Big decision
Charlie thought about his mother's words for a moment. Carefully considering his options as it was a big decision he was asked to make. When Jenny saw how seriously he was thinking about it, she took Jason away with her in order to not pressure her son into making his decision right away. It was fine for her if he didn't have a ready answer. It was fine if he needed some time. Even she and Jason needed time to think and discuss it with each other, when it wasn't even their lives that would be directly affected by it. So, she could certainly understand if Charlie needed to think it over as well. As she pulled Jason away with her she said to Charlie, "Take your time honey. Don't worry if you can't find an answer right now. We can keep things as they are for as long as you need BUT it is your decision to make. So, consider your options carefully, though I am sure you are." She blew him a hand kiss and she and Jason left the room. Heading into the back garden to take a walk like they used to do so often. Letting the cold air settle their worries and thoughts.
"How come you suddenly want to send him to a school for advanced children?" Jason asked as they were walking with linked arms. "I just thought that if we were going to change his environment anyways and have him enrolled into a second or a different school, we might as well do it right. You heard him. He feels out of place among regular kids. He feels like he doesn't belong. That won't change if he is a three year old attending classes with six or seven year olds. But if he is among children like himself, that have shared similar experiences, he might start to feel like he isn't the odd one out. He might find a place where he belongs. That way he can reach his full potential, while experiencing child like fun. Maybe even find friends he wants to take home. Instead of just smiling and blending in with the kids in his class because he thinks that is normal."
After voicing her reasons, she said in a more downcast voice, "I can't believe we never noticed. I can't believe we were fooled by his fake smile. Despite having seen so many of those throughout the years. This just proves we haven't been spending enough time with him lately. We have been too busy with our work and whatnot, making us miss that our son was struggling." Jason unlinked their arms as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. He stopped their walk for a moment and held her tightly. A hug which she quickly reciprocated. During their hug Jason told her how he saw the current matters and gave Jenny a different perspective, his perspective.
"It is okay. We know now and we will learn from it. We have to make sure Charlie knows that he can always discuss his problems with us and that we will always be there to help him even if we might seem busy all the time. Because we both know that our busy times aren't about to stop in the near future. So, I think it is better for us to teach him that this is a safe space and teach him how to deal with his problems, than to beat ourselves up over something that has already happened and put our own lives on hold. What good will that do? It won't prevent him from ever facing a difficult situation in the future. Besides, he didn't only say that he didn't belong. He also said he liked it and that he has people to play with. So, I am sure not all the smiles were fake and not all of it was bad. It is just that he is being offered a chance to open up about the bad side. So, he expressed the divide he felt internally."
Jenny knew Jason was right and in a way she knew this as well. It couldn't have been all bad. Charlie had always been excited to go and he was always enthusiastically telling them about his day. If he really had a bad time there, if he really disliked all of it, he wouldn't have gone so readily each day. Plus, she knew she couldn't always solve all his problems. That way he would never learn how to solve problems himself. Creating even more trouble for him when he became older. All she really needed to do was to be there for him and make sure he knew that she was there. Only stepping in when it was something he couldn't do on his own, like changing schools. She just needed to hear these words and luckily she had Jason to say these words to her when she needed it.
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When the two of them returned from their walk, Charlie had made his decision. After asking the two of them a few more questions, he said that he wanted to take a look at a school for the gifted. If he liked it, he wanted to go there fulltime. Meaning he would leave kindergarten and that his connected educational track with Sam would finally be broken. When he thought about leaving his only real and his most silly friend Sam, he did feel a bit sad. Though Sam didn't understand him either, he never made him feel bad for being himself. That was what he liked most about him and he was sure that he would be sad when he heard the news. This was what had made him hesitate in the first place but he was sure that Sam would be smiling foolishly at him in no time. If he had to go to a different school anyways, he might as well go there all days of the week. He could play with Sam outside of school and during school Sam had plenty of friends to keep him company. At least this way he might be able to make some real friends as well.