A Second Chance

By Dawn Natelle

Sorry for the long gap since the last chapter. I tried to write a chapter in my other series A Gentle Soul, but got stuck half way through. I finally got fed up with the block, and came back to this one. The characters here just keep writing the story for me. I just have to type it out: Dawn.

TUESDAY, May 10, 2016

On the bus ride to school Mikki told Rachael that Danny’s visit to the doctor on Monday resulted in an early appointment with a child psychologist experienced in gender issues for Thursday, due to a cancellation by another patient just hours before they called.

The morning went fairly well and at lunch Rachael went around the cafeteria looking for students for the movie night. First she went and got ‘dates’ for the four guys who originally had sat at the nerd table. Some had slightly unrealistic expectations on who might date them, but Rachael suggested the names of some of the less attractive girls in the class, and gradually the guys agreed to sit with these girls. Rachael then went around the cafeteria and brought the four girls over, and sat them down next to the boys in question so that they could chat. She also got each guy to pay $2 towards the popcorn fund. It was a dollar a person, but they would ‘treat’ the girls. With such a small amount, there were no objections.

Janice was next up. With her face and figure, she could have the pick of the single guys in the class. Eventually they agreed on Sean Hunt, and Rachael then went and brought him over to the table to meet with Janice. Rachael managed to get her $2 out of him as well. He seemed thrilled at the idea of a ‘date’ with the pretty Janice.

Tony and Mikki would go together, and Tony forked over his $2. Mark paid $2 for Mark and Larissa, and Leon put in a toonie for Carly and him.

That made 16 people, eight couples. Robert wasn’t going to go, so Rachael put in $2 for herself and Bobby, who she jokingly referred to as her date. Layla and Becca had come to the sleepover with Carly, so Rachael asked them next. Becca was interested, but Layla was in one of her snooty moods, and said she wasn’t interested in going to see a movie in a library. Rachael ignored her, and started working on getting a date for Becca. There was a boy she had been crushing on, and Rachael went into her matchmaker mode to convince him to give her $2. Apparently the boy had also been looking at Becca, but was too shy to make the first move. He gladly signed up for the ‘date’.

That made 20, Rachael calculated, with room for up to two more couples if someone else begged to get in. She hadn’t sat down for lunch and there were no spots at the table, with all the new people getting to know each other. She was about to head to another table when Mrs. Deboer came to the door. “Rachael, can I have a moment,” she said.

“Yes ma’am,” Rachael said politely to the principal.

“I’s sorry to cut your lunch short, but I just got a call from the principal over at the primary school. It is about your brother. Apparently he was in a fight.”

“Oh no! Is Bobby all right?”

“Yes he is,” the principal said. “The two boys he was fighting apparently got the worst of it. But your mother couldn’t get away from work at lunchtime, and suggested that you could handle the problem. Will you go over there?”

“Yes, right now. Could you let my afternoon teachers know I will be late or away?”

Rachael hurried off to the primary school, and went to the office, using her ‘old Rachael’ memories from when she attended this school.

Bobby was sitting in the office, along with Danni Stoner. There didn’t seem to be any other boys there. Surely Bobby hadn’t fought with Danni, had he?

Mrs. Hunt was still the principal here, and she walked into the office. “When Mrs. Campbell and Mrs. Pasternak come in, take them to their sons down in the First Aide room,” Mrs. Hunt told the secretary. “Then bring them back here when Miss Scott says they are okay.”

“Rachael, it is nice to see you again. I hear from Mrs. Deboer that you have turned your life around a bit. It is highly unusual for someone so young to be considered a legal caregiver, but your mother told me on the phone that she trusts you. Please come into the office. I was just talking to Jerome and Jeb in the First Aide room.”

Inside there were chairs for each of the boys, but Danni quickly went over to Rachael and climbed onto her lap.

“So you know the young Stoner boy,” the principal said. “Rachael could feel him tense up at the word ‘boy’.

“Yes, I am friends with Danni’s sister,” Rachael said, rubbing Danni’s arm to comfort her at the principal’s inadvertent misgendering. “Is someone coming for her … Danni?”

“Yes, Mrs. Stoner should be here soon. Ah, here she is now.”

Andrea Stoner came into the meeting, and Danni slipped off of Rachael’s lap and crawled up onto hers.

