The plot thickens

(I've been dying to write about this since it happened at 11:45.)

Today at the kindergarten pick-up, I was there with the usual two women who come at approximately the same time I do (all the other parents wait in their cars, idling, until well after the dismissal time, which seems a little odd to me, but whatever).  One always has a baby and her 3-year-old twins with her, and she is picking up--get this--her other set of twins.  She's very calm and patient and friendly, which I would not manage with an infant and two sets of twins under age 6.  The other mother was N's mom.

N's mom is one of those sweet people who engages other people's toddlers in conversations, and she greeted Gillian and complimented the baby's blanket.  She asked about our upcoming trip to Disney, which I had mentioned a while back, and we chatted for a few minutes.  Meanwhile, of course, I was mentally trying out and discarding ways to bring the conversation around to her son.  Everything I considered seemed like it might go wrong--like if I said, "Allison Clare really seems to like N," it would be awkward for her if her poor son had been complaining about this girl who wouldn't leave him alone.  Or if I brought up the letter, it might sound like I was bothered by it, when I thought it was actually just funny.

Then, out of the blue, she sad, "N just loves Allison Clare."  And I said, "Oh, she really loves him too!"  And she said that he talks about her all the time, and I said she would be glad to hear that because he had made her this little card, which I described, and she threw her head back and laughed: "I think he was jealous.  Didn't she turn her affections onto somebody else or something?  Another little boy named Beau?  And N--he got a little jealous I think."

In all my speculation, I had never entertained this possibility.  AC has never mentioned Beau.  Then the kids were dismissed and AC and N and a bunch of others all came out, and the two of them called out good-byes to each other. As we were heading back to the parking lot, AC suddenly started calling to N, "Hey, was it true when you invited me to your party?  Was it true?"  And she ran up to him and they talked for a few minutes and she came back happy.  When I was snapping the baby back into his carseat, I looked over at AC and said, "Allison Clare,  I think N really likes you."

AC: Why do you say that?
Me: Oh, just because of how he always says goodbye to you and tries to be friendly to you.
AC: Well, today when he was doing his work, he Xed me out two times!
Me: What do you mean he Xed you out?  Your name?
AC: He Xed me out--like with a line through!  Twice!
Me: He wrote your name down twice and then Xed it out?
AC: Not my name.  Me!  He drew a picture of me and then he Xed it out.  The second time he drew a circle around it with a line through it.  And--I thought that was very hurtful.

I don't know if this was before or after he invited her to his party.

Sam's response to the whole thing was to comment darkly, "I don't like the name Beau."