Mario - A Story - 3

 “Daddy!” Wil flew across the room and into Mario’s arms when he knelt down to greet him. “We made clay and pictures and we read, I read good Mrs. Robinson said, and two and two equals four and…”  

“Read well,” Mario said automatically as he hugged his son. He heard Mrs. Robinson chuckle and looked up to see her smiling as she gave him the thumbs-up. “Are you ready to go home, Wil?”

“Umm humm.” The boy wriggled away to race across the room for his jacket and lunchbox.

“How’s he doing, over all?” Mario asked as he stood up again.

“Exceptionally well. He’s a very bright boy as I’ve told you before, and he seems to be completely over whatever it was that was bothering him a few weeks ago.” She looked questioningly at him as she had several other times when she mentioned how Wil had seemed withdrawn and sad.

Mario nodded and gave her the same answer he always did, that Wil had just been upset that Mario had tripped over something and taken a header onto the coffee table because he thought it was his fault. He knew she didn’t really believe that but there was no way he was going to tell her the truth of the matter.

He looked down with a smile when Wil grabbed his hand to tug him towards the door. “Say good-bye,” he admonished his son softly.

“Good-bye, Mrs. Robinson,” Wil said. “See you tomorrow.”

“Very good,” Mario told him as they left the room. Wil beamed happily.

Ten minutes later Wil was even happier when Mario pulled into their favorite fast-food place. “You can only order what you can read,” Mario reminded him.

“I know, daddy,” Wil said with the exasperation only a five-year-old could muster. He undid his seatbelt and crawled across the back of the seat to climb into Mario’s lap so he could see the drive-in menu. “I want that,” he said after a minute’s contemplation.

“And what is ‘that’?”

“Umm…ch..ick… Chicken!”

“Perfect. Nuggets or pieces?”

“Nuggets, please, and coke?” He pointed to the word, which probably didn’t count since there was a picture of a soda glass beside it.

“You got it.”

Once they’d received their orders and Wil was back where he belonged, Mario drove to a near-by park. Wil would have dashed immediately to the playground if Mario hadn’t grabbed the back of his jacket with his free hand.

“First we eat, then you can play. Deal?”

Wil pouted but nodded. “Deal, Daddy.”

As they ate Wil rattled on about everything that had happened in school. Mario listened with interest or amusement, depending on which was called for.  He was extremely glad he had a job whose hours more or less meshed with his twin sister’s and the school’s. He’d drop Wil off at Maria’s at six a.m., dash to work in time for opening at six-thirty, and leave work at three-thirty so he could pick Wil up before four when the school closed.

As soon as Wil finished he raced to the playground. Mario kept an eye on him while he cleaned up the remnants of their meals and tossed the bags in the trash. Then he went over to push Wil on the swings when ‘ordered’ to.

As he did, Mario glanced around and muttered angrily under his breath. Jonah was coming across the baseball field towards them. Mario debated the wisdom of staying versus going.

The choice was taken out of his hands when Wil saw Jonah. “Daddy I want to go home,” he said as he jumped off the swing to cling to Mario.

“Hey, Wil,” Jonah called out as if nothing was wrong. “How’s it going kid?”

“Daddy, please.”

Mario took his hand with a nod and started to the car.

“Hey now, don’t be that way,” Jonah growled as he came up behind them. “I just wanted to say ‘hi’.”

“Well you said it. Now you can say ‘bye’,” Mario replied tightly.

“Mario, come on…”

Mario ignored him as he picked up Wil and walked more swiftly to the car. He tried to hide his relief from his son when he got to it, put him inside, closed the door and went around to the driver’s side.

“Wait, I just want to talk,” Jonah told him.

Mario looked at him over the top of the car. “We have nothing to talk about any more,” he stated flatly. Then he got in, turned the key in the ignition with a shaking hand and pulled out onto the street.