It caught me off guard, seeing Simon standing there in front of me. I felt my chest ache, hoping it didn’t show on my face as I looked up at him. What could I say, after so many years? The last time I had seen him must have been our last year in high school. He hadn’t been quite so tall, his shoulders not as broad. He looked handsome...older.

I was going to make some kind of witty joke—something to mask the awkward, sudden reunion—when I remembered that he had been married.

He had a child, he’d lost his wife...joking was the last thing I should be doing.

Maya jumped between us, breaking the tense and uncomfortable silence as she shouted, “Daddy! Daddy! I want to go home now. I want dinner! Can we have pizza?!”

Seeing her come to life when there were no other kids around made me smile a little, but I couldn’t take my eyes off Simon for very long.

Simon jerked his gaze away from me; he’d been staring just as much as I had, but his daughter’s interruption stole his attention. His eyes warmed as he smiled at Maya. “Sure, kiddo. We can grab pizza on the way home since I was late.”

“Yaaaay!” Maya’s excitement, her hands clapping together, made Simon laugh.

It startled me, seeing that he still had the same smile that I had been confronted with every day in high school. His laugh brought back memories of hallways and small talk at lockers… Had it really been years?

“We can go home in a minute, okay? I just want to make sure you had a good first day! I was worried about you.” He hugged his daughter close for a moment before pulling away. “Did you do anything fun?”

“I drew a picture!” Maya answered proudly.

“That’s great! You’ll have to show it to me.”

“Oh! I have a name tag, too! On my cubby! Come see!”

Simon followed his daughter to the cubbies, amused by her excitement as she told him how much she loved the butterfly sticker. He let her ramble for a minute before he put a hand on her shoulder and gently interrupted her. “I’m glad you weren’t bored. Can I talk to your teacher, kiddo?”

“Mm… guess so,” she grumbled, not sounding happy that he wouldn’t be paying attention to her.

“Thanks, Maya,” Simon said before he walked back over to me, holding Maya’s hand so she would follow along. Though he glanced up at me a few times as he spoke, Simon didn’t seem to be able to hold my gaze for long. “I’m sorry I was late; I didn’t expect to be held up with clients past my normal hours. But Maya looks like she had fun while she waited. How was her first day?”

I felt myself blink rapidly as I broke my gaze from his face, looking instead at Maya. “I think it was to be expected… She’s such a sweet girl.” I glanced back at my desk where I had compiled my notes throughout the day. I fidgeted for a moment, seeing the tiredness in the way his shoulders slumped. “Actually, do you have a moment? I’d like to talk to you about something…”

“Oh? Were there any problems?” Simon asked, defensively. He looked worried, and I could understand why. With the number of times Maya had been moved between classes at her last school, conversations with teachers must not have gone well for him.

Maya whined a little as Simon stood up. “Dad! I want to go home! No talking!” Though she’d hardly spoken a word all day in class, she was being much more talkative now that her father was with her.

“It’s just for a minute,” he promised, giving me an apologetic smile. “I have time. She’ll get extra pepperoni for being patient.”

I tried to give a smile, but my face felt stiff, my heart pounding. Turning away from him I stole a moment to inhale deeply, attempting to calm myself as I grabbed the folder off my desk. I brought it back to him, pushing my glasses up my nose out of nervous habit. “I uh...took the liberty of writing down a few things about her day. She’s very shy, which is understandable given...the...circumstances,” I murmured. How much could I say? I hoped my sympathetic gaze was enough to convey my condolence. “If you have some time tonight, I’d like you to look at my notes and fill out this IEP. I noticed Maya didn’t have one transferred from her last school.”

Simon took the folder to frown at it, puzzled. “I’m sorry, but I have no idea what you’re talking about. An… IEP? The last school never asked me about any of that. They didn’t seem to take much interest.”

My heart broke a little, looking down at the small innocent face of Maya Hayes. ‘They didn’t care? How could they not care? She lost her mother!’ I wanted to say it out loud, let Simon know that I at least cared.

I cleared my throat, swallowing the words as I said instead, “An IEP is an Individual Education Plan. If you fill it out, I’ll know what you feel Maya’s strengths and weaknesses are, and I’ll…” I looked at Simon, watching him scan the contents of the file briefly, looking up for a split second at my silence. I flinched, finding my words as I said quickly, “I’ll be able to give Maya the best education I can.”

“That’s… great. Thanks, I’ll fill that out once she’s tucked in for the night. I want things to go well here, for her sake.” Simon gave me a polite smile, distant and distracted; he was looking down at his daughter. “We’ll bring it back bright and early in the morning for class. Right, Maya?”

The little girl looked up at her dad with a pout. “Fine.”

“Maya…” Simon’s chiding tone turned into a sigh. “Why don’t you get your things so we can go home. Don’t forget your jacket, it’s cold out.”

As Maya called out, “Yes, Dad!” I couldn’t help but feel cold myself. It drew off of Simon as if he I was someone that he’d never even met…

And it killed me.