A New Beginning

“Wakey wakey,” I whispered, shaking Adam’s shoulder lightly. “C’mon, it’s time to get up for your first day of kindergarten!”

His long eyelashes fluttered over his cheeks as he struggled to come back to reality. Once his eyes opened, he looked at me drowsily with eyes that exactly matched my own. That was the only thing that showed he was mine. Other than that, he exactly looked like Puck.

Or, Noah, as he decided after college that he wanted to be called. I guess no high school nickname really lasts forever.

“Mummy, I don’t want to go,” he whined, rubbing his eyes. “They’re not gonna like me.”

“Yes they will, honey,” I promised, starting to go through his bureau to find something he could wear. What did kids wear on the first day of school, anyway? Probably just jeans, right?

Sighing, I pulled out a pair of jeans and his favorite Toy Story t-shirt. “How do you know?” he grumbled, crossing his arms stubbornly, as I laid his clothes out for him.

“Because I’m your mother and I know everything.” I leaned over and kissed him on the forehead before straightening back up. “Need help getting dressed?”

“No,” he replied, getting off his bed. He was already so moody when I tried to get him up in the morning, I didn’t even want to know what he would act like once he was a teenager.

“Alright. If you need any help, just holler.” I walked out into the hallway, leaving the door open the slightest bit, just in case there were any sounds of struggle.

I walked out into the kitchen, running a hand through my hair. Immediately, Noah handed me a cup of coffee, made with cream and sugar, just how I liked it. “Thanks,” I replied, taking a sip.

“I told you I would have woken him up if you wanted. He doesn’t argue nearly as much with me.”

“That’s because you’re his daddy and he likes you more.” I laughed and leaned up against the counter. “He’s convinced the kids at school won’t like him.”

“Even if they don’t, if Adam’s anything like me, he’ll make them like him.” Noah grinned at me, and I rolled my eyes.

“You’re an idiot,” I informed him right before I heard a loud banging noise, followed by crying.

“Oh, God. I’ll get it,” I insisted, putting my cup down on the counter. But right when I hit the hallway, I could hear Noah’s footsteps right behind me.

We found Adam standing right next to his bureau, his t-shirt half pulled over his head, holding his forehead and heaving huge sobs. “Baby, what happened?” I cooed, crouching down to his level.

“I-I-I was pu-pu-tting on my shirt and I w-w-walked into the dresser,” he cried.

“Oh, it’s okay. Come here, I’ll kiss it and make it better.” He leaned over and I planted a kiss on top of his head. “Better?”

“Yeah.”

While he was distracted, I finished putting on his shirt. “There. Now come on, let’s comb your hair.”

Adam followed hesitantly. “I’ll go make some breakfast,” Noah offered as he left the room, sensing that he was no longer needed.

After Adam was all ready, teeth and hair brushed, shoes tied, no stray clothing tags, I put him at the table.

His eyes immediately lit up. “PANCAKES!” he squealed, kicking his feet.

And when Noah put down the plate in front of him, Adam looked up at him with his big green-blue eyes. “Thank you, Daddy. I looooove you.”

After all I did for him that morning, all Noah had to do was make the kid some pancakes, and Adam was so thankful and pleasant. Ugh.

By the time he was finished, his face and hands had a very unhealthy coating of syrup. Luckily, he managed to avoid his clothes, so at least we didn’t have to start that process all over.

“Oh, wasn’t that so smart of your daddy to make you the absolute messiest thing to have for breakfast on your first day of school?” I asked Adam loudly enough on the way to the bathroom for Noah to hear.

“Hey, I could have put chocolate chips in them!” he responded in a smug voice.

“Your daddy is a wise guy,” I whispered to Adam as I picked him up so he could better reach the sink.

It was kind of a chore to clean him up well enough to be presentable, but we finished pretty easily. It was just lucky that Noah and I decided to take the day off so we could be there when Adam got home. Normally, he’d have to go to a daycare with a bunch of other kids his age.

“Mummy?” Adam started as I was drying my hands.

“Hmm?”

“What if the other kids don’t like me?”

Sighing, I crouched down to his level again. “Babe, they’re going to love you. You just have to be yourself and remember to be nice, sweet. Make sure you share the toys and keep your hands to yourself. What’s the rule about hitting?”

“It hurts and it’s mean.”

“That’s it.” I kissed the top of his head and picked him up. “Now, are we ready to go to kindergarten?”

“Daddy’s coming, right?”

I laughed at how attached Adam was to his father. “Yes, Daddy’s coming.”

He let out a cheer as we walked into the kitchen, where Noah was cleaning up the dishes.

Soon, we were in the car, Adam strapped into his booster seat, heading to the school. Adam kept kicking the back of my chair, trying to sing along with the radio, but not really doing well, since he wasn’t the best with his pronunciation.

“I think we have a future Glee Club member on our hands,” I joked, reaching back and putting a hand on Adam’s leg.

“What’s a Glee Club?” Adam asked.

Noah looked over at me, and I smiled back at him. Glee Club meant much more to the two of us than Adam could ever understand. Or than I would actually tell him.

“It’s a club where everyone sings and dances for competitions,” I explained in short, turning around to see his reaction.

He scrunched up his nose. “That sounds dumb.”

“Or maybe we have a future Karofsky,” Noah mumbled under his breath.

I slapped him on the arm, giving him a warning look. “Don’t even joke like that.”

“MUMMY!” Adam screeched, “HITTING HURTS AND IT’S MEAN!”

“He told you,” Noah snickered.

“Shut up, Daddy.” Turning back to Adam, I said, “You’re right, Adam. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t say that to me, say it to Daddy.”

We pulled into the school just then, so I had a perfect escape to apologizing. I got Adam out of the backseat and put his Cars backpack on. “You ready?” I asked him.

“I guess so.” He turned back to the car to see Noah walking around the front.

He scooped Adam up into his arms and hugged him tightly. “See you later, little man.”

“Okay, Daddy.” Adam pecked Noah on the cheek before he was placed back on the ground. “Bye, Mummy.”

“Bye, honey.”

Adam raced off toward the school with other kids. Sniffling, I wiped my eyes. “Is it bad that I don’t want to let him go?”

“I hope not ‘cause I feel the same way.” Noah put his arm around me and gave me a small hug. “He’ll be fine.”

“I know,” I replied. “We’ll all be fine.”