Orange shag carpeting and dark paneled walls, a glass topped brass coffee table with a heavy green ashtray, a dog-eared stack of magazines, and Raymond, all sitting in Clifford Klein’s waiting room. Macrame hangings and bedraggled asparagus ferns, the dusty decor bored Raymond. In a corner a large basket of grubby gnawed wood blocks made Raymond grimaced.

“Mrs. Johnson, Ray is a good boy, very polite. But he’s struggling in first grade. These worksheets are half finished. From this work I surmised that Raymond is struggling to decipher letter shapes. We are looking at a reading disability and possibly ADD. Look here at these test scores,” Dr. Klein said, school psychologist.

“Well Raymond I think doesn’t test well. But he loves stories. I read to him and—“ Mrs. Johnson said.

“Now is his father in the picture?” Mrs. Kelly asked.

Raymond sighed. He went through the stack of periodicals, Highlights, Readers’ Digest, Boy’s Life, Ladies’ Home Journals, National Geographic, as his mom and the other grownups talked in the other room. Raymond selected a magazine

“Miss Kelly, you met Raymond’s father at parent teacher night. Tall guy, beard. What are you saying is wrong with my Raymond?” Mrs. Johnson said.

“Not wrong, Mrs. Johnson, but a smaller classroom, where Raymond can received more focused attention so he can catch up with his classmates,” Dr. Klein spoke softly as if to an addlepated child.

“Do you have books in your home? We could arrange for the school librarian to donate some books,” Mrs. Kelly said sympathetically.

“We have books in our houses, lots. I just said I read to my boy each night. He loves stories!” Mrs. Johnson’s voice began to rise.

“Let’s bring Raymond from the waiting area and prepare for the next stage. Shall we?” Dr. Klein said, making a little notes.

“Have you considered a different school that meets Ray’s special needs?”

Looking from teacher to psychologist, Mrs. Johnson sputtered. Raymond pushed aside a pissy throw pillow and settled back with his National Geographic. The teacher and the doctor go into waiting room.

“Hey, Ray, would you like to come back here to meet Dr. Klein. Do you like looking at the pretty pictures?” Mrs. Kelly said.

Mrs. Kelly and Dr. Klein gulped.

“Actually I was reading about matrilineal power structure in Papua New Guinea. Fascinating. Can I borrow this Doc to finish later?” Raymond said tucking the magazine under his arm and heads into the testing room.