“I want to start by summarizing what the boys in the first aid room said,” Mrs Hunt said. “They claim that Robert here attacked them for no reason at lunch period, knocking Jeb down, giving him a black eye and a significant bump on the back of the head. He then started swinging at Jerome, until the teacher on playground duty broke it up.”

“Is that what happened, Bobby?” Rachael asked.

“Kinda. I came out of the lunchroom to go and play baseball with the guys, and I saw these two big kids picking on Danni. They were trying to stuff her into a trashcan. Jeb was lifting her up, and Jerome was holding the can. I yelled at Jeb to put her down and he just laughed and put her into the can. So I hit him as hard as I could, and then started in on Jerome when Jeb fell down. Jerome hit me a couple times, but I got him in the nose before Mr. Walters came and stopped it.”

“Ah, so that is a very different story,” the principal said. “But why are you calling Daniel ‘she’? He is a boy.”

“That is currently under investigation,” Mrs. Stoner said curtly. “We have suspicions that Danni might be transgendered, and will be seeing a specialist on Thursday. After that time we will meet with you to discuss that matter. But at this point, Bobby is not misgendering his friend, my child.”

“I see. I wonder if this has a bearing on the case. Mr. Walters, the teacher who is on playground monitoring duty this week did say that Daniel … Danni was found in the trashcan, crying, as the three boys were fighting. He stopped the fight and then let him, or her, out before bringing them all here. Unfortunately he is now teaching his class, or we would have him here. We don’t have a lot of staff here at the school. Miss Scott, our custodian, has a first aide certificate, so she has been tending to the other boys until their parents arrive.”

Just then four more people entered the office. Two Grade Four boys, both bigger than Bobby, were each accompanied by a parent, one man and one woman. The man, who had his hand on the shoulder of a boy with a black eye and a bandage on his head started to bluster immediately.

“Where’s the brute that did this to my son,” he shouted. “I’ll have him up on charges. No one messes with the Pasternaks.”

“We are still investigating what happened here,” Mrs. Hunt said. “It seems that your son and his friend assaulted a younger student, and this boy,” she pointed to Bobby, “came to … that student’s rescue.”

“What?” Mr. Pasternak roared at his son. “That little pipsqueak? He’s smaller than either of you. How could you let him knock you down?”

“He surprised us,” Jeb said. “I didn’t expect him to hit me. He got me right in the eye and it knocked me down, and I hit the back of my head on the sidewalk. I didn’t see anything after that.”

“I thought I taught you better than that,” Mr. Pastenak said, taking a swipe at his son, cuffing the back of his head. The boy winced.

“Mr. Pasternak!” Mrs. Hunt said. “Please refrain from striking the child. His head may have been injured, and hitting it will not help.”

“Bah. The kid just needs to man up. Shake it off. He’ll be okay.”

The woman with the other child had just watched this byplay in horror, and turned her son to her. “Jerome, I don’t want you playing with Jeb anymore. I don’t think he is a fit companion for you.”

“Aw Mom,” the boy said. “We was just havin’ fun. We always tease the little fag.”

“Do not use that term in this school again,” an increasingly irate Mrs. Hunt said. “And you two are no longer to come within 25 feet of Danni Stoner. If you do, you will be suspended immediately. That applies to both of you.”

“Fairy,” sneered Mr. Pasternak.

“That will be enough sir,” Mrs. Hunt said. “That is considered hate speech in Ontario. I don’t want to have to involve the police in this matter.”

“I own the police in this town,” the man shouted, getting up and close to Mrs. Hunt’s face. To her credit the principal didn’t back down. “I run a successful business in this town and I can get you fired for talking to me that way.”

“I know about your auto wrecking business, Mr. Pasternak, and you cannot intimidate me with your hollow threats. I’m employed by the county school district, and I doubt you know more than one of the board members. And as I have only been upholding the board rules and policies, I doubt my job is in jeopardy.”

Then it was the man who backed down, seating himself, and pulling his injured son in front of him, as though for a line of defense. He was not used to strong women defying him in such a manner.

“I have decided that it would be best if all four children take the afternoon off. Come back to school tomorrow, and this will not be considered a suspension. Just a cooling off period.”

The Pasternaks and the Campbells left immediately, but Mrs. Stoner stayed, and gestured to Rachael to also stay behind.

