by J. W. Huemme
“You just say when. I know you’ve still got some settling in to do, but when you’re ready, you just let me know. Okay?”
“Thanks, Linda. I’m really glad you stopped by. It will be nice having you for a neighbor.”
Linda smiled. “You too, Mary. I’ll drop by tomorrow and say hi if you don’t mind.”
“That would be nice. I’ll see you then. Bye now.”
Mary stood in the doorway as Linda walked down the slight grassy incline toward the little yellow house. It was more than the afternoon sun on her face giving her that warm feeling. Mary knew she was going to enjoy living here. She took a deep breath of air and slowly let it out. Looking down the hill she could see Linda arriving at her house, turn around, and wave to her. Mary returned the wave and smiled—she had found her first new friend in the new neighborhood, or rather, her first new friend had found her. In any case, it was a welcome friendship that Mary knew she would cherish for many years to come.
Mary was standing at the sink in the kitchen preparing dinner when something caught her attention. She looked out the window to see Joe driving over the little wooden bridge and up the driveway. She instantly stopped what she was doing and went to meet him at the front door. As Mary opened the front door, Joe was just getting out of the car.
“Hi, honey,” she said as she opened the screen door.
“You’re a vision standing there like that,” Joe said as he walked up the two steps onto the porch, “how about a big hug?” he asked as he put his arms around Mary and held her close. “So, how was your first day in the house?”
Mary told Joe about Linda and the nice talk they had, and her plan to take Christopher to the school since it was right down the street. “I’ve never been happier Joe. You’re the best.”
* * *
“I must admit, Mrs. Adams,” said Mrs. Albright, the school administrator. “You’re more than right. Christopher is exceptionally gifted. I’d like to have him take some tests so as to better place him where he will benefit the most. The fall term starts in two weeks. I would like to see him start then.”
“I would like that very much, but,” Mary hesitated. “Well you see, there’s a problem. I don’t have any way to get Christopher here or to pick him up after school.”
“That won’t be a problem,” Mrs. Albright responded. “We have transportation available for people in just such situations. The school provides the service for free.”
“That would be wonderful. When do you want to give Christopher these tests?” Mary asked.
“He can take them right now, if you’d like. They’ll only take about an hour. I’ll tell you what—I’ll have one of our teachers take Christopher to a vacant room and give him the tests, and while he’s taking the test, I’ll take you to the cafeteria and we can have some lunch. That will give us a chance to talk about his future.”
“My neighbor brought us here today. She’s waiting in the lobby. Let me check with her to make sure she doesn’t mind waiting.”
Mary was barely able to fix dinner before Joe got home. Christopher was upstairs playing with one of his latest puzzle books, so Mary took the opportunity to tell Joe of the day’s events.
“So while Christopher was taking the tests, Mrs. Albright, Linda, and I went to the cafeteria. She told me of several special advanced programs that Christopher could possibly qualify for in the future. She even told me that, when he’s ready, the top colleges and universities will compete for him to attend their school. She said from what she saw today from talking to Christopher, and from the test scores, we can expect him to be high school level by the time he’s ten years old, and maybe college level around twelve or thirteen. Can you believe it, Joe?”
Joe looked both amazed and concerned. “Are you sure we’re not pushing him? Shouldn’t he be playing with other kids his age?”
“That’s one of the best things about the program. Christopher will be with other gifted children his own age. He’ll be able to relate to these other children at the school more than the children he’s known before. Plus, they’ll pick him up in a special bus every day and bring him home, too.”
“It sounds great, honey,” Joe replied. “Are you going to be all right alone every day?”
“Oh, it will only be for a few hours, and besides, I can take care of the housework while he’s at school. Then when he’s home, I can spend more quality time with him, right?” Mary replied.
Two weeks later, Mary walked with Christopher to meet the bus in the morning after Joe left for work. They stood and waited on the little wooden bridge at the end of the driveway until the bus arrived. Mary gave Christopher a big hug and a kiss on the cheek before he boarded and was off to experience his first day at his new school.
Later that afternoon, Mary returned to the bridge to wait for Christopher’s bus to arrive. She did this each school day afternoon. She always greeted Christopher with a similar hug and kiss on the cheek. She made her dinner preparations while Christopher was at school so she could help him with his homework until Joe came home each night. Mary and Christopher grew closer with each passing day.
After dinner each night, Christopher would finish any remaining homework, then go upstairs to his hideaway to work on puzzles. This left Joe and Mary alone together for some time to themselves. Weekends were family time together. Joe always seemed to find something everyone would enjoy. There were state fairs, carnivals, picnics at the beach, drive-in movies, and baseball games. Joe was never at a loss for something to make their weekends special.
Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years. These were wonderful years. Joe and Mary watched as Christopher grew with each passing day. He matured so quickly. As it turned out, Mrs. Albright was right on the money when she predicted Christopher would graduate from high school when he was only twelve. Even before his twelfth birthday, offers were rolling in from colleges and universities all over the country. And not just any schools, but offers came from the best. He received letters from West Point, Notre Dame, MIT, Harvard, and Yale, just to mention a few. It was no surprise. He was a straight A student with an IQ practically off the scale. He also had a near photographic memory. Yet with all this, he was still a humble and somewhat quiet person, with a strong set of morals. Joe and Mary made sure of that.
