But first, he buttered me up with this snazzy artwork, made for Catholic (Cathlec, he writes) School Week's "Parent Appreciation Day."
Art aside, I couldn't even respond to the poor kid's question because (1) I was already choking up and (2) "over my cold, dead body" might scare a six-year-old. Or give him ideas.
And it's not because we're too far, or that it's a bad neighborhood. We're a half-mile away through middle-class, tree-lined blocks. The problem is, I'd be exhausted from bolting from tree to tree, hiding and spying all the way, every day.
Eventually I did answer him, pulling the response from my usual resource: thin air. "When you're in sixth grade and Brother's in fourth, you can walk to school together." Gulp.
That gives us five years to move in with the family next door to Blessed Sacrament. I hope they're nice Cathlec people.
