Treasure Box

Chapter 6

A week went by in a flash with Michael and I living the father-son life. We spent most of it just getting to know each other, finding out the smallest likes and dislikes and simply becoming familiar with each other. Michael returned to school that Monday and every day when I picked him up, he had a whole lecture prepared on what happened that day. Most of it involved the play that his teacher was putting on for the parents. It was supposed to be a fairytale mash up that the teacher himself had written. The odd thing was he told me everything about the play other than the role he played. No matter how much I insisted, he was tight-lipped about that.

The play was on a Friday night. I ran behind schedule at work so I sped down the road to Michael's school, Greenwood Academy. I swung haphazardly into a parking space before I ran into the building, straight into the office.

The secretary looked to be about in her thirties but wore pink glasses that belonged to someone so much older. She scowled at me, "Can I help you?"

I was so close to telling her that she could drop the attitude but I didn't have enough time to argue with her. "Yes, I'm here for Mr. Patterson's play. I'm the father of Michael Owens."

She looked me over skeptically but handed me a clipboard and a visitor sticker. "Sign in and put on the visitor badge. The auditorium is down the hall," she pointed left, "First door to the left."

I signed the board quickly grabbed the sticker and thanked her before leaving. I found the auditorium with relative ease and went in. The room was mostly dark, only the stage lights shining. Parents were crowded in the front, socializing with each other. Even from where I was, I could see that they were all much older than me. I guess young parents were rare at this school. The only one who looked remotely close to my age was a dark-haired guy that went from parent to parent but based on what Michael had told me, he was Mr. Patterson.

As I inched closer to the group, Mr. Patterson caught sight of me and came fluttering over with a confused smile. Up close, he seemed about my age, maybe even younger. His blue eyes inspected me curiously. "Hello, can I help you?"

I smiled back nervously, "Hi, I'm Franco Rodriguez, Michael's father."

"Michael," he didn't hide his surprise, "I was told his father was out of the picture."

I felt myself blushed and wondered how often I was going to have to explain my sudden presence. "Yeah, I had no idea I had a son until his grandmother died. Now I have legal custody of Michael."

"Oh, well it's nice to meet you, Mr. Rodriguez. I'm Rodrick Patterson but everyone called me Pat." He held out his hand, which I shook without hesitation, "Thank you for coming. Please, have seat. Michael will be thrilled to see that you came but just a warning, Michael had a very," he trailed off then concluded, "Unique part."

"Unique?" That sounded mysterious, "How unique?"

Pat suddenly seemed nervous, "You'll see?"

"Is that a question?"

He flinched, "No?"

"Really?" I chuckled, "Okay, I guess it'll be a surprise."

His shoulders sagged with relief, "Thank you. I'll see you after the play." He scampered off and left me to wallow in curiosity. To think that even Michael's teacher refused to tell me what his part was really made me wonder.

The play started and the sight that greeted me had me fumbling for my phone so I could catch every second. My little boy was playing Snow White, which would have disturbed me more if he wasn't so adorable. He was wearing a black wig that balanced perfectly with his white skin and the classic blue and yellow Snow White dress from the Disney movie. It was beautiful on my little boy. When he spotted me, he grinned and waved before going into character. I could tell that he took his part seriously because no matter who messed up or how badly, he was always right on point with his lines. A proud grin was plastered to my mouth the entire play.

Once the curtain closed, I was among the parents clapping their hearts out.

"How'd you like it?" I almost jumped when Pat appeared next to me but grinned widely.

"A unique part," I repeated. "That was a bit more than unique."

Pat sighed, relieved that I wasn't angry, "All the girls were too shy to be lead and he offered so," he shrugged helplessly.

I shrugged too, "He does what he does. I'll be proud of him no matter what."

Pat smiled widely, admiration shimmered his baby blue eyes, "I'm glad."

The kids came running out of the backroom, back in their normal clothes, into their parents' arms. My baby boy was in arms with his arms wrapped around my neck in seconds.

"Did I do well, Daddy?" he asked excitedly, "Did you like it?"

"You were absolutely amazing," I hugged him tightly.

"Really?" he beamed with pride.

"Really," I pressed a kiss to his forehead, "You were beautiful, Mikey, but why did you offer to be Snow White?"

He blushed bright red, "Grandma said I was cuter than a girl so I thought it'd be okay."

"It was fantastic," I assured him, "You were great but now you can't be mad when I call you princess."

"Daddy," he whined.

"What?" I teased,

"You're a meanie head," he nuzzled into my neck, "I love you."

"I love you too, Mikey."

"Awww," our moment was interrupted by a woman staring at us unabashedly. Even Pat seem bashful about just being there but the older woman had a smile the size of a planet. Just behind her was a man with a permanent scowl and powerful build that towered over the small woman and a boy about Michael's age. The boy had a scowl like his father's but his was full of suspicion.

The tiny woman surged forward, "Hello, I'm Marie Miller. Our sons are close friends. I was so worried about Michael after I heard that Leslie passed away. I would have taken custody of him myself if need be. To be honest, I was planning to take you to court if you seemed even remotely unfit to take care of Michael. I had a lawyer ready and everything since the boy in your arms is an absolute angel. I would cut off my foot before I let anyone hurt him. Anyway, you two look so cute. I need a picture. One second." She dug into her oversized purse for what I assumed was a camera.

I turned my questioning eyes to the man behind her and he huffed and held out a hand. "Lawrence Miller. We have Michael over often."

I shifted Michael to my side and shook his hand, "Franco Rodriguez. Thank you for taking such good care of my son." I turned to the little person who was still scowling at me, "And you're Theo?" the boy nodded, "It's nice to meet you. Michael talks about you often."

"Found it," Marie exclaimed. She came out of her bag with a small pink camera. "Franco, Michael, look at me and smile." We obeyed and she took a picture. "Okay, now you get in there, Theodore."

"No," Theo folded his arms defiantly, "I don't want to take a picture with him."

Michael and I glanced at each other, mirroring each other's shock.