Teacher's Pet

~Chapter Three~

Henry is running rampant around the park at the docks, his castle as he calls it. His eyes are filled with so much joy; it radiates all around.

As our usual Saturday outing, the park is number two. Pancakes are first at my prince's request. Around noon we leave the park and head down to the local market to get food for the next few weeks.

"Mama, look!" Henry runs towards me, holding a big leaf.

"I see that bug," I chuckle and ruffle the hair on his head.

"For you." He pushes the leaf towards me and runs away. It is red and covered in dew from the early morning. Holes cover it from top to bottom. It burns a deep crimson color, shifting to deep maroon in light. All the leaves are beginning to fall, signaling that winter is right on our tails.

The waves crash along the shoreline, rocking the boats back and forth. Giggling from my young son flies into the air as a breeze takes it all around.

Sadly, our park time is coming to a close. Noon is steadily approaching, and if I don't get to the store soon, all the older stuff will be gone.

"Henry, honey!" I call to him as he climbs up the castle, "it's time to go, bud." Just on cue, cries erupt. He slowly climbs down and comes running to me.

"No, Mama!"

"Henry, honey, I know you love to play, but we really need to go to the store. You have been so good for me today; can you please get calmed down so we can go? I promise baby you will be back."

He sniffles some more before finally nodding his head and heading to the car. On the way there, his head slowly starts to nod off. He is fighting it so hard. His favorite thing to do is to watch out the window and point out his favorite things.

We made it just in time. I take out my list from my jacket pocket and slowly make my way around the store. Bread, peanut butter, jelly, oatmeal, applesauce, juice, milk, some frozen vegetables, and meals; all we get. Looking down, I count out all the things we have, $53.96. Right on track, and I have $10 to spare.

"Hey Henry, do you want to pick out a toy?"

His face beams and he wriggles around in the cart, anxious to pick one out. We make our way down to the toys, and I place him onto the ground. He waltzes himself over to the dinosaurs and searches through the case. I giggle in fascination as he searches, bending down to examine toys to stand up and shift a step to the left to look at the same toy. He is the cutest thing I have ever laid eyes upon, biased for sure, but it is the truth.

The sound of heels clicking against the tile abruptly takes me out of my trance. Instinctively, I shift the cart over and apologize. Looking up at the person who is passing to give them a curt nod.

"Mama, look!" Henry comes running over to me. His voice softens when he realizes there's someone else here. "I found it."

No matter what I do, I cannot seem to unlatch my eyes from hers. Tears are threatening to roll down my reddening cheeks. I can feel the panic bubbling on my skin. My heart rate increases to a pace of which I didn't know was possible. Goosebumps ripple across my skin; a shiver runs down my spine against my will. I can feel my mouth hanging agape, words trying to escape.

"Miss Swan?" The voice echoes inside my head.

"Mama?" Henry pulls at my shirt, "mama, okay?"

I nod, avoiding all eye contact with the pencil skirt-clad woman in front of me. I pick him up and place him back into the cart and start off on my way.

"Emma?" The sound of my name stops me dead in my tracks. I can feel myself starting to get light-headed. My stomach swirls itself into knots. Dizziness fills my head, and I stumble over myself. I can hear the heels running towards me as I fall to the floor.

Everything is black. 

When I regain consciousness, I am lying in an unfamiliar setting. All white; toys are not spewed everywhere, but Henry sits on the floor playing with his new toy. I didn't pay for that. His eyes wander over to meet mine, "mama?"

"Henry," I try to assure him, but a rush of nausea hits me once again. That is when I hear it, heels clicking against the floor. I grab Henry and sit in the farthest corner away from the source.

"You're awake," is all she says while handing me a glass of water and a bottle of ibuprofen.

"Where am I?" I question slowly, taking the water and sipping it through my cracked, dry lips. 

"I brought you to my house. Do you know what happened?"

I think quietly to myself for a moment; I remember that morning. I remember being at the park with Henry, then going to the store. "I remember being at the store with Henry, but that's it."

"Well, Emma, I was in the same store, and I ran into you. You barely spoke a word then passed out. I think you had a panic attack."

"Oh."

"So, I got you, the boy, and your groceries and brought you here." She paused, taking a seat on the couch across from me. "Emma, I didn't know you had a son. Why didn't you say anything?"

"It's not something I have been really open about, Miss Mills. Most teachers don't know, and I just wasn't ready for it." I study her face as she takes it in. Her brow furrows, and I can see her lips shifting as she chews on the corner of her mouth.

"Alright," she finally says. "I can understand that. I do have one question, is that the reason why you have been late?" I just nod. "Alright. Is there any way I could speak to a parent or guardian. I tried to look at your file, but nothing showed up."

I look at my feet, contemplating what to say next. It's not entirely legal for me to be living on my own at 17, but my foster mom does help pay for the apartment. However, that's all she does in our agreement. "No, there isn't one."

"Alright," I can see the confusion in her face. "Are you hungry?" Right on cue, my stomach growls. "I'll take that as a yes." She giggles. I don't think I have ever heard that woman giggle, let alone let out a smile.

"I don't want to be a bother-"

"Nonsense. You are not being a bother, Emma. Now come. I have a fresh lasagna out of the oven right now."

I follow her into the kitchen with Henry hugged to my hip. She gestures to the table for me to sit. While I'm waiting, a glorious aroma fills the house.

"Miss Mills, that smells wonderful," I say while sniffing into the air.

"Thank you, dear; it's a family recipe." She brings over a steaming plate of lasagna. "Would your son like anything?"

I look over at Henry, who is absentmindedly swinging his legs off the side of the chair. "Henry, are you hungry?" He just nods. "I hate to bother, but do you have any peanut butter and jelly? It's his favorite right now."

"No problem!"

We eat in silence. The food is delicious, the best I have had in a long time. Afterward, Miss Mills offers to take me home and aid me with the groceries.

"You can just set those in the kitchen," I say, opening the lock. Miss Mills heads towards the counter and begins unloading them. "That's alright, I promise. You have done enough already."

"Alright," she smiles at me and twiddles her fingers. "So, this is where you live?"

"Yeah, just me and Henry. It's not much to look at, I know, but it's all we got." I try and smile at her, but there's not much here to smile about. There's a singular folding card table with a chair for me and an old high chair. We have almost no living room furniture besides a futon that doesn't even fold into a couch anymore. There's one hallway and one bathroom connected to a bedroom. She is silent. "Here," I say, headed to my backpack, "let me pay you back for the groceries."

"No need, it's alright, I promise." She smiles, heading towards the door. "If you're not in class tomorrow, I totally understand, but email me and let me know so I can send some make-up work."

After we say our goodbyes, I put Henry to bed. But I cannot sleep. What happened? My mind races throughout the night, clear past my alarm going off in the morning.