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Adam caught up with us and gave me a curt nod.
"Okay, we're supposed to go to classroom 2G to meet Wolfie's teacher, Miss Henderson," Adam informed me.
I looked down at Wolfie with a reassuring smile. "Well, then, let's go meet Miss Henderson."
We navigated our way through the halls and quickly found room 2G. The door was open, and there was a petite, red-haired woman moving in between desks.
"Miss Henderson?" Adam called out.
The woman turned and smiled brightly. She looked warm and friendly, but I could feel Wolfie stiffen next to me. I squeezed his shoulder reassuringly and looked down. He glanced up at me with wide, scared eyes.
Adam squatted down next to him. "Hey, it's going to be okay. And remember, we got a big surprise waiting for you after school. Just a few more hours, all right, buddy?" Adam asked him, but Adam seemed just as nervous as Wolfie did.
"I'm so pleased to meet all of you," Miss Henderson said, looking kindly down at Wolfie. "You must be Dr. Rollins?" She reached out her hand.
"I am actually, just call me Adam," he said, returning her handshake.
"Adam." She smiled warmly, then turned to me, her smile widening. "And you must be…?"
"This is Reagan. Wolfie calls her Aunt Reagan. She's a good friend of the family and also happens to be his lawyer," Adam rushed to explain awkwardly.
I smiled at the woman, who looked at me with alarmed eyes, even as she kept her pleasant expression kept firmly in place. "I'm here as a family friend, not as a lawyer," I assured her.
"Oh, I see. Well, Wolfgang, we are so excited to have you here. If you have any issues at all today, please don't be afraid to talk to me," she said, looking down at him, and then looked at the both of us. "And that goes for Adam here and family-friend Reagan as well."
Suddenly, a little boy wedged in past us through the door, shouting, "Miss Henderson, you'll never guess what happened. I lost another tooth." The little boy’s eyes fell to Wolfgang, who had shrunk behind Adam's leg. "Who is this?"
"This is our new student, Wolfgang. Wolfgang, this is Tyrek," she said, introducing the little boy.
The little boy bounded up to Wolfgang, smiled brightly at him, and then looked up at us. "Are these your parents?" he asked.
Before Adam and I could say anything, Wolfgang answered, "Yeah, they are. How much did you get from the tooth fairy?"
"Twenty bucks," the boy said.
Wolfie's eyes were wide as he looked up at us.
Adam looked at him with a laugh. "Twenty dollars, wow. Is that tooth made of gold?"
"You wanna see our classroom pet?" Tyrek asked Wolfie.
"Yeah!" Wolfie said excitedly, following Tyrek across the classroom, then stopping short to turn around and look at Adam and myself. With a small smile, he called out, "I'll see you all after school," then he turned and followed his new friend.
"Yeah, buddy, I'll be right here," Adam said, looking a little forlorn.
"Well, then, I guess we've been dismissed," I said softly with a laugh.
Adam smiled a little nervously, then looked to Miss Henderson. "Miss Henderson," he said quietly, "you know about Wolfie's situation, I mean… about his actual parents."
Her expression softened as she nodded. "Yes, the registrar informed me of Wolfgang's tragic loss, and let me just tell you how sorry I am for your loss as well."
"Thank you," Adam said, his eyebrow furrowed as he rubbed an anxious hand over his head, "but he just called me and Reagan his parents. You're around kids all the time, is that normal to call somebody else your parents so soon?"
Miss Henderson let out a measured breath. "Grief comes out in all sorts of ways. If it just happened, he may just not be ready to tell other children that he has a different kind of home than most. Or it could be his way of proving to himself that he does have two people still in his corner—gives him a sense of permanence somehow."
Adam and I looked at each other with worried expressions. Miss Henderson added, "I suspect he'll eventually start talking about what happened—it takes some time. But at least he knows he has you in his corner and that you're not going anywhere." She smiled.
"Yeah," Adam stuttered. "Listen, if he shows any kind of anxiety, or anything seems off, please don't hesitate to call me. I'll be here in a flash."
