Unfounded Worries
My worries proved unfounded.
Hearing her praise Reni made the corners of my mouth threaten to stretch all the way to my ears, but I held the grin in check.
No matter how many times I heard my child praised, it always felt wonderful—but confirming whether he needed any extra help mattered more.
“Teacher, does Reni eat well at school? At home he sometimes leaves food on his plate.”
“Yes! I was just about to mention that. Thanks to the lunch box you packed today, Reni became the envy of so many friends. He looked so proud.”
“Ah…….”
A small warmth bloomed in my chest. Even my little effort had made the boy happy, if only for a moment.
“Because of that, he finished every last bite. You don’t need to worry about that part at all.”
The teacher’s words brought me considerable relief. I had fretted that without someone watching over him he might go back to eating as little as he used to.
As long as he ate well and played well with his friends, I had nothing left to worry about.
I was quietly savoring that relief when Teacher Ivy suddenly seemed to remember something.
“Father, do you happen to work from home because of your job?”
“Ah, yes. I used to, but…….”
I nearly blurted out Evan’s name and barely managed to shut my mouth. If she had been a complete stranger it might not have mattered, but Teacher Ivy was a co-author of the recipe book, after all.
“We recently got an office, so I’ve ended up going into work more often.”
“Oh my, really?”
From the look on her face she seemed eager to ask more about my YouTube channel.
But she must have decided she needed to stay true to her role as a kindergarten teacher. She half-opened her mouth, then closed it again and pulled an application form from the drawer.
“Some working parents sign their children up for after-school activities. It’s billed monthly, and the hours range from one to three…….”
“Ah, that won’t be necessary.”
I was already slightly unhappy that the boy was going to kindergarten five days a week; there was no way I would add more.
At my firm refusal the teacher simply nodded and handed me a few other notices.
“These are the teachers’ contact information, various reminders, and a semester schedule for your reference. If you look here…….”
Following her guidance I read through the notices.
They included the children’s daily timetable. Seeing the routine broken into half-hour or one-hour blocks, I thought it probably wouldn’t be boring for them.
Of course, snack time, lunch, and nap time took up about a third of the day—but that was a child’s proper work.
“Ah, and once a month our kindergarten holds talent-donation classes led by parents. Please look it over, and if you’re interested, be sure to let us know.”
“Talent-donation classes? What sorts of things do people usually do?”
“Something as simple as reading a picture book in a fun way is fine. Or if you have an activity the children can join in, you can prepare that.”
“Hmm…….”
“Even if a parent is teaching, we teachers will be right there managing the children, so it shouldn’t feel too burdensome!”
“Yes, I’ll think about it.”
In the past I would have refused without a second thought, but now I genuinely wanted to do it if there was any chance Reni would enjoy it.
If I came to the kindergarten and ran a simple craft class, he might like it even more. The fact that he had felt proud over a simple lunch box only strengthened the idea.
But he might also feel embarrassed because of “social face,” so maybe it would be better just to stay quiet and not step forward.
This was something I really needed to talk over with the boy and gauge his reaction.
“It should be ending in a few minutes.”
At the teacher’s words we both rose from our seats, and that was when a framed photograph hanging on the wall caught my eye.
I asked with a slight smile.
“Teacher. Is that one of the photos going into the recipe book?”
“Yes! That’s right! Did you—ah, did you receive one as well, Father?”
From her reaction, I would have hurt her feelings if I had walked past without noticing.
“Yes, I received mine not long ago. They’re not the shots that will actually appear in the book—just the nicest ones taken with the children, they said.”
I walked over to the frame for a closer look. If I was going to offer a compliment, I wanted to put a little sincerity into it.
“Oh, but……. Did you take the photos outdoors?”
“Yes, I shot mine with the concept of desserts eaten on a picnic.”
Sure enough, the photograph showed a rattan picnic basket and pretty desserts arranged on pretty plates.
James and I had shot ours indoors, so I had assumed everyone had done the same. Apparently there were all sorts of concepts. I found myself rather curious what the others had chosen.
“I already knew, but it really feels like the publisher is putting a lot of care into this. Ah, the photo turned out beautifully.”
“Right? That day was so much fun. I felt like I’d become a celebrity for a little while.”
We left the counseling room in a warm, friendly atmosphere. I asked the teacher to take good care of Reni from now on, then joined the other parents to wait for the children to come out.
“…….”
At first I had worried the kindergarten might look at me with eyes that refused to recognize me as Reni’s guardian.
I was so grateful that fate had arranged things so smoothly that we had gotten past that hurdle without trouble.
After waiting a little while, a soft bell rang through the hallway.
Luca, who had been playing quietly with toys the whole time I talked with the teacher without a single whine or fuss, suddenly lifted his head at the sound of the bell.
I gently patted the back of the boy who might have been startled and said,
“Luca, class must be over. Big brother Reni will be out soon.”
“Yeah.”
