Arthur forced his voice to sound casual. “So, did you talk in science class today?”
Milo laid his fork on his plate. “I talked in class.”
“What did you say?” Arthur took a bite of what might have been green beans at one time.
“I said no.” Milo stared at the fork on his plate.
“What question did your teacher ask that you said no to?”
“Mr. Oliver asked if a tree fell in a forest would it make any sound. I said no.”
Arthur smiled broadly and looked at Winnie. Finally they were talking about something she was interested in.
“Did other students say no?”
“Other students said yes.”
“Why did you say no?” Arthur stole a glance at Winnie. Her eyes were still flitting toward Milo.
“Sound is waves. When there’s no ear around to hear sounds, they stay waves. They can’t turn into sound. The ear is necessary. No ear. No sound.”
“That’s very astute, Milo.”
“Astute is good thinking.”
“That’s right. Is that a new word for you, son?” Arthur followed the tangent Milo took.
“No. It’s a new word for Gary.”
“Who’s Gary?” Arthur remembered to take a forkful of food.
Winnie rolled her eyes and slammed back in her chair.
“Gary’s in my history class. Mr. Graham said I was an astute thinker. I told him ‘don’t say thinker after astute. Just say astute. It’s enough’. Gary said astute is the same as stupid. Mr. Graham made him look up astute online and read the definition to the class. Gary learned a new word.”
Arthur eyed Winnie who was now looking everywhere but at Milo. “So, Gary called you stupid. Did Mr. Graham say anything about Gary calling you stupid?”
“No. Gary called astute stupid. Mr. Graham called me astute.”
Arthur leaned forward to help Milo sort out the subtlety of the situation. “Milo, when Gary called astute stupid, he was saying Mr. Graham called you stupid.”
“Mr. Graham called me astute. Gary called me stupid.”
“That’s right. That’s why I asked if Mr. Graham said anything to Gary about calling you stupid.” Apparently Milo didn’t need his help.
Winnie inhaled loudly, put her elbows on the table, exhaled loudly and held her head in her hands.
“Gary always calls me stupid.”
“Did Gary say anything to you after class?” Arthur looked from Milo to Winnie and back to Milo.
“Gary said, ‘You think you’re so smart, McCance. Don’t be fooled by Graham. He thinks you’re stupid too.’”
“Do you think you’re smart, Milo?”
“I know what astute means.”
Arthur smiled again, appreciating Milo’s humor. He glanced at Winnie, hoping she was amused. She wasn’t.
He refocused on Milo. “Do you think Mr. Graham thinks you’re stupid?”
“Sometimes.”
“Has Mr. Graham ever said he thinks you’re stupid?”
“No.”
“Why do you think he sometimes thinks you’re stupid?”
“Mr. Graham looks at me sometimes like Winnie looks at me. Winnie thinks I’m stupid.”
NO!!!!!!! Arthur went into a tailspin. He looked at Winnie, who was still holding her head but with her eyes tilted at Milo who had picked up his fork and was eating again. Winnie put her hands in her lap, slumped in her chair and gazed at Arthur with an expression designed to silence him. Arthur inhaled deeply to calm himself, returned Winnie’s gaze and communicated the truth of Milo’s words with a shrug. Milo never looked at either of them.
Winnie hid her shock that Milo knew she thought of him as stupid.
He’s right, of course, but how could he say something like that out loud? He has no manners.
She held her eye-lock with Arthur. She knew he wanted her to tell Milo he isn’t stupid; that she’s proud of him and how smart he is.
She wanted to tell Milo he was right. She flat-out thinks he’s stupid, stupid enough to announce to whoever’s listening that his mother thinks he’s stupid. She had to nip this now.
“Milo,” she said softly, trying to sound like Arthur, “you’re right. Sometimes I do think the things you say and do are stupid. But there’s a difference between thinking some of the things you say and do are stupid and thinking you are stupid.”
Milo sat very still. He couldn’t remember the last time his mother spoke to him in her soft voice. He didn’t care what she said; he wanted her to keep talking in her soft voice. And then it stopped. He didn’t know what to say.
Taken by surprise at what he interpreted as Winnie reaching out to Milo, Arthur nudged, “Milo, will you answer your mother?”
“No question.”
Panic filled Arthur’s chest. What did Milo mean, no question? It took a lot for Winnie to say what she said to him, why wouldn’t the boy respond?
“Winnie didn’t ask me a question,” Milo repeated.
Arthur looked at Winnie with pleading in his eyes. Please ask him a question, please.
“Milo,” Winnie said, again in her soft voice, “I don’t want you to believe I think you’re stupid. But sometimes I get frustrated with you. Can you understand that?”
Milo raised his head an inch but kept his eyes down.
“You get frustrated with me. You use your ‘I don’t like you’ voice. Mad, sad, glad, or scared. Mad. Now you’re using your soft voice. You stopped using your soft voice.”
“My soft voice? Yes, I guess I am using my soft voice.” She glanced at Arthur. “Do you like my soft voice?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I’ll try to use my soft voice more often with you. Does that sound good?”
“Yes.”
“All right then. You’ve finished your dinner so go up to your room now and do your homework. We can talk more tomorrow. Good night, Milo.”
Milo rose to do as he was told. Arthur said he would be up soon to check on him.
Milo turned and looked at Winnie. For an instant, he looked right at her. “Good night,” he said.
Winnie smiled, or tried to. Her fake smile concealed the screaming in her head. This stupid conversation didn’t mean anything. Milo is Milo and will never change. He’s the one who rejected me and I’ll never forgive him.
Arthur waited until he heard Milo close his bedroom door. “Winnie...”
“Oh don’t even say it!” Anger burned in her eyes, her lips tight, her jaw set. She pushed herself away from the table, plate in hand, and raged into the kitchen.