"I don't want to go!" said Carlos.
"Mijo, I promise you, you'll have a lot of fun at preschool," said Melendez.
"I have fun at Abuelito and Abuelita's house. I don't need preschool to have fun," said Carlos.
"Preschool is easy. All you have to know is the alphabet, numbers, and shapes," said Mei-Li.
"Mei-Li," Lim scolded, "He's nervous. Remember how nervous you were on your first day of preschool?"
"Yeah," said Mei-Li, "But preschool is still easy."
Lim set down two platefuls of waffles and bacon in front of her kids, poured some apple juice for Carlos and Mei-Li, and coffee for herself and Neil. Once the family was seated at the dining room table, Carlos asked, "Mommy, Daddy, what if the teacher isn't nice?"
"Mijo, your teacher is the same teacher Mei-Li had for preschool," Melendez assured his son.
"Ms. Ally is nice. She makes cookies for the class sometimes," said Mei-Li.
"What if I don't make any friends?" asked Carlos.
"Buddy, it might not happen right away, but you'll make friends as you get to know the other kids," Lim comforted.
"What was your first day of preschool like?" Carlos asked everyone at the table.
"Um," Lim stuttered, "Well, honey I was in a different country at the time."
"And honestly, it was so long ago, I don't really remember," Melendez admitted honestly.
"Mei-Li?" Carlos asked.
Mei-Li shrugged, "Ms. Ally had us say our names and tell the other kids what we like, like our favorite color or our favorite holiday."
"We have to get going," said Lim, quickly clearing the dishes and grabbing the kids' book bags. Lim put Carlos's Thomas the Tank Engine book bag on him and Melendez handed Mei-Li her Disney princess lunchbox before they were on their way to school.
They stopped in the front lobby and dropped Mei-Li off at her second grade classroom, "Have a wonderful day, mija. Te quiero."
"Te quiero," responded Mei-Li. She kissed Lim on the cheek before disappearing.
Melendez grabbed Carlos's hand and asked, "Are you ready, Buddy?"
Carlos swallowed nervously, "Yes," his voice quivered.
"Alright then," Lim took his other hand, and the couple led Carlos to the Pre-K 3 classroom. It was brightly colored, with yellow and red and blue and orange tones on the walls. There was a giant calendar pinned to the wall, desks and chairs, a play kitchen, and boxes filled with toys.
Ms. Ally smiled when they walked into the room. She went over to greet them, "Dr. Melendez, Dr. Lim-Melendez, it's nice to see you again."
"You too," nodded Melendez.
Ms. Ally crouched down in front of Carlos and asked, "And what's your name?"
"Carlos," Carlos whispered.
"Hi Carlos, my name is Ms. Ally, and I'm your teacher. We're going to have a lot of fun together this year. Here, let me show you where you can keep your backpack," she led him over to the cubby holes.
Carlos looked back to Lim and Melendez and they both nodded in encouragement before he followed his teacher. She showed him where the cubby with his name was, and after that, he went back over to his parents, "I love you," he whispered.
"We love you too, mijo," said Melendez.
"We'll be back soon to pick you up," said Lim. She kissed his cheek and the parents watched Carlos go over to where some of the children were playing with various cars and trucks before they left, hand in hand.
Later that evening, after Mei-Li and Carlos were home from school and dinner was on the table, Lim asked, "So guys, how was school?"
"Okay," answered Mei-Li.
"Just okay?" asked Lim.
"Mrs. Taylor said we'll be learning multiplication this year," said Mei-Li.
"Well, you know we're here to help you, Princess," said Melendez, "How about you, mijo? How was preschool?"
"Okay," said Carlos.
"Is Ms. Ally nice?" asked Lim.
Carlos nodded, "Yes."
"What did you guys do?" asked Melendez.
"Ms. Ally had us say our names, our favorite color, and what we wanted to be when we grow up. I said my favorite color was green, but I don't know what I want to be when I grow up."
"That's okay, a lot of kids don't know," said Lim, "Did you make any friends?"
"I met a boy named Steven. He likes cars and he wants to be a firefighter when he grows up. His daddy is a firefighter too," said Carlos, "His mommy is a librarian."
"Well, it sounds like you had a good day, Buddy," said Lim.
"It was fun. We also played duck, duck, goose and we drew pictures of our families," said Carlos. He ran to get it without permission, though Lim and Melendez didn't bother scolding him. When he came back, he proudly held up the drawing of all four of them, "See? What do you think?"
"It's beautiful, mijo. I think it would be a nice picture to hang up on the refrigerator," Melendez did so as he spoke.
"Now finish your dinner," said Lim.
Later that night, as Lim was tucking Carlos into bed, she smiled and said, "You know I'm very proud of you, sweetheart."
"Why?" asked Carlos.
"Because I know how scared you were to go to preschool, but you were very brave today," responded Lim.
"You and Daddy are the bravest people I know," said Carlos.
"I wouldn't say that," said Lim.
"You ride a motorcycle," said Carlos, "And you talk about wanting to jump out of airplanes someday."
"Okay, sweetheart, it's bedtime," said Lim, handing Carlos his Buzz Lightyear doll and kissing his temple, "I love you. Have a good night."
"I love you too, Mommy."
