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With dinner abandoned and Sammy scrubbed down and contained in his Pack ’n Play, Peter and his parents settled down on the sectional sofa in the living room. Nate’s eyes were puffy with exhaustion, and Sandra had a pang of guilt for making him deal with this right now. Maybe she should have waited for the weekend. Oh well, too late now.
“What’s going on at church, son? Talk to us.”
Maybe it was having both his parents flanking him, or maybe it was the dim lighting of the living room, but Peter looked more comfortable than he had all day. “Those guys are just trying to make my life miserable.”
“How so?” Nate prodded.
Peter tipped his head back and closed his eyes. “They call me names. Call me sissy. Tell everyone not to talk to me.” He shrugged, trying to play it cool. Sandra’s heart cracked.
“What else?”
“Isn’t that enough?” Peter cried. He no longer looked comfortable.
“Peter, I need some specifics if I’m going to take this to their parents—”
“No!” Peter cried, his eyes wide. “You can’t! You’ll make it so much worse.”
Nate grimaced. “I have to. That’s how we resolve these things, by talking about them. That’s what it means to be an adult. And give me some credit. I think I know a little about conflict resolution.”
Peter’s face made it clear that he did not believe that. Sandra believed that Nate believed it.
“So, specifics,” Nate said.
“There aren’t any.” Peter was done talking.
“So you want me to go to their parents and ask them to make their sons stop calling you a sissy? Don’t you think that might prove their point?”
Sandra put her head in her hands. She wanted to support her husband, but he was really butchering this.
“No!” Peter cried. “I don’t want you to do anything! Can’t we just forget it? I’m sorry I pushed Cameron!” Sandra could tell that he wanted to stomp away, but didn’t quite dare to.
“Cameron? What does he have to do with this?”
Peter’s eyes welled up with tears. He swallowed hard.
Sandra tried to come to his rescue. “Peter was extra defensive of those second graders because he identified with them. He probably wouldn’t have had such a strong reaction to what was happening there if it wasn’t for the stuff he’s been going through at church. That’s all. And how about if we just have Ethan’s parents over for coffee? We could just have a discussion. We don’t have to give them any specifics. Just a discussion, not a cease and desist.”
“Mom!” Peter cried. “You’re not helping! And it’s not just Ethan. It’s all of them.”
“I don’t really have time to have coffee with these people,” Nate said. “I just wanted to say something to them on Sunday and hope they would discipline their own kids.” His tone made it clear he didn’t want to hear any more of her suggestions. She wasn’t even sure that he knew which parents matched with which kids at church, unless they were teenagers who went to his school. Then he knew them.
They sat in silence for a minute, fat tears sliding down Peter’s cheeks. Sandra slid closer to him, put her arm around him and squeezed him as hard as she dared. She kissed him on the temple. “I know this is awful, honey, but it is only a season. We’re going to get through this.”
He let her do all this, but was rigid beneath her touch. “Can I go back to my room now? I’m tired.”
Sandra didn’t want to let him go.
“Sure,” Nate said.
Peter disappeared, leaving them in silence again. Under the circumstances, Sandra decided she’d be better off if she didn’t tell her husband about the angel and the widow at this time. Instead, she carried Sammy upstairs, changed him, and then put him in his crib. It was early for sleep yet, but maybe she’d get lucky. Then she went into her bedroom, changed into her pajamas, and spent some time praying for her son. As she silently pleaded his case, she felt a renewed peace settle over her. She also got the undeniable impression that winds of change were about to blow. She could almost feel them on her face already.