Chapter Fourteen

After the field trip Joshua decided to go to the park before he went home

He spent an enjoyable afternoon playing alone on the playground equipment there 

 When he got home that evening, he told a ghost story to Cosmo

 Seeing Joshua talking to thin air while she ate her dinner worried Jo, Joshua didn't seem to have any real friends, playing alone or with this imaginary friend...

 She went to bed worrying about it 

 While Joshua happily dreamed of aliens and monsters 

 Next morning he ate some leftovers and did the washing up

 While Jo read in bed

 In the kitchen he told Cosmo how he worried about his mother and how stifled and shut in he felt at school - he didn't know anyone there and didn't feel like he fit in

 Cosmo suggested that he skip school if he hated it that much, so Joshua pretended he was leaving for the school bus but instead went exploring, he found a moth at the corner of the road by their house

 But decided that was too close to home and he was too likely to be seen, so he wandered off to explore the fields and woods instead

 After a while he found an old abandoned house, with no modern amenities, but a wonderful garden and a fish pond out the back, Joshua decided he wanted to learn to garden when he grew up, it seemed like such a peaceful occupation and he wouldn't have to deal with other people

 He spent the rest of the morning fishing and, although he struggled at first, enjoyed himself

 He even caught several frogs 

Meanwhile Jo had eaten breakfast, still in her dressing gown

 And spent the day reading as it was her day off

 After a while, Joshua grew bored of fishing and decided to do some more exploring 

 After a while he found himself at another pond where, after some frustration, he caught some goldfish

 When he got home, Jo was waiting for him 

 "I had a phone call from the school Joshua, where were you all day?"

 "I felt so shut in at school and Cosmo suggested I skip for the day so I did, I needed time and space to think and you don't get that at school"

 "Oh Joshua, you need to go to school, you can't just run off and do what you want, I was so worried about you"

 As Jo pretended to read (but really worried about Joshua, blaming herself for everything), Joshua disposed of the old newspaper

 Cleaned the dishes (again)

 And scrubbed the toilet

 When he was finished with that, he dressed up as an astronaut and acted out his dreams from the previous night before Jo read him to sleep

 Next morning Joshua talked things over with Cosmo, he needed to go to school but his mother needed looking after, she hadn't done anything yesterday and she'd still been in her dressing gown when he got home!

 Eventually they agreed he should leave Jo with a note...

"Dear Mummy, I've gone to school today like you said I should, there's no food left in the fridge (I hope that means you cleared it out last night cos it was going off) so you need to make some more.  You also need to shower and dress and get out the house for a bit.  Lots of Love, Joshua"

 So Jo did what Joshua had told her, making some autumn salad and putting it in the fridge (she hadn't cleaned it out last night - she'd eaten the last of the pancakes despite them having gone off....)

And she went down to the Consignment Store and bought a couple of new toys for Joshua

  After school, Joshua played on the swings in the park 

 When he got home he asked his mother how her day had been

 And they ate dinner together

 After which Joshua did the dishes

 And cleaned the sink

 Before playing with his new dollshouse while Jo curled up on her bed