Crow smiled and his eyes suddenly brightened a bit with tears. He reached down to hug Alexander. "Can't kid. Gotta go to work. Little League starts in a few days though, I'm taking off work to watch your first game."
"But I don't want to go alone." Alexander insisted, dismissing the Little League bait without a word.
"Well there will be lot's of kids there." Crow said. "You're never alone when you're at school."
Alexander pointed to the pad Crow had set on the edge of the bed. "Were you able to get that working?"
Crow sighed lightly. Relieved that the topic was changing to something he could actually win on, Crow picked up the thin device of black plastic that was composed mostly of a large touch screen LCD. He wiped a smudge off the screen and checked that the switch on the side was firmly off. Alexander pulled the backpack open again and they tucked it inside.
"The battery was out again, but you should have another few weeks on it." Crow said. "I've disabled games on it though except outside of school hours." He put up his hands in mock exasperation. "Come real, kid. You can't play games at school." A smile lit Alexander's face at the repetition of his own slang back at him. Crow grinned at him, and the cynic's voice inside reminded him that in about ten years, there would be no greater mortal sin to Alexander's ears.
"Anyway," Crow continued and zipped the backpack shut. "I put Lord of the Rings on there for you to start reading if you want to. I know you finished the Hobbit last week." Alexander's eyes lit up in eagerness. Crow remembered the way the kid had devoured books at the age of two, his coworkers had mentioned that was absurdly young, but Crow did not press the issue. Another parent might have pushed him into school, gotten IQ tests to satisfy their genetic pride, but Crow had read too many horror stories of kids going to college at twelve and hating their parents for their missing childhood. He's all I've got, I won't push him away by pushing him too hard. Let him find his own way, push him only when he won't push himself.
"Have a good first day, kid, I'll see you tonight." Crow ruffled his hair and nodded for Nan to take over and lead Alexander on to the bus stop.
He made his way to work on the tram, and sat through hour after hour of exhaustion. A two hour lunch staring at books in the store across the street from International Robotics made it pass a little faster, but he ended up back at his desk oin a misery of half-sleep. Crow struggled against the determined weight of his eyelids, his daily after-lunch ritual compounded by the fact that the coffee machine had gone on the fritz, so there was no awake-juice from the teats of Columbian beans to enforce consciousness if not alertness. He flagged down Charlie outside the door of his office.
"I'm going down to the Hole for some coffee." Crow said. "I don't have any appointments do I?"
"But I don't want to go alone." Alexander insisted, dismissing the Little League bait without a word.
"Well there will be lot's of kids there." Crow said. "You're never alone when you're at school."
Alexander pointed to the pad Crow had set on the edge of the bed. "Were you able to get that working?"
Crow sighed lightly. Relieved that the topic was changing to something he could actually win on, Crow picked up the thin device of black plastic that was composed mostly of a large touch screen LCD. He wiped a smudge off the screen and checked that the switch on the side was firmly off. Alexander pulled the backpack open again and they tucked it inside.
"The battery was out again, but you should have another few weeks on it." Crow said. "I've disabled games on it though except outside of school hours." He put up his hands in mock exasperation. "Come real, kid. You can't play games at school." A smile lit Alexander's face at the repetition of his own slang back at him. Crow grinned at him, and the cynic's voice inside reminded him that in about ten years, there would be no greater mortal sin to Alexander's ears.
"Anyway," Crow continued and zipped the backpack shut. "I put Lord of the Rings on there for you to start reading if you want to. I know you finished the Hobbit last week." Alexander's eyes lit up in eagerness. Crow remembered the way the kid had devoured books at the age of two, his coworkers had mentioned that was absurdly young, but Crow did not press the issue. Another parent might have pushed him into school, gotten IQ tests to satisfy their genetic pride, but Crow had read too many horror stories of kids going to college at twelve and hating their parents for their missing childhood. He's all I've got, I won't push him away by pushing him too hard. Let him find his own way, push him only when he won't push himself.
"Have a good first day, kid, I'll see you tonight." Crow ruffled his hair and nodded for Nan to take over and lead Alexander on to the bus stop.
He made his way to work on the tram, and sat through hour after hour of exhaustion. A two hour lunch staring at books in the store across the street from International Robotics made it pass a little faster, but he ended up back at his desk oin a misery of half-sleep. Crow struggled against the determined weight of his eyelids, his daily after-lunch ritual compounded by the fact that the coffee machine had gone on the fritz, so there was no awake-juice from the teats of Columbian beans to enforce consciousness if not alertness. He flagged down Charlie outside the door of his office.
"I'm going down to the Hole for some coffee." Crow said. "I don't have any appointments do I?"
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