The Tremendous Turmoil of Indigo

Chapter 3

This was bullshit. Indigo thought to herself as she climbed the stairs, aggravated. She thought this was handled when she talked to Greer's teacher, Ms. Winslow, the last time someone made an ignorant statement to her child.

Three weeks after school resumed in January, a little boy thought it would be okay to tease her for stuttering. He thought wrong because once Thyme let it slip in the backseat as she waited in the car-rider line, Indigo bee-lined to a parking spot and told the teacher exactly how she felt about it. 

She wanted to let Thyme point the boy out so she could give him a piece of her mind and the lecture about tolerance that his parents should've given him, but she ran into the teacher first. It wasn't pretty, but she didn't let any of the four-lettered words that fluttered in her mind spill as she informed the teacher of the magnitude of her seriousness and what would happen if she had to have the same talk again. Well, it looked like that day had come.

Indigo scoffed as she made her way to Greer's room. She knew whom she'd have to visit Monday morning.

Just before going to her oldest daughter's room, she peeked in the nursery on Zane to find him sound asleep in his crib. Then she stood outside Greer's half-opened door, counting to ten, taking easy breaths. She wanted to calm down before going in and didn't want Greer to think she was upset with her. She listened to the old-school track streaming out of the room, steadying the race of her heart.

Indigo walked into the white-walled, oak-floored room with gold accents scattered around it. "I see someone's been borrowing my CDs again." Warmth spread across her face as she settled her sight on Greer stretched across the blush-decorated bed.

"You l-look pretty, mama," Greer said, looking up from her coloring book. "Where are you going?"

"Thank you, baby." She patted Gambit on the head, noting the white hairs around his snout and eyes. "Daddy's taking me to see pretty pictures," she said excitedly, hopping on the plush bed.

With a shimmer in her dark eyes, Greer gasped, "I wanna see pretty pictures, too." She quickly hopped on her haunches—her jet-black, bone-straight ponytail swung. "Can I go?"

"Sorry, little one. Daddy and Mama need some parent time." She caressed Greer's soft cheek as the girl's smile dimmed slightly. "But tomorrow, after our chores, we can go to Pottery Paradise and paint some pretty things of our own."

Greer's mouth ticked up again, "Just m-me and you."

"And Thyme, too."

Greer lay back on her belly, "Fine." She said with little enthusiasm.

"You know this was one of my favorite songs when I was a little older than you," she informed me, nodding to the beat.

"Really." Greer stopped coloring the broccoli-bushed tree, Jungle Green. "Did you know Beyoncé, too?"

"No." She shook her head slowly. "But Saxon had a friend that went to school with one of the girls in the group."

"She did! Cool!"

"Yeah." She pushed the wisp of stray hairs in Greer's face behind her earring-free ear. "So...how was school today?"

Greer's crayon abruptly stopped as her gaze slid up to her, "Thyme told you." She slapped the crayon on the page. "It was a secret."

"We don't have secrets in the house."

"You and daddy have s-secrets."

"We're grown," she concretely informed, straightening her back and steeling her face. We can do things that you can't do. Now...." She scooted further on the bed, closer to her daughter. "I heard what happened at school today."

"It's nothing," Greer muttered as she colored the circular sun Laser Lemon yellow. "It's fine."

She shook her head rapidly, "It's not nothing, and it certainly ain't fine." She took hold of Greer's chin and turned her sad little face towards her. "You're not mismatched, left behind, or out of place. This is your family. You belong here. It's not how you look or what they see." Her heart broke at the tears glistening in Greer's eyes. "It's what's in your heart, and you're right here, sweet girl." She rested her hand on her chest. "Since the first day I held you in my arms." She wiped Greer's tears and then placed a kiss upon her ecru cheek. "I love you."

Greer sniffled, "I love you, too." She whispered back.

"Now, next time—I don't want to hear about anything like this from someone else. You tell me, so I can handle it with a quickness."

Greer pouted, "I'm almost nine. I have to handle these things by myself."

"That's false." She wrapped her arms around Greer and held her firmly in an embrace. "You don't handle these things until you're at least thirty.

"Thirty!" Greer giggled. "That's old, mama. I'd be in college like R-River."

She laughed at her daughter's words as she tickled Greer's back, causing the girl to kick wildly.

Tate poked his head around the cracked door and connected his eyes with Indigo, "Are you ready?"

"Yes," Indigo answered with laughter, clinging to the three letters. She got off the bed and then held out her hand. Greer clasped onto her mother's hand and then jumped off the bed. "I'm going to need you to look after you to look after your sister and cousin. Make sure they don't get in trouble." She led Greer out the room as Tate held open the door, and Gambit followed behind them."

"Aye. Aye. Captain." Greer gave her mother a salute as they trekked down the hallway. 

Do you think Indigo will tell Tate about Greer's playground incident?

Do you think Indigo should meet with the Principal?