Chapter 10: Bonding

"One minute, mommy!" Richard said, and hurried back to meet the tattooed guy, then sat him down, and they were whispering together. At this moment, I was already boiling with anger. I turned to the principal. "He's your brother?" He smiled, as if he knew what I meant. They looked nothing alike! Whereas the principal was, you know?Responsible! This guy already looked like a bad influence on my son. "Surely, Arlo can be a lot of things, but he also loves and cares for kids like I do. You should consider him as a friend for your son, don't you think?" My face was a mask of fury now. My eyes met with the stranger, and I realized he'd been staring at me. I shook my head in refusal. No way I'm letting my son get close to this man! We both went towards them, and Richard was done with his whispering. What were they talking about? "Mommy! This is Arlo, my new friend. Mr. Principal's brother." Richard introduced. My gaze rose as I tried to meet this tall stranger's eyes. And they were green? I'd never met someone with such beautiful eye color, but that was it. Sure, his face was constructed to be handsome, and I couldn't ignore how I loved the tux fitted on a well-shaped physique, but that was it! There were lovely diamond earrings in his right ear and a little lip piercing...damn it, why did he suit him so well? He was probably an actor who'd had a ton of surgeries. There was no way any of that good-looking face was natural. "Lovely to meet you, Richard's mom." His words were carefully pronounced, with such a lovely accent. But I wasn't going to be swayed by all of that. "Thank you," was all I could manage. "Um, Richard, we should leave now--" "--mommy, mommy," Richard was tapping my arms. I leaned down to hear what he wanted to say, and my mouth fell open as he asked, "What's a hooker?" Instantly, I flashed a questioning look at this Arlo guy, and he swiftly turned to look everywhere but my eyes! My fist was a ball of rage by now. The principal cleared his throat. "Get home safely, ma'am." I quickly nodded, "Thank you, sir. Come on, Richard." I heard the principal's voice from behind, "A hooker? Seriously? He's six years old!..." Once in the car, Richard asked. "Am I in trouble, mommy?" I turned to face him. "Well, not really. Just like two days off, and you'll resume on Monday. After I apologize to this kid's family. Honey, why did you punch that boy?" Richard pouted, and his shoulders sank. "He used to call me a loser because dad abandoned me. He's not lying, is he?" Terror washed over me as I thought carefully about what to say. "Honey, you're not a loser. You're a smart kid, my kid. Am I a loser?" He shook his head. "That's right. None of us is are loser just because your father isn't here right now. Do you promise to speak to me anytime you're having these angry thoughts? Instead of resorting to violence?" "I'm sorry, Mommyy. I promise it won't happen again." Richard leaned forward to hug me. My mind traced back to what the principal had said. "It will happen again, listen to my advice..." I heaved in a deep sigh. "It's alright, honey." "Mom, I'm just angry Dad isn't looking for me at all. It's like he hates me." Richard said. "It's not your fault, and I promise everything will become better soon, okay?" I said to him. "Everything is going to get better, I promise." I kept on promising, even though I wasn't certain of what the future would hold! "I want more friends." He said when he pulled free, and his face was suddenly in a deep frown. "I love you and Madam Margaret, but I'm tired of seeing only your faces. And I can't visit grandpa as I like because his place is so far away." Richard complained. "Okay..." I had an idea where he was going. If he wanted me to make up with Ella, then maybe I would, instead of giving this strange Arlo an opportunity in Richard's life. "You already know what." Richard said, then removed my phone from my purse, "Speak to her." I groaned, summoning every bit of confidence. Ella picked up, "Tara? Did something happen to Richard? Or you, are you okay??" This wasn't happening. Through gritted teeth, I was able to reply to her questions. "I'm sorry, Ella. Please come back." That was all it took for this whole malaise to break. She screeched in excitement, and I could have sworn she was jumping up and down. "Mama's booking the next flight to New York right this instant! You've done the right thing, my child." I rolled my eyes at her comment. Great! She was on, and I couldn't even be mad at my best friend again, because of Richard. I love my son, but with the way olivesife had gotten so intertwined, I still wasn't used to that concept yet! After the call ended, I turned to Richard. "There. You happy now? Ella's going to wake us all up first thing tomorrow with at least 20 bags of her clothes and makeup, you know how she loves overpacking stuff." Richard giggled. Yeah, you both are more alike than ever. Remember when we went to Japan and you had like a million bags for your bags and purses?" "Shut up! We were in Japan for a whole week. I couldn't reuse my bags, you know that." This let out a comfortable laugh from both of us. Everything was fine now, I hope. Until Richard released another arrow at me. "I want to see Arlo again. Let's invite him over for the weekend!" He said in excitement. It took every last bit of maturity in me not to scream out and shout. "Arlo?" I tried to remain as calm as possible. That weird guy with tattoos and piercings?? "Yes. My new friend, Arlo. Mr. Principal brother." He went on to explain, but of course, I knew who he was talking about! "Uh, oka,y honey. But...I'll have to ask the principal for his number one of these days when he won't be busy, you know? Of course, once I do, then we can--" "--there won't be a need for that. I have his number, Mommy. Lemme call it for you. Save it on your phone now."