“So…,” he said, “should I call you Miss Andrews?”

“No, Sarah’s fine.”

“Okay, Sarah…” He stopped, and after a moment Sarah finished for him.

“You’re wondering why I needed to talk to you?”

“It had crossed my mind.”

Sarah glanced toward the folder in front of her, then up again. “Well, let me start by telling you how much I enjoy having Jonah in class. He’s a wonderful boy-he’s always the first to volunteer if I ever need anything, and he’s really good to the other students as well. He’s also polite and extremely well spoken for his age.”

Miles looked her over carefully. “Why do I get the impression that you’re leading up to some bad news?”

“Am I that obvious?”

“Well… sort of,” Miles admitted, and Sarah gave a sheepish laugh. “I’m sorry, but I did want you to know that it’s not all bad. Tell me-has Jonah mentioned anything to you about what’s going on?”

“Not until breakfast this morning. When I asked him why you wanted to meet with me, he just said that he’s having trouble with some of the work.” “I see.” She paused for a moment, as if trying to collect her thoughts. “You’re making me a little nervous here,” Miles finally said. “You don’t think there’s a serious problem, do you?”

“Well…” She hesitated. “I hate to have to tell you this, but I think there is. Jonah isn’t having trouble with some of the work. Jonah’s having trouble withall of the work.”

Miles frowned. “All of it?”

“Jonah,” she said evenly, “is behind in reading, writing, spelling, and math-just about everything. To be honest, I don’t think he was ready for the second grade.”

Miles simply stared at her, not knowing what to say. Sarah went on. “I know this is hard for you to hear. Believe me, I wouldn’t want to hear it, either, if it was my son. That’s why I wanted to make sure before I talked to you about it. Here…”

Sarah opened the folder and handed Miles a stack of papers. Jonah’s work. Miles glanced through the pages-two math tests without a single correct answer, a couple of pages where the assignment had been to write a paragraph (Jonah had managed a few, illegibly scrawled words), and three short reading tests that Jonah had failed as well. After a long moment, she slid the folder to Miles. “You can keep all that. I’m finished with it.”

“I’m not sure I want it,” he said, still in shock.

Sarah leaned forward slightly. “Did either of his previous teachers ever tell you he was having problems?”

“No, never.”

“Nothing?”

Miles looked away. Across the yard, he could see Jonah going down the slide in the playground, Mark right behind him. He brought his hands together. “Jonah’s mom died right before he started kindergarten. I knew that Jonah used to put his head down on his desk and cry sometimes, and we were all concerned about that. But his teacher didn’t say anything about his work. His report cards said he was doing fine. It was the same thing last year, too.” “Did you check the work he’d bring home from school?”

“He never had any. Except for projects he’d made.”

Now, of course, it sounded ridiculous, even to him. Why, then, hadn’t he noticed it before?A little too busy with your own life, huh? a voice inside him answered.

Miles sighed, angry with himself, angry with the school. Sarah seemed to read his mind.

“I know you’re wondering how this could have happened, and you’ve got every right to be upset. Jonah’s teachers had a responsibility to teach him, but they didn’t. I’m sure it wasn’t done out of malice-it probably started because no one wanted to push him too hard.”

Miles considered that for a long moment. “This is justgreat,” he muttered. “Look,” Sarah said, “I didn’t bring you here just to give you bad news. If I did only that, then I’d be neglectingmy responsibility. I wanted to talk to you about the best way to help Jonah. I don’t want to hold him back this year, and with a little extra effort, I don’t think I’ll have to. He can still catch up.” It took a while for that to sink in, and when he looked up, Sarah nodded. “Jonah is very intelligent. Once he learns something, he remembers it. He just needs a little more work than I can give him in class.”

“So what does that mean?”

“He needs help after school.”

“Like a tutor?”

Sarah smoothed her long skirt. “Getting a tutor is one idea, but it can get expensive, especially when you consider that Jonah needs help in learning the basics. We’re not talking algebra here-right now we’re doing single-digit addition, like three plus two. And as far as reading goes, he just needs to spend some time practicing. Same thing with writing, he just needs to do it. Unless you’ve got money to burn, it would probably be better if you do it.”

“Me?”

“It’s not all that hard. You read with him, have him read to you, help him with his assignments, things like that. I don’t think you’ll have any problem with anything that I’ve assigned.”

“You didn’t see my report cards as a kid.”

Sarah smiled before going on. “A set schedule, too, would probably help. I’ve learned that kids remember things best when there’s a routine involved. And besides, a routine usually ensures that you’re consistent, and that’s what Jonah needs most of all.”

Miles adjusted himself in his seat. “That’s not as easy as it sounds. My schedule varies. Sometimes I’m home at four, other times I don’t get home until Jonah’s already in bed.”

“Who watches him after school?”

“Mrs. Knowlson-our neighbor. She’s great, but I don’t know if she’d be up to doing schoolwork with him every day. She’s in her eighties.” “What about someone else? A grandparent or someone like that?” Miles shook his head. “Missy’s parents moved to Florida after she died, so they’re not around. My mother died when I was finishing up high school, and as soon as I went off to college, my father took off. Half the time, I don’t even know where he is. Jonah and I have been pretty much on our own for the last couple of years. Don’t get me wrong-he’s a great kid, and sometimes I feel lucky to have him all to myself. But at other times, I can’t help but think it would have been easier if Missy’s parents had stayed in town, or if my father were a little more available.”

“For something like this, you mean?”

“Exactly,” he answered, and Sarah laughed again. He liked the sound of it. There was an innocent ring to it, the kind he associated with children who had yet to realize that the world wasn’t simply fun and games.

“At least you’re taking this seriously,” Sarah said. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had this conversation with parents who either didn’t want to believe it or wanted to blame me.”

“Does that happen a lot?”

“More than you can imagine. Before I sent the note home, I even talked to Brenda about the best way to tell you.”

“What did she say?”

“She told me not to worry, that you wouldn’t overreact. That first and foremost, you’d be worried about Jonah and that you’d be open to what I was telling you. Then she told me that I shouldn’t worry one little bit, even if you did have a gun with you.”

Miles looked horrified. “She didn’t.”

“She did, but you have to have been there when she said it.”

“I’m going to have to talk to her.”

“No, don’t-it was obvious that she likes you. She told me that, too.”

“Brenda likes everyone.”

At that moment, Miles heard Jonah yelling for Mark to chase him. Despite the heat, the two boys raced through the playground, whipping around some poles before spinning off in another direction.

“I can’t believe how much energy they have,” Sarah marveled. “They did the same thing at lunch today.”

“Believe me, I know. I can’t remember the last time I felt that way.”

“Oh, come on, you’re not that old. You’re what-forty, forty-five?”

Miles looked horrified again, and Sarah winked. “Just teasing,” she added. Miles wiped his brow in mock relief, surprised to find himself enjoying the conversation. For some reason, it seemed almost as if she were flirting, and he liked that, more than he thought he should.