Done Adulting Vol. 1 Ch. 45

Jamie couldn’t make out much from his car seat, but he could see from the passing cars that it was busy at the daycare. Bigs dropping off their littles; a couple, it appeared, for their first time just like they were. He could tell the ones who were experienced at this; they looked like it was no big deal, and some even looked happy. The other ones, well, he watched a big hand off a little to a woman, and Jamie could hear the little crying through the car window.

The campus itself had two buildings. On one, the one they pulled up to, the sign said “Little Hearth.” On the other, the sign said “Baby Hearth.” In between was a large, fenced in play area with a playground and toys scattered about.

“Do they have big children here,” Jamie asked.

“Yes, but you won’t see them.” Becky turned the car off, and they sat in the silence for a moment.

Jamie’s instinct was to reassure Becky and Amanda and keep things moving. Instead, he decided he didn’t need to. No one expected him to; he was okay sitting there until one of them decided to open the car door. Let them be the …

“Alright,” Becky said as she opened the car door. Dammit, Jamie thought.

Amanda wouldn’t always be with Becky to drop him off. But on his first morning, she wanted to be there. She carried his bag, and Becky carried him. Part of him wanted to walk; a lot of other littles were. They needed more supervision and care than he did. It was hard to appear mature when he was on someone’s hip. On the other hand, what was the point? Maybe he’d even get sympathy points or cuteness points or pity points or some other currency he could spend later.

“Diane?” Becky held out her free hand to a woman well into middle age. She had long, salt-and-pepper hair and wore a tie-dye shirt that screamed, “I used to be a hippy and then I started a business and now I wear tie-dye.” I can dig that, Jamie thought.

“Rebecca, so good to see you again. This must be Amanda,” Diane said as she shook Becky’s hand, then Amanda’s. “And this must be Jamie.” To his surprise, she stuck out her hand to him, and he shook it. He expected her to get in his face and sing his name to him. “I’m so glad to meet you. Rebecca’s told me a lot about you.”

“Well,” Jamie said with his straight man face on, looking at Rebecca and back to Diane, “she lies a lot.”

Diane cackled, Amanda scoffed and chuckled, and Becky turned red, mock scolding him, “Jamie! You be nice.”

He’s going to run rings around some of my staff, Diane thought. She knew long goodbyes were harder and held out her arms. Becky’s smile faded, she gave him a kiss, and like she was handing over gold she passed Jamie to Diane. She situated him on her hip. Amanda gave Jamie a kiss and handed his bag to Diane.

“You guys have a good day. Jamie is in good hands.”

With forced cheer they bade him goodbye, and he waved. Before they could get more than a few steps, Jamie had to give them one last joke. “Hey, Amanda!” She turned back. “Make good choices today!” She sighed and walked back to give him another kiss.

“Thanks for the reminder. I’ve got your bear in my bag. If I get into any moral dilemmas, I’ll consult with him.” She ruffled his hair – she loved the feel of his soft hair – and she and Becky walked back to their car. Diane turned to take him inside. None of them looked back.

“Hey, Mom,” Amanda said as the two of them walked. Her voice shook and then broke as a few tears got loose. “This fucking sucks!”

Becky leaned over and put her arm around her baby girl, who leaned back against her. “I know, baby.” She remembered dropping Amanda off at daycare the very first time. It fucking sucked.

Diane said to Jamie as she opened the door, “You’re funny!”

Jamie let himself relax. “I had to be.”

“Why?”

“So they wouldn’t feel sad.”

Diane surprised herself. After decades on the job, she hadn’t gotten misty eyed at drop off in a very long time. “And how do you feel?”

Jamie sighed.

“That’s what I thought.” Rebecca’s right, Diane thought, he really is special.