A/N: rated for one bad word, used twice. Happy Birthday, Laura!
Emma tapped her fingers against the passenger's side door, strumming her impatience with every tap. "Will this light ever turn green?" she snapped finally.
Sean sighed, beyond certain that it was a wise idea to take his wife's keys from her. If she had been behind the wheel he had no doubt they would have run this light already.
"Em, it's on a timer. Just like the twelve before that," he mentioned with a smile.
"How can you be so calm? Aren't you worried about her?" Emma asked, frustrated.
Sean didn't answer immediately, too busy checking the intersection before accelerating. "Finally!" he heard Emma mutter.
"Emma, they told us it wasn't an emergency. They told us not to be worried," Sean finally answered. "I still don't understand why I had to take off work."
Emma snorted. "Like you do anything these days. The garage practically runs itself."
Sean bit back a response, knowing that Emma was too worried to think about what she was saying. If his garage ran smoothly, it was because of the work that he and Jay had put into it since breaking off on their own and not because it was easy.
"Why aren't you worried?" she asked him suddenly, quietly. Sean looked over, afraid it might be a dangerous quiet. When his wife got quiet during an argument, he usually ended up with an extra two weeks of dish duty.
"Because I know our daughter. And I know she can take care of herself," Sean shrugged, finally turning into the school parking lot. "Or maybe because I imagine my parents got called down for parent teacher conferences quite often and I don't want to overreact the way they did."
Sean pulled into a spot and put the car in park. His wife's hand found his as he set the parking break and squeezed lightly. He looked up to find her smiling at him.
Slightly unnerved by the honesty he saw in her eyes, he quickly looked away. "Of course, not even I was called into the principal's office on the first day of school. It was only what? Two hours long?"
He got out of the car before Emma registered what he said, knowing that her worry would have increased double fold. Sure enough, he could hear her shrieking "SEAN HOPE CAMERON!" even after slamming the door behind him.
Sean knew the presence of the many children playing in the schoolyard next to them was the only thing that kept Emma from telling Sean exactly what she thought of his parting remarks.
He had the presence of mind to wait for her at the doorway though, and the two walked into the quiet school building holding hands, a united front as parents. Sean could almost feel Emma tense up as they entered the school office.
"May I help you?" the school secretary barely looked up from her free cell game as the Camerons entered.
"We're Sean and Emma Nelson," Emma introduced. "Well, I'm Emma. He's Sean. I mean . . . we're Juliet's parents?"
The woman looked up from her computer to stare at them appraisingly in a way that made Sean more than a little uncomfortable. What exactly had Juliet done? "Ms. Twinning is waiting for you inside," She finally answered. She nodded her head to a door on the other side of the office.
Emma seemed frozen on the spot, so Sean strode towards the door, tugging gently on their interlocked hands until she followed. He was acutely aware of the secretary's eyes following their every move and despite what he told his wife it made him nervous for the first time.
Inside the small principal's office was a tall thin woman. Her dark hair was cut short and her glasses made her eyes hard to see. Her mouth was set in a firm line. Immediately, Sean knew that Ms. Twinning was not someone who was used to being disobeyed. He also had the sinking sensation that he was about to become very familiar with her over the coming year.
He turned his gaze to his daughter. Juliet sat across from her principal, letting her short chubby legs swing back and forth. She was watching her shiny new Mary Janes catch the overhead light as if entranced. Her blonde curls and brown eyes giving her face a cherubic look, particularly as she turned and upon seeing her parents broke into a wide smile that revealed one missing front tooth. "Hi, Mommy! Hi, Daddy!" she called out, seemingly oblivious to the tension emitting from the grownups in the room.
Despite already being told that their child was unhurt, Sean felt Emma relax upon seeing Juliet whole and unnoticeably harmed. It was a momentary relief, however, as she tensed again upon meeting the principal's glare. "Mr. and Mrs. Cameron, I presume?"
Emma nodded and Sean stuck his hand out for her to shake. Ignoring it, she gestured to the seat next to Juliet. Emma instead picked Juliet up and placed her child on her lap, leaving the other seat free for Sean. He wouldn't have thought it possible, but the principal's mouth set into an even thinner line at the action.
"Mr. and Mrs. Cameron, I have been principal at this school for almost ten years. Before that I was a teacher here for twenty. In all my years, I have never met a kindergartner as disruptive as your own," she began.
Sean could almost see Emma's motherly instincts start to flare up at her words and he grabbed her fingers tightly to try and keep her from making this worse. "With all due respect to your experience, Ms. Twinning, I find it hard to believe you could pass judgment so quickly. It was only two hours!"
Ms. Twinning just smiled and for some reason that was a scarier sight then her grimace. Sean suddenly felt like he was twelve again, waiting for Mr. Simmonds to expel him from Wasaga Beach high school. "Why don't I explain the situation, Mrs. Cameron, before you accuse me of a rush to judgment?"