“Mom?” Christopher looked up from his desk as Mary entered his upstairs room. Joe had turned into a combination bedroom and study over the years. “Can you help me?”
“Sure, Christopher. What is it?” Mary responded.
“Well, all these offers from the different schools are all so nice. They all offer to give me a private room and all my books and study materials free. It’s so hard to decide which would be best for me. None of them is anywhere near here. If there were one near, I’d choose that one so I could be close to home.”
This was the first time Mary saw Christopher confused about what to do. The thought of Christopher being away at school probably bothered Mary more than it did Christopher, but she would never let it show.
“Well, I think the best way to choose would be to first decide what it is that you want to do, then just choose the school that can best help you reach your goals.”
“You know, Mom, people keep telling me how smart I am. I just hope someday I can be as smart as you.”
Mary put her arms around Christopher and held him close. “I love you Christopher,” Mary said as an unseen tear rolled down her cheek. After a few moments Mary stood up. “I’ll leave you alone for a while. It looks like you’ve got some thinking to do. I’m going to make some popcorn for your dad and I. Would you like some?”
“Sure, Mom.” Christopher paused, “and Mom?” Mary, already heading for the stairs, stopped and turned around. “Thanks.”
“I’ll bring the popcorn up when it’s ready,” Mary said as she entered the stairs, stopping again briefly to look back at Christopher. “You’re welcome, honey.”
“Mom, Dad,” Christopher stood halfway between the hallw
ay and the couch where Joe and Mary were sitting watching television. “I’ve decided what I want to do, and where I’m going to go to school.”
Joe got up from the couch and turned the television off. “Well, why don’t you sit down and tell us what you’ve decided,” Joe said.
“I’ve given it a lot of thought and, well, you know how much I like to solve puzzles. So I thought it would be a good idea to work solving puzzles or code breaking. It seems they’re working more and more with computers for high-tech decryption, so I think the best choice would be for me to go to MIT or UCLA. I’ll write to both of them and tell them I’ll be deciding between the two of them.” Christopher paused for a moment, waiting for his parent’s reaction. To him their opinion was very important.
Joe and Mary looked at each other for a moment, then turned to Christopher. “Well, son,” Joe spoke first, “I think you’ve made a very wise and logical choice.”
“Whatever you decide, you know your father and I are behind you one hundred percent,” Mary added.
“Thanks, Mom; thanks, Dad. I’m going to write the letters to them now so I can mail them tomorrow.”
“When you finish, why don’t you come down and watch some television with your father and me?”
“Sure, Mom.” Christopher didn’t particularly care for television much, but he knew he would soon be going away to school, and it was a chance to spend a little time with his parents.
After going over the return letters from MIT and UCLA, Christopher decided to attend MIT. If he was going to work with code encryption of any significance, it meant working with the government and possibly with the CIA or the NSA. In any case, Christopher felt MIT had more to offer him for a future in this type of work. Christopher felt fortunate there was a field he could work in that allowed him to do what he enjoyed.
Christopher continued to attend school year-round as he had for the past seven years. His parents would miss having him there each summer, but he would at least be there for holidays. His studies were too important to take too much time away from school each summer. He knew his parents, especially his mom, would not be overjoyed with this decision, but they had always respected his choices in the past and would continue to do so. Christopher felt fortunate to have such good parents—ones who stood behind him one hundred percent, even if it meant saying goodbye as he left for school.
“You know, if you change your mind and decide to come home for summer vacation, just let me know.”
“I’m going to miss you too, Mom,” Christopher responded. “I’ll be back Thanksgiving and for the Christmas holidays. By the way, what would you like for Christmas?”
“How about a big hug from my favorite son? I’ve got everything else I could ever want.”
Christopher stopped packing for a moment and gave his mother a big hug. “I’ll think of something.”
“As soon as your shirts come out of the dryer, I’ll iron them and bring them right up so you can finish packing. Would you like me to fix you something to eat before we leave for the airport? I could make you a sandwich, or I could heat up some of that chicken from last night.”
“You know how much I love your chicken, Mom. That would be great.”
“Chicken it is. It will take about twenty minutes. I’ll let you know when it’s ready,” Mary responded.
Mary went to the kitchen and put some chicken into the oven to reheat for Christopher, took his shirts from the dryer and ironed them, and took them upstairs. “Here’s your shirts. I think that’s everything. The chicken will be ready in a minute or two, so don’t be too long.”
“I’ll be down in just a minute, Mom.”
Mary put the chicken out for Christopher to start on, then went to answer the knock at the door. “Hi, Linda, come on in.”
“Hi, Mary. I just came by to say goodbye to Christopher, and I brought him some cookies I baked for the trip. You know how bad that airplane food is.” Mary and Linda went into the kitchen and sat at the table with Christopher.
“Hi, Christopher. I came by to wish you luck. I brought you some of my homemade chocolate chip cookies to take with you. I thought you might like some.”
