in East London and I'd never have even met Mummy. For most people, having a good education is what lets them learn and become successful in life a bit later on."

"But why were you so upset?" Tasha asked.

Dave sipped his tea as he considered how to explain that for a moment. "Right, well, Mummy and I agree that you ought to have the best possible education, so that you'll have a good start when you're grown and ready to go to university and all. But we've disagreed on how to go about getting you that good education is all."

"How come?" Tasha asked once more.

"Well, Mummy wants you to go to Punahou, the school she went to on Oahu, starting this year if we can get you in there so quickly," Dave explained. "I think Punahou can wait until you're a few years older, old enough to take the ferry alone, cos there will be times that both Mummy and I won't be able to take you to school, y'know? Like when I'm off on tour and Mummy has to leave for work earlier than usual or something."

Tasha thought about that for a moment. "If I go to Punahou, then I won't be in school with Kimmy and Laura, will I? They'll be in school here in Kihei, right?"

"As far as I know," Dave said. "Mind, I haven't thought to ask any of their parents if they're considering sending them elsewhere, but I've not heard them talking about other schools either."

"Did Mommy go to Punahou from here when she was my age?" Tasha asked.

"You know, I'm not sure," Dave admitted. "She might have done, or it's also possible that she and your grandparents lived in their Honolulu flat at the time. Or maybe they stayed at the flat during the week and then came back to Kihei for the weekends."

"Oh," Tasha said. "I want to stay in school with my friends, though. At least for a while."

Dave nodded. "I rather thought you might, which is the other reason I was arguing with Mummy about it," he said. "Mummy's told me before, she didn't have very many friends before she started at Punahou and I don't think she went to kindergarten like you did, so she didn't have special friends that she wanted to go to school with like you do."

"If I ask Mommy nicely, do you think she'll let me go to school here?" Tasha asked. "At least for a few years?"

"I don't know, Princess, but it can't hurt to ask," Dave told her. "But if you end up going to Punahou straightaway anyway, I'll make sure you still get to have playdates with your friends, okay?"