Chapter 3

She was pleased over the next couple of weeks to see the Pastor had done as promised. Both boys were better dressed and Dean seemed to be awake and geared to go in the morning and with a suitable lunch, nothing fancy but filling and with a degree of nutritional balance. She noticed that although clearly put together by the Pastor himself, it was a lunch Dean could have prepared for himself. She thought it was sad that the Pastor believed that to be the best way to solve the problem, but if a parent couldn't be relied on, she supposed at least this way, Dean would know how to make a lunch that would give some balance to his diet.

It was with some sadness that she let the children out one Tuesday evening and heard Dean's excited cry of "Dad!". She looked up to see the grim-faced man watching her. "Mr Winchester, good to see you again."

As Dean got free of the crowd of children, he ran to his father and she was upset to see his father lift a hand to stop him. Dean slowed and stood before his father waiting.

"Good to see you, soldier. Have you been working hard?"

"I'm glad you're back, sir. Yes sir, I've worked hard. Haven't I?" As he asked, he turned to his teacher for confirmation.

"You've worked really hard, Dean. I'm pleased with all your work. You've come on a lot with your reading too, all that extra practise at home has helped as well. Mr Winchester, Dean has been reading nightly with Pastor Jim and all their hard work seems to be paying off." She figured that having taught for this long the occasional parental guilt trip was deserved.

"Good to hear. It's about time your reading improved. I was beginning to wonder when you'd get it sorted, lad." He switched his attention from the child to the teacher. "You must be doing your job properly, not like some of the flighty young things he's had before as teachers."

"Mr Winchester, Dean has been trying very hard and both the Pastor's support and encouragement at home and the work in school have enabled Dean to begin to develop some confidence in his ability to do this."

"Of course. Come on, Dean. Sammy's waiting with Jim in the car." She saw the first sign of affection the man had show to his son as he ruffled the boy's hair then put his hand on his shoulder to guide him away to the car. She noticed how the child's face shone with happiness at this small show of affection.

It was the following Monday that Pastor Murphy approached her after school. "I just wanted to say thank you for your support of Dean," he said, "I'm so impressed by how much he is blossoming under your tutelage."

"It's the support from home that makes so much difference."

"I'm sorry to say that I am leaving to return home tomorrow, however, I would like to leave my contact number in case of any difficulties. Any concerns at all, please do not hesitate to contact me."

"Thank you for that, Pastor. It is much appreciated."

"I have talked to John and tomorrow all being well, he will ask to make some amendments to Dean's registration form. He wishes to add two further names of adults who may come for the lad. We shall make every effort to keep our net tight, shall we say?" He raised his eyes and indicated the child beside him.

"That will be fine and again, thank you." He nodded. "Will we see you again, Pastor?"

"I hope so, Ma'am." He put his hand on Dean's shoulder and pulled him close as he said, "I'm hopin this young man is going to read me plenty more stories. I have suggested to John that the boys might like to visit with me next weekend. We are having a church fair, we might even be able to get this young man some books of his own to read, some he's chosen." She saw excitement and adoration in the waiting child's eyes.

It was only a matter of days before it became clear that Dean was making his own lunch. The teacher was relieved to see all the main ingredients still included but she noted the childish cutting of the bread and fruit. She kept a close eye on the boy for bruising but was relieved to see nothing out of the ordinary. A bigger concern were the mornings Dean arrived at school yawning and tired. There appeared to be no pattern to it but she was almost sure it was as if some nights he got no sleep at all.

His routine on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday varied continually, some nights his father would be stood waiting and others he would rush away alone. On Wednesday, however, he was always picked up. Sometimes it was the Pastor, but there were now two other men who came for him. One was a friendly looking bearded older man called Bobby, the other a somewhat austere bald man the boys referred to as Caleb. Despite the differences in appearance and personality, all three without fail greeted Dean with a smile and a ruffle of the hair or an arm around the shoulder and his teacher knew that Wednesday's book would always be read with confidence and enthusiasm on Thursday morning indicating it had been read and practised the evening before.

The Pastor had failed to convice John to bring the boys to him each weekend but at least once a month, Dean returned on Monday talking of time spent with Pastor Jim.