Emma nodded, giving her own icy smile right back. Sean was suddenly both very proud of my wife and impressed she had the foresight to sit Juliet on her lap where her little girl could not see Mommy's angry face.
"Today at dismissal a child decided to see if Miss Cameron's hair would spring like a spring," Ms. Twinning began. "Your daughter did not much care for being touched and pushed him away from her."
"See, she was provoked! It sounds like you should have the little boy's parents in here and ask him to keep his hands to himself!" Emma burst.
It was rather rare that Sean was the one to keep his temper and only in situations where Emma's mama bear tendencies were brought into play. He sensed, however, that this was one of these times. He held up a hand to stop Emma, signaling that he would take it from here.
"Principal Twinning, with all your years of experience, I'm sure that kindergarten hair pulling and shoving is far too minor to attract your personal attention," he flattered. Years of working with surly auto mechanics and cranky customers had taught him a thing or two about people skills. After all, you attract more flies with honey.
"You are correct, sir," Ms. Twinning replied, gracing Sean with a genuine smile, no less frightening than her other. "As I was explaining before your wife interrupted, your daughter pushed the boy. A teacher arrived to break up the altercation in time to hear your daughter ask him to keep his hands off her, using a bad word."
Emma shot an accusatory glance his way. "Juliet has been spending time with some older cousins," Sean admitted, thinking back to the weekend before when she had spent a Saturday at Jay's house with his son. "We've been having trouble getting her to stop using the second grade insults."
"With all due respect, Mr. Cameron, I doubt any school child taught your daughter the word she used. I don't like to get involved with what goes on in our children's homes, but I really must request you think of your daughter's best interest. Please try to refrain from using profanity in the home," Ms. Twinning wasn't even attempting to include Emma in the conversation any more and Emma was clearly fed up.
"We don't use profanity, Ms. Twinning, I can assure you," she answered, adopting Sean's kiss up tone.
"Oh really? Then where did your daughter ever learn the phrase – and please forgive its crudeness – get your fucking hands off me?"
The rest of the meeting Sean felt passed in a blur. Emma was too mortified to say anything, Sean himself was repeatedly apologizing and the principal didn't say much. She just smiled smugly at the two of them. As for the little potty mouthed child she continued to swing her feet, twirling her mother's long blonde hair around each of her chubby little fingers, oblivious to the storm she had caused.
When it finally came time to leave, the Cameron family scurried out of the school as fast as possible; a mixture of embarrassment and relief present in all three members. The ride home was just as tense as the ride to school as Sean could practically feel Emma's anger towards his best friend grow.
Sure enough, as soon as they pulled into the driveway, Emma had unlatched Juliet's safety restraints. "Honey, run in and see Auntie Manny. She's playing with your baby brother, but I know she's dying to see you, too."
"What about you, Mommy?" Juliet asked, trying to untangle a stray hair or two from the buckle.
"Mommy and Daddy are going to have a little talk. We'll be right in," Emma reassured her daughter, the smile not quite reaching her face.
Emma waited until they had watched Juliet safely enter the house before turning on him. "She's never going to be alone with him again. And if I hear another filthy word come out of his mouth in either of my children's presence, then he has his visiting rights revoked."
"Em, come on, we don't know for sure it was Jay," Sean protested but it sounded weak, even to him. Emma knew it and pressed her advantage staring him down. "Fine, it was probably Jay. But even so, he's my best friend, Em. He co-owns the garage. And he loves those kids as if they were his own. He'd do anything for them."
"Then he can watch his mouth around them," Emma responded sharply. "Sean, I will not be called back into that woman's office. It's the first day of kindergarten. Juliet will not be a problem child in school and that's final. He cleans up his act or he stays away. Call him tonight and tell him."
Emma didn't leave Sean any time to argue even if he did have one planned as she slammed the car door and stomped toward the house. He had no choice but to follow her reluctantly. The last thing he wanted was for his beautiful, smart, confident daughter to follow in the footsteps of her old man.
He entered the house and heard voices from the kitchen. Juliet was sitting on Manny's knee telling her how her day had gone. "And then he pulled my hair, Auntie Manny!" Juliet whined.
"Oh, no, cupcake. What did you do?" Manny asked, eyes wide in pretend shock.
"I did just what you told me to." Juliet replied proudly.
From across the kitchen, Sean heard Emma's teacup clatter to the ground. "What . . . what you told her to?" Emma asked, shakily.
"Yup," Juliet repeated proudly. "Auntie Manny told me if any boys pushed me around to shove them and tell them to keep their fucking hands to themselves."
Manny to her credit had the grace to look absolutely mortified. Emma however, was red faced with embarrassment. Sean tried hard not to laugh as he stared at his wife. "Still want me to call Jay?"