He really was good at answering. When I pressed a light kiss to his forehead after that sturdy reply, he smiled.
Soon the door opened and a brief bustle filled the hall. Reni came out of the classroom, looked around for a moment, spotted me, and broke into a huge smile as he ran over.
“Daddyyy!”
I scooped up the boy who came running with his bag and lunch box swinging.
“My son, was kindergarten fun?”
“Yeah!”
Reni rubbed his cheek against my shoulder with a bright face. Smiling, I asked,
“Did you miss Daddy?”
“Yeah!”
Reni answered stoutly and giggled. Whatever had happened, seeing me now seemed to make everything all right.
“Good. Daddy missed our Reni too. Thank you so much for doing so well on your first day without crying. My son is amazing. You did a really great job.”
“Heehee.”
Under the shower of praise, the boy stuffed his bags into the stroller and bounced along beside me.
In the short walk to where the car was parked, Reni exchanged greetings with every new friend he had made that day.
“Reni, bye!”
“Melissa, bye! See you tomorrow!”
“Byeee!”
“Bye!”
As the children shouted “Bye! Bye!” at the top of their lungs, the adults exchanged quiet nods of greeting.
Fortunately, no one looked at me strangely.
There were several other Asian families at this kindergarten, and the children themselves were a colorful mix from many different countries.
And more decisively…….
Aside from the loving gazes they turned on their children, every parent had the look of someone who wanted to sleep for two straight days without doing a single thing.
There was a certain camaraderie in that shared exhaustion.
A white father carrying a daughter in a pink princess skirt on one arm and her bag on the other glanced at me and the boys, then held up two fingers. It felt like he was asking if I had two kids.
When I nodded, he gave me a thumbs-up and walked past. Even while his daughter yanked at his hair, he didn’t so much as crease a brow—a true professional dad.
……Hang in there, mister.
The entire way home Reni never ran out of steam as he talked nonstop about everything that had happened at kindergarten.
“Yeah, so with my friends we went forward, then sideways! With pink and clouds and…….”
Of course the words of an excited four-year-old were not always perfectly clear.
But since my replies were already decided, it didn’t really matter.
“I see, so that’s what you did with your friends today. Was it fun?”
“Yes!”
Just thinking about it again seemed so fun that Reni looked ready to bounce right out of his car seat.
Even after we returned to the office he was still full of energy. The moment we opened the door, Reni waved to Greg and Cassandra and announced,
“Hello, I’ve arrived for work!”
Everyone had to laugh. Not “I’m home,” but “I’ve arrived for work.”
“Reni sure knows exactly where he is.”
Since he had been outdoors all day, I washed his hands and feet first and wiped his face with a damp towel.
Having a bathtub in the bathroom that connected the playroom and the master bedroom was perfect.
How on earth had we ended up with an office and work that fit our family’s daily rhythm so perfectly?
When I thought about it, maybe miracles weren’t anything all that special.
Life usually seemed to just wander wherever it wanted, but every now and then we ran into moments that already felt planned out like this.
“Daddy! I’m hungry.”
Good heavens. Our Reni was actually saying he was hungry. Maybe it was because he had used more energy than usual.
Either way, if Reni wanted to eat something more, the food had to appear without question.
“All right, then let’s have a delicious snack. What does our Reni want to eat? Daddy will make you anything.”
I said it casually while watching Reni cross his arms and put on a very serious thinking face.
“Ummm……. What should I eat? Should I have cacka?”
I swallowed a laugh. That was just a request for cookies.
I stood up thinking I would give him raspberry cookies and milk—only for Luca’s quiet little voice to stop me in my tracks.
“……Cacka.”
Reni had clearly heard it too; he clapped his small hands together in delight.
“Wow! Daddy, Luca just said cacka.”
“You’re right. Our baby’s talking so well now.”
Daddy, mama, cacka……. Already three words he could say.
I sat back down, stroked Luca’s plump little cheeks with both hands, and asked,
“Our Luca, want to eat cacka with big brother?”
“Yeah.”
Clear eyes and a clear voice. This wasn’t just parroting a sound he had heard; he clearly understood the situation perfectly.
Of course. After mama comes cacka.
I carried both boys out, settled each into his own chair at the table, and prepared the snacks.
“I’m going to give the kids a snack—anyone else want some?”
“Me.”
“Me too.”
I put the cookies I had baked yesterday into the air fryer to warm them. Freshly baked cookies were always the best, but this method was quick and convenient and the results were still good.
For the adults I served oatmeal raisin cookies and coffee; for Reni, heart-shaped raspberry cookies with milk; and for Luca, blueberry cookies that were less tart, broken into bite-sized pieces in a bowl.
Luca could now neatly pick up a cookie between thumb and forefinger and feed himself.
I was gazing contentedly at the children enjoying their snacks when Rachel, who had not said a word about coming today, suddenly appeared carrying a large box.