Present Day
"Jacob! We're going to be late!" Helga called upstairs. Her blonde hair was up in a ponytail and she was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and a pink tank top. "Do you want to be late?" She called again as she heard a patter of tiny feet running down the steps.
"Coming, mommy!" The little boy called back as he skidded to a stop in front of the door with a grin. He was the color of a very light coco with dark brown eyes and spiked black hair. He looks so much like Gerald. The thought caught Helga off guard. She hadn't really thought about him in a long time, hell Gerald didn't even know he was a father.
"Let's see." Helga kneeled down in front of him and smiled. He was wearing a Superman t-shirt and jean shorts with black sneakers and had a Superman backpack. All set for his first day of first grade. "You look great little man." She kissed his cheek and stood again. Soon he was settled in to the car and Helga started towards the school.
They had moved to this area over the summer. It had been hard to finish off her two year degree with having to take care of Jacob but she had no regrets. They had gotten through it- admittedly Helga had confessed to Phoebe what happened after swearing her to secrecy and her best friend did help out a bit when she had breaks from school.
Helga had taken an at home columnist job, the central office was in this city and she would have to come in a couple times a month just to review different things. The change would be good though for the both of them.
Once they got to the school Helga walked him in to the school and after asking him for the fifth time if he was sure that he was okay here outside his classroom with the other children she left, headed back home to get to work on her column and try to unpack some more.
Gerald never imagined he would end up teaching, much less teaching primary school. He had gone off to California to go to business school and had happened to get stuck with child development as an elective. Needless to say Gerald found he actually enjoyed being around kids and teaching and they weren't nearly as annoying as he thought they would be.
So Gerald found himself somewhere in the middle- between Cali and New York- teaching first grade at a small school in a nice town. The first bell rang and the children were all settled in their assigned seats. He introduced himself and then explained that when he said their names they would stand up and say one thing about themselves.
"Hi, my name is Joy. I like cats!"
"My name is Robbie and I have two sisters."
"My name is Jacob and I love Superman."
Gerald watched as the boy, Jacob, sat down and smiled. "Heather?" He called out next, but his thoughts went back to the boy. He looked strangely familiar. His eyes drifted back down to his role call. He had only been paying attention to first names but now he looked to the last names. Jacob Pataki. Pataki! Gerald's eyes went wide but then he shook his head a bit. Nah, not a chance. Helga was white as snow…and she would never have kids. She had said it a thousand times when they were in school.
Sometimes Gerald wondered what happened to her, how she was doing, but they were just fleeting thoughts. At the end of the day, Gerald was standing outside the school entrance with some other teachers for the Parent Pick-Up. Jacob was one of the kids and he was subconsciously hoping to get a glimpse of whoever picked him up.
A light blue van pulled up and Jacob stood up. "Bye Mr. J!" He called and hurried over to the van-excited to tell his mother about his day and his new teacher.
Gerald gave a wave and looked to the windshield, but it was hard to tell- the windows were tinted and the driver was wearing sunglasses- but it was definitely a woman.
Inside the car, Helga had spotted Gerald as soon as Jacob opened the door and she nearly went pale. He hadn't seen her though- or at least hadn't noticed her. What was he doing here?! He looked like he worked there though. She shook it off and started driving after Jacob was buckled in, smiling slightly and asking him how his day went…but she was distracted, racking her brain, trying to figure out how Gerald ended up working at a primary school. This primary school of all places!
