The following morning as Munch sat at the kitchen table eating oatmeal with Le, he couldn’t help but notice the way Mama looked at the little boy. Something in the pit of his stomach knew his mother was thinking about a baby, having another baby. If she and THAT MAN had a baby, the baby would be his half sibling and the baby would also be Lolly’s half sibling. The child would further strengthen the bond that existed between them. A mixture of anger, fear and wonder got stirred up inside of him. Again, he reminded himself that Mama was probably too old to have another baby. It was just wishful thinking that was all. At least that’s what he told himself.

Le sat across from Munch, his small legs were swinging beneath the table as he shoveled oatmeal into his mouth. This kid could eat. Suddenly, his spoon stopped half way to his mouth and he said, “I saw a girl kiss Crunchy last night.”

Mama put down her spoon and asked, “What?” Her eyes shot in Munch’s direction.

“Yup. He went through his window just like Spider Man.”

“Michael, did you sneak out of the house again?”

Great. “Uhm yes. When Lolly got home last night she was really upset. She was crying.”

Mama’s brows furrowed in concern. “Are things bad with Mr. Long?”

“Yeah, he’s supposed to have bypass surgery this morning.”

Le interjected, “His girlfriend kissed him.”

Mama said, “Le, Lolly is not his girlfriend. She’s his best friend and his step sister.”

Le asked, “Oh, like in Cinderella?”

“Sort of,” Mama said, “but she’s not wicked.”

“Nope, she’s not. Lolly’s nice. I like her.”

The kitchen phone rang and Mama answered it. She said, “Oh hello Dear, yeah, he’s right here.” She extended the receiver to Munch and said, “It’s for you.”

Munch took the phone fully expecting to hear Lolly’s voice, instead a tired, unexpected voice came over the phone. “Michael, I really loved the card you made for me. It means a lot.”

Instantly, totally tongue tied with his heart thumping in his chest, he said, “Your welcome. How are you feeling?"

“Groggy. My stomach’s not great, but I am eating. Mama has gone to get some coffee so I thought I would call.”

“I’ve been worried, I’m so glad you are doing better.”

“Me too. I hear Mama in the hall. I better let you go. Bye Michael.”

“Bye Thahn Ho.”

She hung up the phone. Munch put the receiver back in it’s cradle. He knew he was beaming. Thahn Ho didn’t just like the card, she loved it. She called him. She knew his number. He still didn’t know hers, but she knew his! That meant something! It had to mean something.”

Le asked, “Is Sissy your girlfriend?”

Surprised Munch asked, "What?"

“Sissy called you to tell you she’s better. She never called a boy before.”

This was welcome information. Munch didn’t know what to say.

Le lowered his voice and said, “I am glad she is better. I’ve been worried.” It had been very hard to tell that Le was worried, but when Munch met the little boy’s eyes, it was obvious he was sincere. Abruptly, Le shoved his empty bowl away from him and announced, “I am riding the bus.” His tone was just like Mitzi’s when she decided she WAS going to do something. It was unnerving. This kid sure changed gears fast.

Mama asked, “You want to ride the bus?”

“Of course. I’ve never ridden a bus before and Ong noi says it is good to do new things.”

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

“Oh is it. Okay. I will walk you to the bus stop and ask Mrs. Anderson if its okay. If she says its not, you promise you will not pitch a fit.”

Too easily, “I promise,” rolled off Le’s tongue.

This should be interesting.

Once their lunches and back packs were packed. Munch, Le and Mama headed out the door.

Munch was not surprised when he saw Mitzi standing on the front porch of Grandma Toady's trailer. She wavedd and was all smiles until she noticed they were not getting in Mama’s red Volkswagen. She called out, “Hey, where y’all going?”

Le shouted back, “I’m gonna ride the bus with the big kids.”

It was like throwing gasoline on a fire. Mitzi’s face turned red. “What? You get to ride the bus! That’s NOT fair!”

Mama said, “When you are in first grade you will get to ride the bus.”

“That’s a long time from now.” Mitzi scowled. She was winding up.

Grandma Toady stepped onto the porch and said, “You pitch a fit young lady and I will not be talking to your mama about Karate lessons. Now get inside where its warm."

Though it was an effort, Mitzi remained silent. She did however stomp loudly across the porch on her way inside.

Le commented, “That girl is something else.”

Indeed, she was.

