Echo

he found no mention of the golden ones with long glowing tails. As a matter of fact, he didn’t see any fairies with tails. They all wore wings of some kind. Certainly none of them with horns like his golden fairy. His disappointment acute, excitement dimmed, slowly grasping that he might be wrong about his fairy. No, he knew a fairy when he saw one. What else could he be?
    Riding home on the school bus, his spirits flagged, disappointed to find the rain pouring down. He wanted to return to the big rock and wait for the fairy, afraid if he didn’t show up; the fairy might give up on him and find a new little boy to spend time with.
    His mom waited for him at the bus stop. Taking her hand, he scooted under her umbrella. Smiling gently, she smoothed back the wisps of hair that refused to cover his ringworm scars no matter how she brushed them.
    “Honey, your father called. He would like to visit this weekend and apologize for his behavior. Would you like to see him?”
    “ No. No .” Scotty screamed, his face turning white. His father was still alive? The fairy didn’t come through for him. Something went wrong with his wish. Maybe he needed to tell it directly to the fairy.
    “Mommy, I need to go to the woods today.” His voice frantic, he begged her permission.
    “Don’t be silly. You’ll get soaked. You’re not going anywhere, except home with me, silly.” Arriving at their front door she closed the umbrella and scooted him into the house.
    Hanging up his jacket, he ran to Abby’s bedroom where he found her studying. She belonged in high school now, her time no longer as available to him. He climbed up on her bed trying to fit in her lap like he used to as a tot.
    “Come on, little dude, I need to get my homework done.” Abby laughingly rained kissed down on his sad face, signs of his infant impetigo less a beacon now that a growth spurt looked to be in play. Stroking his patchy fine hair back from his face, she pushed her books aside, cuddling up with her brother on her pillows. “What’s wrong, Scotty?”
    Tears slowly leaked down his chubby cheeks as he snuggled up to his sister. “Abby, I love you.”
    “I love you too, champ. What’s going on?”
    He put his ear up to his sister’s to whisper. “I think daddy is going to move back in with us.” He quickly looked to his sister’s face to gauge her reaction. Abby looked grim but she hugged him tightly.
    “No, Scotty; that will never happen. Mom promised he would never get the chance to hurt her or demean us again. So put a smile on your face and get ready for dinner.”
    “Ok, but if he does, I’m going to make a magic sword to protect us with. I’ll always protect you and Mommy.” Scrambling off Abby’s bed, he ran to his own room. He took out his book of fairies from his backpack and slid it into a drawer. He would solve his fairy dilemma on his own and in secrecy. That’s probably what his fairy wanted anyway.
    Sitting down to dinner, he noticed his mom serving mac and cheese again, on the fancy blue and white plastic plates she got as a wedding gift before his birth. The aroma of hot gooey cheese tantalized him. Mom made it almost every other day because he loved it, naturally. Chowing down, he noticed Abby and mommy talking in low voices about the welfare money. They needed the welfare money. Everyone got welfare money.
    “Kids, I have some important news for you.” He looked closer at his mom’s face, her lips tightly pursed, her eyes tense. Not with anger, more like scary disappointment. Did he see fear on his mom’s face? What was going on? Looking at Abby, he could tell she already knew.
    “We’re going to have some new house guests.”
    “ No, not Daddy, please. ” His stomach started to ache. His mommy reached over to stroke his arm, calming him.
    “No baby, it won’t be your father. He’s gone for good. I don’t even know where he’s going but I do know he’ll leave New Jersey. We’re going to share the house and expenses with another family. It’s all arranged. You know the Diaz family, isn’t Jose on your bus, Abby?”
    “No, mom, he’s still in grade school. Is the whole family coming?”
    “Yes, except for Mr. Diaz. He’ll be heading to Mexico to try to jump the fence. If he’s successful, he stands a good chance of nabbing a job. They’ll probably move out if that happens. If he gets caught, he’ll go to prison. It’s a felony in Mexico; they’re very serious about protecting jobs for