LEAH PRESSER lives in Northern Kentucky with her husband and 5 year old son.  Her short stories have been published, or are forthcoming, in Futures Magazine, Beginnings Magazine, The Pink Chameleon, Fiction Warehouse, and Opium Magazine.

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The kindergartners put away their markers, glue and scissors and set their fuzzy chicks popping out of construction paper eggs on their desks. Ms. Dower called "Line up!" and the children rose and formed a single line at the door. One boy, Billy, remained in his seat.

"Billy's not in line," a little girl named Sally told Ms. Dower.

Ms. Dower said without looking behind her, "Come on Billy. Time to line up."

Billy's friend Trevor pulled on Ms. Dower's sleeve and whispered, "Billy's not coming." Everyone turned to look at Billy, who slumped in his chair, sloppy tears streaming down his cheeks and two gobs of snot seeping out his nose.

"Billy?" said Ms. Dower. "What is it?"

Billy's mouth twisted in his blotchy face. He sniffed and smeared the snot with his sleeve.

"My . . . my . . . mommy . . ."

Ms. Dower crouched next to him and laid her hand on his small shoulder.

"She . . . she's gone!" Billy said. An unusual silence befell the other kids. They shuffled in line and stared at Billy as if he had sprouted a second head.

Once Billy got going, the words poured as easily as the tears. "Mommy, drove away. She drove to . . .to Georgia. She went to Grandma's in Georgia and she's not home anymore."

"So she went on a trip? A visit, then?" Ms. Dower asked. Sometimes when parents traveled without their kids, they forgot how long a couple days or a week seemed to a young one.

"She's gone!" Billy sobbed. His body trembled.

"We all miss those we love when they're away. But they come back. When did your Mommy say she was coming back?" Ms. Dower asked. The class stopped fidgeting. The children's eyebrows furrowed and their gaping mouths turned downward as each little heart contemplated missing Mommies.

Billy only sighed and laid his head on the desk, arms limp at his sides.
"I'm sure she'll be back soon," Ms. Dower patted his back. "Would you like to get in line now, Billy? It's time for our Easter treats. Ms. Henry is expecting us in the cafeteria."

He flopped his head over and looked into Ms. Dower's soft, green eyes. Her smile was hopeful. Her perfume smelled like his Mommy's. Fresh, hot tears spilled out onto the scratched surface of his wooden desk. "Mommy didn't come back for Christmas. She wasn't at my birthday. Mommy drove away."

In line, a boy named Sam thought that he would like to say something, but he had been taught not to interrupt while others were speaking.

Ms. Dower put her arms around Billy and rocked on her heels. He clung to her shirt and cried out until he was hoarse, "I miss my Mommy! I want my Mommy!"

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© 2002 Leah Presser