The next day, Maggie and Juju met Seth on his walk to school. The long weekend was behind him, and his angst was apparent as he walked toward them.
“Hey, Seth,” Maggie sang, as she bent down and cradled him in her arms.
“Hi, Aggie,” he said, sniffling.
“What’s wrong, little man?” Juju asked, poking him.
“Nothin’,” Seth replied.
Clearly, Seth had a difficult weekend. After he was beaten in front of Maggie, Rock took him home. Seth didn’t go into much detail about the cruelty Thelma showered upon him over the Thanksgiving break.
“I’m sorry they hurt you, Seth. I’m not going to let that happen again. Are you OK?” Maggie said, thinking of the beating he’d endured.
Seth nodded. “I’m OK,” he gasped, as tears streaked his dirty cheeks.
“Did you have turkey for Thanksgiving?” Maggie asked cautiously.
“Uh-huh. Thelma put turkey in the dog bowl for me,” he said, embarrassed.
Maggie’s insides were twisted, and she used all of her self-control to hide her festering fury towards Rock and Thelma. “Thelma sucks, Seth,” Maggie said with resolve. “Forget about her. Do you know what today is?”
Seth shook his head without enthusiasm.
“Today is your birthday. December 3. You’re eight years old today.”
Maggie took a broken crayon and a used piece of paper from his bag. She wrote 12/3.
“See, 12 is for the twelfth month of the year, December. And 3 is for the third day. Now, look at it closely. Do you see it?” she asked.
“One, two, three?” he said, afraid of looking stupid.
“Exactly. Twelve three. December 3. One, two, three. Isn’t that great?” she gushed.
Seth remained unemotional. “Sure, that’s great,” he told her, more relieved that he’d answered her question correctly. The kids at school and Thelma always told him he was stupid, and Seth had started to believe he was dumb.
“We bought you a present,” Maggie said, hoping it would make him feel better. She pulled out a small box wrapped in newspaper.
Seth held it in the palm of his hand, looking at it closely; slowly, a spark of excitement began to surface.
“This is for me?” he asked, with a glimmer of hope in his voice.
“Yep, it’s from me and Juju. We bought it especially for you,” Maggie explained. “Go ahead and open it.”
Seth tore the paper off and looked at the miniature, plastic, toy soldier.
“Wow,” he breathed. “Some of the kids at school have these. But this one is the best one ever,” he stated, turning the toy over in his hands to inspect it.
“This one is special, Seth. I told the man at the drugstore all about you. I explained how brave you’ve been. I told him you’re the most courageous eight-year-old in the whole world. Then, guess what happened? The man at the store went into the back and brought out this soldier. He said this soldier was a war hero, and since you’re so brave, we should buy it for you. It’s the only one like it anywhere,” Maggie lied.
Maggie wanted to give Seth hope, make him feel special. Her heart ached for the small boy whom she loved as her own.
“Really? That’s so cool. I’ll keep him forever and ever,” Seth promised.
By the time the two girls left Seth, he was in high spirits. Maggie and Juju always made him feel better. They made him feel like he mattered—especially Maggie. She was the only constant in his life. With Maggie, he felt like he belonged. She was the only sense of “home” he’d ever known. Seth believed everything Maggie told him. He knew that one day they’d be together. He dreamed about Maggie coming to take him away from Rock and Thelma.
Seth couldn’t know what Maggie would have to do in order to make his dream come true.