A Little Lesson
By Audrey W.
Roy opened the front passenger door of the station wagon, and motioned for his son and daughter to get in. He was having to fill in on the school chauffer duty his wife normally took care of and it was already past the usual time of leaving.
“C’mon, we’re running late. I’m not used to this routine.”
“I hope Mommy feels better soon,” seven-year-old Jennifer said as she slid to the middle of the bench seat. Her older brother, Christopher, got in beside her.
“It’s probably the twenty-four hour flu,” Roy answered. “So she’s likely to be feeling sick most of the day. When you get home later, you’ll need to be quiet so she can get her rest.” He closed the door after hearing two “okays”, then went around to the driver’s side. As he got into the car, he glanced at his daughter.
“Did you grab some Kleenex’s for your sniffles?”
“Daddy, it’s jus’ Kleenex.”
Roy turned the key in the ignition and backed out of the driveway as Jennifer carried on.
“Some words don’t need an ‘s’ on the end to mean more than one, Daddy. Like if you have one deer or a lot of deer, it’s still ‘deer’. And if you have one moose or a lot, it’s still ‘moose’.”
Roy quickly looked down at his rambling daughter, then his son, before returning his eyes to the road ahead.
Chris shrugged. “Don’ look at me, Dad. She sounds kinda like Uncle Johnny.”
Roy grinned slightly as the little girl continued to list plurals that didn’t require an ‘s’.
“If you have dirt, it’s just dirt. You don’t have pile of dirts. So you see, Daddy, I have Kleenex.”
~*~*~
Soon they arrived at the school and Roy pulled up near the sidewalk at the entrance of the building to drop the kids off. Chris opened the passenger side door before his dad got around the front of the car. As the boy climbed out, Roy asked, “Does she do this to your mom?”
“Yeah. But Mom just nods a lot.”
Roy smiled. He could just imagine Joanne going through conversations. . .no, lectures. . .like the one he just did, morning after morning.
Jennifer got out of the car and gave her father a hug. “Tell Mommy I hope she feels better.”
“I sure will. See you after school.”
Jennifer started up the sidewalk, then quickly turned around and ran back. “Wait! We haveta go back home!”
Roy was puzzled. “Why?”
“I forgot ta bring any Kleenex.”
The paramedic reached in his pocket and pulled out a few tissues folded together. Smiling, he handed them to the girl. Now she was the puzzled one.
“Your mom. . .” Roy explained. “She’s pretty smart too.”
Jennifer smiled sheepishly and took the tissues from her dad, then headed back towards the school. Roy watched as she opened the large double doors leading to the lobby. Now, if I can just get her to stop rambling like Johnny.
This was inspired by a conversation my daughter and I had in the car. I made the mistake of asking if she had Kleenex’s and the whole way to school she told me what didn't need an 's'. I'm not sure how right she was on all of what she said, but it was fun listening. And we only have to travel for about 3 minutes now, so she squeezed a lot in. lol
*Click on the Kleenex to send Audrey feedback
