“Awfully loud for sleep-talking, Jeanne,” Phillip said, trying to hide the annoyance in his voice. “Look, we need to get you to school, but you have to come out so I can find out why you don’t want to go.”
“I don’t want to go because today’s a bad day,” Jeanne said.
“And why is today a bad day?”
“Because school is going to suck.” She was closer to the door now, judging by the sound of her voice.
“And school will suck, but for what reason exactly?”
“Because today is a bad day.” The door opened, and Jeanne stood there in penguin-print sleepwear. “I don’t want to go,” she said, but her voice wasn’t as much of a declaration as a soft plea.
“Sweetie,” Phillip said, hugging her. She didn’t bring her arms up to return the hug immediately, but after just a slight hesitation she was wrapped tightly around him. “It’s not going to be that bad. Come down for breakfast and we’ll see how we can make it better.”
“Okay,” she said. “Can I get dressed first?”
“Did you wash up?” She nodded. “Okay, then,” he said, “but be quick about it.”
Gene was already eating when Phillip came down again, and Jeanne followed him just a few minutes later. Neither child gave any more indication of why they were in such odd sorts this morning, instead acting as if everything was normal. It was a marvel, Phillip thought, what a little sugar can do to improve the mood of a child. In the end, the kids were out the door at around their usual time, cheating him out of his game of cards. Still, as he prepared himself for his day, he had to wonder at how difficult they had been at the start of the day. He’d handled it well, he felt, but he just didn’t get it.
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