When Emily picked up little Thomas from nursery, her husband William immediately sensed something was wrong. It was plain to see his wife was in an odd, agitated state.
“Has something happened, Emily?” William asked, growing concerned.
“It has, William, it has.” She grabbed his arm and pulled him into another roomaway from their sons ears. “It seems we might be kicked out of the nursery.”
“What?” Williams face fell. “How can that be? We pay the fees on time every month.”
“I dont know if its allowed or not, but the headteacher told mein no uncertain termsthat if we dont get Thomas under control, hell be out like a cork from a bottle.”
“She actually said that?”
“Yes. Word for word. But she whispered it to me privately. And she added that other parents are planning to write a collective complaint. To the authorities.”
“Youre joking!” William listened in disbelief, unable to imagine what their sweet, cheerful little boy could have done. “Why on earth would they want to complain?”
“Because Thomas keeps hitting all the children in his group.”
“Our Thomas?” William nearly laughed but caught himself. “That tiny, scrawny little boy? Hes hitting everyone?”
“Yes! The headteacher says hes lashing out left and right!”
“Even the girls?”
“I dont know!” Emily replied nervously. “I didnt ask. As soon as I heard, I was in shock. I grabbed Thomas and rushed home. William, if they expel him, what will we do? Where will we send him? Id have to quit my jobor you would. How would we pay the mortgage then? Im already losing my mind…”
“Hold on, dont faint just yet!” William frowned. “First, we need to understand whats going on with our son.”
“I asked him on the way home, but he wont admit to anything. He just clams up and puffs out his cheeks.”
“You asked him. Now its my turn.”
When William entered the playroom, Thomas was happily playing with his toy cars as if nothing had happened.
“Right, Thomas, we need to have a serious talk,” William said sternly.
“Uh-huh,” the boy muttered automatically, not looking up from his game. “Go on, Dad.”
“First, stop playing,” William said, even more firmly.
“William, speak to him calmly!” Emily chided from behind him.
“Yeah, Dad, speak calmly,” Thomas parroted mockingly, still fiddling with his toy.
“Tell me and Mum the truthwhy are you hitting the other children at nursery?”
Thomas froze, the car still in his hand. He refused to meet his fathers eyes.
“Do you hit the girls too?”
“No, I dont hit girls,” Thomas whispered. “They dont deserve it.”
“So the boys do?”
“Definitely.”
“And why, if its not a secret?”
Thomas gave his parents a defiant look.
“What if it is a secret?”
The way he stared made William falter for a moment, but he quickly steadied himself.
“Thomas, youre my son, arent you?”
“Well, yeah.”
“If youre my son, then we shouldnt have secrets from each other.”
“From you, Dad, sure,” Thomas admitted reluctantly. “But from Mum…”
“What?” Emily gasped. “You have secrets from me, Thomas?”
“Uh-huh.”
“But why?”
“Because theyre… man things.”
“Ah, man things.” William winked at his wife. “Sorry, love, but if these are proper man secrets, youd better leave us to it.”
“Fine,” Emily huffed, making a face before leaving the room.
“And no eavesdropping!” William called after her. Then, lowering his voice, he turned back to his son. “All right, mate, spill. Why are you hitting the boys at nursery?”
Thomas sighed heavily, then muttered, barely audibly, “They keep hugging her.”
“Who?” William frowned.
“The boys.”
“Who are they hugging?”
“Miss Davies.”
“Whos that?”
“Our nursery assistant. She pats their heads, and they hug herreally tight.”
“And?”
“It makes me angry.”
Williams eyes lit with understanding. “Why?”
“Because I should be the only one who hugs her.”
“Whys that?”
“Dad,” Thomas said, looking genuinely hurt. “How can you not get it? Youre the only one who hugs Mum! I do too, but Im her son. Other men dont hug her!”
“But Mums my wife,” William said, amused.
“Miss Davies is going to be my wife,” Thomas muttered. “When I grow up. Im going to marry her.”
William bit back a laugh. “Ah, so thats ityouve got a crush on her, eh?”
Thomas nodded miserably.
“And youre jealous.”
“But you get jealous of Mum too,” Thomas muttered in his defence.
“Me?”
“Yeah. You and Mum argue about it all the time.”
William sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Well, son, looks like youve inherited our family flaw. Believe it or not, my dad was the same, and so was his father. All the men in our family have suffered with it.”
“Suffered?” Thomas looked puzzled.
“You bet. Jealousys a nasty thing. But what do we do now? If you keep walloping those poor lads, youll be thrown out of nursery.”
“I dont care! No one else should touch her!”
“But if youre expelled, youll never see her again. They wont let you back in.”
“Never?” Thomas asked, his voice trembling.
“Never. Look, Thomas, I understandbut hitting the other boys isnt the answer. Women get to choose who they hug, not us.”
“But she doesnt choose. She hugs everyone. And I dont like it.”
“Thats her job, son. Part of being a nursery assistant is giving every child a cuddle now and then. Understand?”
“Thats her job?”
“Exactly. Does she hug you?”
“Yeah.”
“There you go. She has to hug the others too. If she stops, she could lose her joband then youd never see her again. So youll have to put up with it.”
Thomas considered this. “So she only hugs them because she has to?”
“Absolutely. She doesnt have a choice.”
“Really?”
“Cross my heart.”
Thomas sighed. “Fine. Then I suppose its okay. But does she have to kiss them too?”
William stifled a grin. “If the job requires it.”
Thomas wrinkled his nose. “What a strange job. Well, maybe Ill think twice about marrying her then.”
From the next day onward, no more complaints about Thomas reached the headteachers desk.
The lesson? Love, even in its earliest and simplest form, teaches us patienceand sometimes, the hardest battles are the ones fought inside our own hearts.