The sun was just slipping over the distant tree tops. It shot out long fingers of light. So very beautiful. The color of the sky was a color Munch had tried over and over to replicate, so far he hadn’t succeeded. He felt so much better this morning knowing Thahn Ho was going to be okay. Good things did happen.

Le slipped his hand into Mama’s and said, “I really like it here. Can I come stay again?”

Too easily, too quickly, Mama said, “Yes. I would like that.”

A whole ball of trouble started to form in Munch’s head. Forcefully he pushed it away. He was not going to ruin this fine morning with worry or fear.

They reached the bus stop and stood waiting. Max and Lolly came down the drive to join them. Lolly looked like she hadn’t slept at all. When she saw Le, she asked, “You riding with us?”

“Yup.”

She asked, “You want to sit with me?”

“Nope, I’m sitting with Crunchy.”

Munch really didn’t like that name.

The bus pulled up, the brakes squeaked. When the door shot open, Le took an uncertain step back. His small head tilted up as he took in the enormity of the big yellow school bus. Mama asked, Mrs. Anderson, “He’s a student at the elementary, can he ride?”

Mrs. Anderson smiled down at Le and said, “Sure. Hop on board little Buddy.”

“My name is Le.”

“Okay, Le it is.”

Le reached for Munch’s hand. Together they climbed up the big steps. He lead Le to the seat behind where he and Lolly usually sat. Three kids were not allowed to occupy one seat. The first thing Le did was press his nose against the window. “Wow! I can see a lot from up here.” He loved the rumble of the bus as it pulled out. Preoccupied though she was, Le made Lolly smile with his enthusiasm and wonder over the magic of a bus ride. He exclaimed, “I can see cows! Oh my Gosh! Look that cow is pooping! That’s big poop! And its got smoke on it.”

Munch said, “That’s water vapor.”

“Nuhuh its smoke.”

This kid liked to argue as much as Mitzi did.

Lolly said, “You know how you blow your breath out in the cold and it looks like smoke?”

“Yup.”

“Your breath does that because the air is cold and your breath is warm. Cow poop is warm like your breath and so it makes a vapor.”

Le frowned. “So my poop is warm too. And if I pooped it would smoke?”

Lolly gave Munch a look. He just shook his head. Lolly had just planted a seed in the fertile mind of Le Duong.

The elementary was the first stop. Munch got up and intended to walk Le down the steps, Le told him, “I can do it myself.” And he did. The little boy march straight for the school cafeteria. It had been awhile since Munch had paid any attention to the Elementary school. A memory surfaced. His hand was in his daddy’s and he was being walked into a school building. Shaken by the memory, he slid into the seat with Lolly. He asked, “You okay?”

“Not really. I just pray everything goes okay with Trevor’s dad. He’s probably being prepped for surgery now.” Lolly’s voice dropped, “I pray he makes it through okay. Trevor needs his dad.”

“Yeah, he does.”

The bus stopped at the Junior High. Max and Kevin got off. Kevin waved at Lolly as he passed. Poor Kevin.

When they reached the high school, Lolly asked, “I know there’s a new rule about who can be in the art room, but do you think Mademoiselle Petite might let me sit in there. I can’t face the cafeteria this morning.”

“Probably, if you volunteer to do something. You now what a disaster the art room is.”

“Okay, I’d like that. I need to keep busy to keep my mind of,” her voice dropped to a whisper, “the surgery.”

When Munch opened the door to the art room, Quack was at the pencil sharpener sharpening his pencil. He saw Lolly and asked, “How’s Trevor’s dad?”

In a small voice Lolly replied, “Not good.”

“Damn, I’m sorry to hear that. I’ll keep him in my prayers.”

“Thanks.”

Quack prayed? This was news to Munch.

Lolly went to Mademoiselle Petite’s desk and said, “I would like to volunteer this morning. Is there some way I could help out?”

“Is there ever. We are going to start working with pastels next week and I got a whole bucket full of broken pastels. If you could sort them by color I would really appreciate that. Here, let me show you.”

Munch took his seat. Quack came to his table and asked, “How is Thahn Ho?” He seemed genuinely concerned but Munch didn’t trust him.

“Uhm, she’s getting better."

“Good to know.” Quack went back to his table. Spread out on it was a story board for his comic character,Rabid Robot.

Lolly brought the bucket of pastels and some other containers to Munch’s table. She asked, “Will it bother you if I sort here?”

“Of course not.”

“Thanks.” She sat down beside him.