“Sure, thank you, Linda.”
Mary turned to Linda, “Let’s go out on the porch and let Christopher finish.” Turning to Christopher, she said, “We’ll be on the porch, Christopher. There’s more chicken on the stove if you want a second helping. I’ll be on the porch with Linda.”
Once they were outside, Mary told Linda, “I’m really going to miss Christopher.”
“I will too, Mary,” Linda replied. “It seems like only yesterday we went to inquire about his school. Now he is off to college. Time sure seems to fly sometimes.”
After a moment of pondering, Mary broke the silence. “It hasn’t sunk in yet, you know? I can’t believe my baby is going off to college at 12 years old. I thought I was ready for this, but I guess I’m not. I promised myself I wouldn’t cry and I’m not going to. It’s just going to be a little harder than I thought.”
Linda held Mary’s hand and said, “We’re just going to have to spend a little more time together now. What time do you have to leave to take Christopher to the airport?”
“Not for a little while yet. Joe should be getting back from the car wash any time now. He didn’t want to drive Christopher to the airport in a dirty car.” Mary smiled. “Nothing’s too good for his favorite son. Here he comes now,” Mary noted as Joe turned in from the main road and crossed over the little wooden bridge.
Linda gave Christopher a hug while Joe put the suitcase in the trunk for the trip to the airport. “I’m going to miss you, Christopher.” Linda said.
“We better get going if we’re going to get there in time. Don’t want to see your plane leave without you,” Joe said as he closed the trunk.
“I’ll come by later, Mary. Have a safe trip, Christopher.” Linda said as Joe started up the car. As they began to pull away, Christopher turned around and waved goodbye to Linda.
It was a little warmer than normal for the first week of September, which made it a beautiful day for the ride to the airport. At the airport, goodbyes were said and hugs were given. Joe and Mary stood by the large terminal window and looked out as Christopher’s plane was pushed back, and then taxied out, and took off.
“I can’t believe our little boy’s gone,” Mary said as she and Joe walked out to the car.
“He’ll be just fine. I’m sure of it,” Joe reassured Mary.
Once the plane landed and started to unload, Christopher exited the plane and entered the terminal. Even though he seemed caught up in the crowd, he was able to see a sign being held up high that read “Christopher Adams” in big black letters. Christopher made his way through the crowd toward the sign and the person holding it.
“I’m Christopher Adams.” Christopher said looking up at the rather tall young man holding the sign.
“Hello, I’m Phillip,” the young man said as he extended his hand to shake Christopher’s. “Professor Stevens sent me to pick you up. Do you have a claim check for your bags?”
Christopher pulled out his ticket folder with baggage claim stubs stapled to the inside. Once the bags were retrieved, Phillip led Christopher to the parking lot where a new white van with the school logo on the side was parked.
“I’ll take you to your room on campus so you can get settled in a little. Professor Stevens will be by a little later to check in with you.”
The school seemed so big to Christopher—at least a lot bigger than he was used to. Phillip pulled the van into a small parking lot and parked.
“Here we are, Christopher. Your new home. Well, for a while anyway. Come on, let’s get your bags.”
Christopher was surprised at how nice his room was. It was more than just a room—there were several rooms.
“Who else lives here?” Christopher inquired.
“Just you. Very few students get these digs, and those are usually seniors. The rest are teachers. Everybody is
pretty excited to meet you, Christopher. It isn’t every day that we meet a fellow student who is only 12 years old. So you are getting the special treatment,” Phillip said as he set Christopher’s bags down. “I’ll leave you to get settled in.” Phillip handed Christopher a piece of paper. “Here’s my number in case you need anything. If I ’m not there, just leave a message.”
“Thank you, Phillip. Will I see you tomorrow?”
“Probably. Professor Stevens should be by in an hour or so. I’ll see you later, and, it was nice to meet you, Christopher.”
“You too, Phillip. Thanks for the ride. I’ll see you soon.”
Christopher took a quick look around before unpacking. The living room they had entered into was as big as the living room at home. Christopher found a big kitchen with a small eating area. The kitchen was fully equipped with pots, pans, dishes, and silverware. His mom would love it. There was a second room next to the bedroom. It looked as if it might have been a second bedroom at one time, but it was now a study with all the trimmings. There was a large desk with a computer, paper, and pens and even a cork bulletin board on the wall. Christopher smiled. He was going to like this. After a moment, he returned to the living room and took his bags into the bedroom. It, too, was nicely decorated and very complete.
Christopher laid the bags open on the bed and put his clothes neatly in the chest of drawers and closet. He then took all of the papers he had prepared into his study and began filing them as orderly as he always did at home. After he had filed everything away, he opened the folder that was on the desk when he came in. It contained a welcome cover letter and a map of the school showing the locations of the cafeteria, bookstore, on campus living areas, and the different classrooms and labs throughout the school. Christopher quickly located his location on the map, as well as the cafeteria, and the bookstore. He was studying the map, when he heard the doorbell ring.
“Hello, Christopher. I’m Professor Stevens,” said a tall man who seemed to have no pretense.