“I’m less than satisfied with what has happened here,” Mrs. Stoner told the principal. “I don’t suggest that you didn’t handle things to the best of your ability. I think it is clear to all of us where the problem lies here. But I cannot in all good conscious send Danni back into this environment again. The term is almost over, and she may be transitioning soon. I am seriously considering home schooling her for the rest of this term, and perhaps the next year as well. Then, in a year, she could reintegrate into the system as a new, female student.”

“That assumes that the professionals do diagnose her to be transgendered,” the principal noted.

“I am quite confident that will be the case. I have been watching her closely for the past few days, and the transgender thing makes a lot of sense,” Mrs. Stoner said. “In any respect, is my plan workable?”

“Yes it is. In fact, we can probably set things up so that he … I mean she, will be able to finish her work for this term from home. The same as if she were out ill. Perhaps Bobby will pick up papers and other work for her and take it to her. I can also help you with the home schooling option for next year. Most parents taking that route try to avoid the school in all ways, but I think we can be useful to you if you are willing.”

“Yes, that would be good. Danni has a carer that minds him after school until I get home from work. I will arrange for him to spend the entire days with her, and will provide him with home schooling in the evenings. Rachael? Would you be able to take care of Danni this afternoon? I assume you will be taking Bobby home this afternoon.”

“Yes. I can do that. Danni is a sweetheart and I don’t mind looking after her,” Mrs. Stoner had risen and was walking out of the office, so Rachael and the children followed.

“This will be so helpful, Rachael,” Mrs. Stoner said, opening her purse as she walked to the parking lot. “I need to get back to work as soon as possible.” She handed Rachael several bills. “Please take this for looking after her.”

Rachael took the money, and then unfolded the two twenties. “No, it is too much. Danni is no trouble at all. I don’t need your money.”

Mrs. Stoner was already at her car. “It is well worth it for me to know that someone responsible is looking after her. Bye, bye. Bye sweetie.”

Danni waved with a smile on her face as her mother drove off. Rachael and the two kids started off home. Rachael decided that today in the bakery Bobby and Danni should each have one treat of their choice when she stopped in to buy bread. They were surprised to see Geoff manning the counters.

“You kids are early today,” the friendly baker said. “What can I do for you?”

“I’ll have two more loaves of bread: your wonderful seven-grain type. It is just incredible. I’ve told all the kids at school about it. Then you will have to wait for these urchins to decide what they want as a treat.”

“Ah, that explains it,” Geoff said. “Sales have nearly doubled on that item. I used to do a half batch of 20 loaves a day, but now we are up to 40 a day, and 60 on Friday and Saturday. I should hire you as a salesman.”

“Why are you working the counter?” Rachael asked.

“I try to give Mother an hour off at this time,” he said. “She has been a godsend to me, getting the business started. But I think it is too much for her, working full time. Business is picking up slowly, but I think I will need to hire someone to be a clerk in the shop. Do you know anyone who is looking?”

“I do, as a matter of a fact. My mother has been a waitress for the past 15 years or so. Would that qualify?”

“Does she run cash?”

“Yes, that is part of her job,” Rachael said. “She’s a hard worker too. A single parent has to be.”

“Well, I’m still thinking about it. There might be a problem. I can only afford to pay minimum wage. She probably gets tips where she works now.”

“It is only a café,” Rachael said. “The tips aren’t much, and she has to take two buses to get there and home. She could walk here. I bet minimum might be interesting to her.”

By this time the kids had made their choices. Danni wanted a brownie, until Bobby said he wanted a lemon Danish pastry. Danni quickly changed her mind (more proof that she was a girl inside) and also went for a Danish. Rachael handed Geoff one of the 20s that Mrs. Stoner had given her, and then counted her change.

“This can’t be right?” she said. “You only charged me a dollar for the two pastries. Surely they are more?”

“Special sale today,” Geoff said with a smile. “For the girl who has been promoting my bread in the high school.”

“Thanks,” Rachael said. “Normally we don’t get sweets. We have been trying to slim down. But Bobby here was a prizefighter today, so he gets a treat. And Danni was the prize he fought for, so she gets one too.”

“Oh, these are so good,” Bobby said as he crammed Danish into his face. “Best treat ever.”

