By K. Hecht, A. Hosack & P. Berman
Everything’s going the way I’d hoped. I’ll wait till next week and then ask her out.
Craig was thinking about Claire every day. He imagined he saw the back of her hair swinging whenever he was in a crowd. He couldn’t stop himself from rushing up to see if the woman was Claire despite knowing how unlikely that was. Sometimes he would remember the look on her face when he had gotten angry with her. She had pulled away so quickly! She must have come from a very protected environment to pull away like that just because he had become angry.
Thinking of Claire as fragile just deepened Craig’s interest in her. Today, he had gotten off work an hour early. He traveled on the bus and got off at what he knew to be Claire’s home stop. He looked around and found a place where he thought he could observe the bus but not be seen himself. He read a newspaper as he patiently waited for Claire to get off the bus.
It seemed like no time before he was watching her as she slowly walked down the steps of the bus. She looked discouraged. He hoped it was because she had missed seeing him. As soon as she was about a block away, he came out of his hiding place and slowly followed her. In a few moments, he had to stop and hold his breath. Claire was walking down a path to the front of a house. He watched her as she unlocked the door and went inside.
Craig turned around and went back to the bus stop very pleased with himself. He knew where she lived! He knew where she lived and now could find her anytime!
Claire had been very disappointed that she hadn’t seen Craig on the bus. He probably had no real interest in her after all. He probably had just talked to her to pass the time before he got off the bus himself. What should she expect? Why would such a handsome man be interested in her? Before she could get herself into too deep a funk, her little ball of dynamite hurled himself at her legs and gave her such a tight hug that she almost fell over.
“Welcome home my mommy,” Davy said with a smile. “I love you so much my Davy,” Claire said as she leaned over and kissed him on the top of the head. “Come in the kitchen mommy, I was given a star today in school.” Davy gave her his kindergarten grade report and there on the top was a gold star. The teacher wrote underneath it, that Davy had earned a star for being voted the boy in class most likely to share with others. Claire grabbed Davy and swung him around and around till he was laughing and gasping for air. “I am so proud of you Davy, you are being a good friend to everybody in your class by sharing so well,” Claire said. “Yes, and I’m not going to try to teach them to steal either mommy,” Davy said. Mrs. Carson chocked as she tried not to laugh.
Davy gave Mrs. Carson a confused look but then, Claire was giving him a big hug and all he wanted to do was clutch her and smile. “You are a good friend Davy, you are showing other kids how to share not how to steal,” Claire said.
Have you struggled trying to explain to a young child the difference between telling the truth and telling a lie? Consider buying a book that helps you read to your child while the story opens up the subject. To see an example consider watching the video below:
This blog tells the fictional story of Claire and her son Davy; it will give you a window into Claire’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior. The people in this blog were created by Dr. Pearl Berman based on her thirty years of experience in the field of child abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, and exploitation. If there are any similarities between the people discussed in the blog, and actual people who are living or deceased this is coincidental. To catch up on old posts or start from the beginning you can find Claire's Story at https://pearlsberman.com/blog
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