Author's note: The names of the boys and their families have been changed to protect their privacy.

Part XIII (Final)

       Over the last few years I thought I'd experienced the gamut of emotions in mentoring but there was one more I was about to discover.  Since the meeting I had with Carl were going to be less often, I always looked forward to the trips we planned.

       One such day I had asked him if he would like to come over and spend the night.  We could catch up on old times.  When I went to get him on our arranged date, he was playing with some friends in front of his house.  I got out of my car and he ran away.

       That was odd, I thought.  I called him over and he said he did not want to go with me.
        I checked in with Barbara Jean and she spoke with him and insisted he go.  A couple of minutes later a very sad Carl came moping to my car. He got in the back seat and shut down.

        I didn't fancy spending time with a moping boy, so I asked him what was wrong.  He said "Nothing," and I flashed back to the last time he pulled this silent treatment.  But I remembered my words of wisdom to him in terms of speaking from the heart and continued my solo conversation.

        I eventually got around to asking him if he'd rather stay home and he nodded "Yes."  At this point I just let him go.  When I spoke with Barbara Jean, she was angry at him and sent him
to his father's for a few days.

        It turned out the only reason he did not want to go with me was his friends were going to an arcade and he wanted to join them.  I was bummed for a few minutes, but after two years realized, once again, he is only a child.

        He changed his mind on two other occasions and finally I got the idea of having him promise to call if he did not want to follow though on our plans.

        Jamal and I started seeing each other on a weekly basis.  I'm about to celebrate the fourth anniversary of meeting Carl.   Daily I am reminded of why I chose to be a mentor and how
gratifying it is to know I am making a difference in a child's life simply because I care.