“You didn’t get one, Rachael,” Danni noticed. “Do you want to share mine?” She was nibbling hers in a much more restrained manner.”

“No, honey,” Rachael said. But even the smell of the pastry was conspiring to tempt her. “All right. Just a little bit to taste it?” She broke off a small piece and popped it into her mouth. “Oh my God,” she said. “That really is good. I’ll have to tell everyone at school about that too.”

When they got to Grandpa’s house, he wasn’t out on the porch. Rachael tapped lightly on the door, and got no response, so he must be napping, she decided.

They then went over to Miss Lajoie’s so Rachael could check on the dogs. Apparently there was a student getting a lesson, judging my the horrible piano sounds coming from the house, so the three sat on the porch as Bobby told Danni all about his Grandfather, the war hero.

“I have my own hero,” Danni said softly. Bobby was confused.

“You, silly,” she said. “You rescued me from those two mean boys. You are my hero.”

Just then a car pulled up and a well-dressed woman got out. “Are you kids waiting for the next lesson?” she asked.

“No, we are just listening to the free concert,” Rachael said. “Is that your child playing?”

“Yes, Kara is just in her second month,” the woman said. “Do you think she is any good?”

“I’ll bet she is better than she was last month,” Rachael said diplomatically. “Miss Lajoie is a great teacher.”

“Yes she is,” the woman said, rapping on the door. The plinking inside stopped, and soon Miss Lajoie and a girl a couple years younger than Rachael came out with her. Miss Lajoie looked at the kids on the porch, then turned the girl over to her mother, who handed Miss Lajoie several bills.

“I just came by to see my patients,” Rachael said. “We could hear the lesson underway, so we waited out here. Do you have another lesson right away?”

“No, I have an hour before my next one. Does Bobby want to take his next one?”

“I’ll bet he would rather take the dogs for a walk.” Rachael had knelt down and inspected Goldie’s leg, and then scanned the rest of her to ensure nothing else was wrong, and then did the same with Rudolph to make sure he was healthy too. As she stood up, she had an idea.

“I wonder if you could give Danni here a piano lesson?” Rachael looked into her purse. She had over $30 left after stopping at the bakery. “I have $30.”

“It only costs $20 for the introductory half hour,” Miss Lajoie said. “I keep the price low so that people can try it out and see if they like it. It is $30 for a full hour after.”

“Do you want to try the piano?” Rachael asked Danni.

“Daddy would say it is too girly, but yes, I would like to try it.”

“Don’t worry about your father,” Rachael said. “Your mom will look after him.”

“I hate him,” Danni said forcefully, causing Miss Lajoie to be startled. Rachael gave her an ‘I’ll explain later’ look, and she took the youngster into the piano. Bobby had already left with the dogs, so Rachael wandered over to see Grandpa, who was now up.

She made them each a sandwich, since she hadn’t had lunch yet, and the nibble of pastry had only whetted her appetite. She had a long visit with the old man, and found she loved listening to his stories about the old days almost as much as he loved telling them.

They continued to chat until Danni came over, completely ecstatic about her first lesson, causing the old man to smile at her youthful enthusiasm. They went out to the porch and saw that Bobby was playing in the yard with the two dogs. Danni was a bit shy to approach the animals, but Bobby was gentle in introducing the two to her, and soon she was rolling in the yard with them, allowing the dogs to lick her face.

Just then three faces, two of them familiar, appeared walking down the street. “What is that animal doing, eating the face off my little sister,” Mikki quipped.

“He likes me, Kayla. He isn’t hurting me,” Danni said seriously.

“Good. You keep playing. I need to talk to Rachael.”

“Rachael,” Larissa said. “This is my brother Marc. He is in the same grade as your brother Bobby.”

Rachael gulped. The boy was taller than Mikki, although nowhere near as tall as Larissa. Yet. No doubt in a few years he would tower over her. Rachael asked the boy, speaking French “Would you like to play with the dogs?”

“Oui, sil vous plait,” he said, and ran over to join the others.

“So what happened today?” Mikki asked. “I saw Mrs. Deboer take you out of lunch, and then you were gone all afternoon. And Marc, who wants to walk home with us to keep in shape for his hockey this fall, told us about the fight at the primary school. Apparently Bobby is the hero of the school, with all the kids talking about him decking two bullies and then getting expelled.”

