A Story by Jan G. Johnson

Photograph by Christopher Essex

Title Design by Brian Smiley, Age 7

"It's all we've got," his sister Ellie said, smacking her lips. She gulped a mouthful of milk to wash down her sandwich. Ellie was eight.

Jody drove his finger into the soft, wheat bread and pulled it out.

"Why can't you fix good sandwiches like Daddy?" he asked. He inspected the glob of peanut butter that remained on his fingertip. "I miss Daddy," he added with a sigh. The glob sagged and slipped down his finger, leaving a glossy trail of oil. Tail arched her back, moved toward Jody, and crouched.

"We'll see him this weekend," Ellie said, as she disappeared into the kitchen with her empty plate. The weekend seemed a long way off. Jody tried counting the days on his fingers, but lost track when he noticed that peanut butter had spread to both hands.

The cat's long tail twitched back and forth, as she inched closer. Jody had seen Tail do the same thing to a bird in the backyard. That's why dad had put a bell on her collar. "No more birds for you," he'd said.

Tail leaped onto Jody's lap, knocking the plate to the floor, and began licking his fingers. Her raspy tongue tickled as it wound around his fingertips, searching for the last of the peanut butter.

"How was your lunch?" Mom asked, as she stepped over Jody and Tail with an armload of clean laundry. A warm, fresh scent filled the living room. Jody liked the smell of clean laundry.

"Jody said he wanted apple jelly," Ellie said, settling into the rocker with a pad of paper and a pencil.

"I said I miss Daddy, too," Jody said.

Tail had finished licking Jody's fingers and now circled the warm laundry that Mom had dropped onto the couch.

"Write him a letter," Ellie suggested. "That's what I'm doing."

"I can't write," Jody said, feeling sad.

Tail jumped to the top of the pile of laundry and lay down. Her tail twitched, and her head dropped onto the warm clothes. In a minute, she was asleep.

Jody bit into his sandwich and chewed slowly. The peanut butter stuck to the roof of his mouth. He chewed and swallowed but didn't take another bite. Suddenly, he had an idea. Dashing to his room, he searched his toy box until he found a tablet of paper and his crayons.

When he returned to the living room, Mom had moved Tail and was folding clothes.

Jody lay on his stomach and spread his crayons around him. Opening his tablet, he began to draw. After awhile, Tail curled next to him, purred contentedly, and went to sleep.

"Nice picture," Mom said later, leaning over him.

"It's Tail sleeping on the laundry," Jody said. "And this one is a picture of my peanut butter sandwich." He held up the picture for her to see.

"I can see you took only one bite out of it," Mom said.

"That's because I didn't like it very much," he said.

"And what's this one?" Mom asked, pointing to a third page.

"That's Tail's tongue licking peanut butter off my fingers. This wavy line is because it tickled." He sat up and collected the three pictures. "Do you think Daddy will like them?"

"I think he'll love them," Mom said. "I'll get an envelope, and you can mail them today."

Jody thought it was a good idea. He liked writing picture letters to his daddy.

• Use a photo album to save photos of their visits with the other parent.
• Use a scrap book to collect cards and letters sent through the mail.
• As in this story, help younger children record events by drawing pictures and using them as letters.

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