“He didn’t get expelled,” Rachael said with a laugh. “Just an afternoon off, which means I got one too. I hope I didn’t miss much. Your Mom hired me to look after Danni too, so we came here.”

She looked over at the melee of kids and dogs. “Bobby, take the dogs back. You guys have probably worn them out. They’ll need a nap now.”

A few minutes later they were all at the Cartright house, with Larissa and Marc getting a first look at how the common folk lived. Marc and Bobby seemed to be on the way to a fast friendship, so Rachael had them go into the backyard and play catch with Bobby’s baseball and gloves.

The girls visited inside for a half hour, until the boys came in looking for snacks. Rachael now always had a bowl of carrot and celery sticks in the fridge, and took some out. Marc look oddly at the vegetables, until Rachael noted that players in the NHL were always looking after their health by eating things like this. Suddenly he became quite interested in the snack. Furthermore, as the boys ate in the livingroom, Rachael heard him mimicking Bobby in ‘eating up the soldiers’. It was clear that while he looked like a teenager, he was also still only nine.

Soon after the others left and Bobby and Rachael made a dinner of salad and chicken breasts that was ready when Maria came home. Over dinner Rachael explained what had happened at school.

“I should have gone,” Maria lamented. “I’m his mother, not you. You should get to just be a kid. But Callie at the café told me that if I left, I better not come back. She acts like she owns the place now. She wants to redo the schedule now. She wants me to work from 6 to 9 for breakfast, 11 to 1 for lunch, and 5 to 8 for the dinner crowd. She is just lazy, and wants me to do it all.”

“That’s crazy,” Rachael said. “You can’t come home between times. The bus ride would take all the break time. You might get an hour or two in the afternoon, but that is no life.”

“Not only that, but she wants me to work all weekends. So she can have them off.”

“Oh Momma, I was going to go to Robert’s farm on Saturday. I guess I can cancel.”

“You will not cancel. I told her I had plans for Saturday. She grudgingly accepted, but said that I shouldn’t plan anything for weekends in the future.”

“That is so unfair. You’ve worked there for 15 years, and she’s been there what, 15 days?” Rachael said.

“Maybe I should start looking for a new job,” Maria said. “The problem is, the café owners in town are pretty tight with each other, and won’t want to hire me away from Joe.”

“I think you need to talk to Geoff,” Rachael said. “He was telling me he is thinking about hiring a full time clerk for the bakery. You could do that?”

“A bakery? I’ve never worked anywhere but the restaurant. What would I do?”

“Mostly just take food from the displays and get money from the customers,” Rachael said. “Pretty much what you do now, but without all the walking. Geoff said there would be no tips, but you wouldn’t need to take the bus. You could walk there from here, even in winter.”

“Hmmm. Maybe I should. I still don’t have to start at the café until 11 tomorrow, although no one knows when Callie will want to start her weird schedule. Maybe I should go meet your baker tomorrow morning. Do you think he would mind if I wore my uniform in there? Should I dress up for an interview?” Maria asked.

“I don’t think he will care. If nothing else, the uniform tells him you are a worker. Go talk to him. Maybe he will let you see the back of the bakery. It would be cool to see how he makes all that great stuff. Oh, and make sure that you don’t get hooked on the lemon Danish pastries. They are seriously addicting. I bought Bobby and Danni one each because of all they went through today, and they both loved them. Danni gave me a bite of hers, and it was like heaven on a bun.”

That night Rachael prayed as usual.

Dear Lord

The list is getting longer and longer. I’m still praying for Mr. Stoner to come to his senses and come back to his family. For Bobby to be safe from bullies, and little Danni too. The new name is Marc Hafleur, who is a fine young man and I think soon to be a good influence on Bobby. They look like Mutt and Jeff together, but seem to becoming friends. Marc is new in town, and needs some. I pray for Jerome Campbell, even though he fought my brother. I think he is really a decent kid, but is influenced by peer pressure from Jeb. Jeb could be good, but with a father like his, I don’t know. And Mom. She really needs a job. Maybe that is the top priority. Although a boyfriend would be nice too. And hopefully film night Thursday can be a success.

I am asking for so much, and not sure how I can help. Let me know if I am doing what you want.

Amen

As she climbed into bed, Rachael felt the familiar tingle. She fell asleep trying to think of how she could help all the people in her life.