Summer at Fraser’s Mill

An Evening In

T he sun beat down in the parking lot as Grace loaded groceries into her car. That car had seen her through the last three years. It had 150,000 miles on it, but it still ran fine. The car’s air conditioning didn’t work, but Grace didn’t mind. She liked fresh air. Tonight she rolled down all the windows and pulled her curly hair into a bun so it wouldn’t blow in her face.

This National Board thing was exciting. Grace had been wondering what next step she should take in her teaching career. The last three years, Grace had had her hands full without adding more schooling into the mix. But now she was ready to go after that additional education. She’d been thinking of a master’s degree, but this could be even better.

Grace’s apartment was within two miles of the grocery store, but the drive took a while at rush hour. At one traffic light, Grace had to wait through two light cycles before she could turn left. Finally, she arrived at her apartment complex, unpacked her car, and lugged her things up the stairs to the third floor. The air conditioning in the building felt cool against her sweat-damp skin.

Apartment C1. Grace unlocked the door and dumped her grocery bags and backpack inside.

Wow, she’d left a mess. The kitchen and living room looked like a whirlwind had torn through them. She’d better clean up before Jen got back.

Jen was Grace’s roommate. Between Jen’s commitments and the time she spent with her boyfriend, Grace didn’t see her much. She usually had the apartment to herself in the evenings. However, when Jen was at the apartment, she liked to keep things neat—natural for her, and difficult for Grace.

First things first. Grace had food to put away. Then she could deal with the coffee-soaked napkins on the table (left there this morning when she was running late), the dishes in the sink, the recycling on the counter, and the sewing supplies and books all over the living room. She’d better get the rice going, too.

Why hadn’t she bought that frozen pizza?

Chores were better with music. Grace chose a music album on her phone—three young Italian singers, doing a tribute to the Three Tenors—and started putting away the groceries.

She still hadn’t gotten any exercise today. She’d have to go down to the apartment complex’s fitness center to squeeze in her usual run. Going there saved a gym fee, but she preferred to run outside in the fresh air. She often planned to get up early and run before school, when it wasn’t hot yet. Most mornings she ended up snoozing her alarm four or five times and getting up just in time to get ready for class. In the evenings, by the time she was free to work out, it was too dark to feel safe. So she usually used the fitness center.

Grace finished putting away the groceries, put on the rice, preheated a pan for the beef with broccoli, and dealt with the mess. She had a lot of grading to do. She might as well do that during dinner. Then she could start looking up the stuff for National Board certification.

Grace was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of her coffee table, eating beef with broccoli and marking papers, when Jen came in.

“Hey, Jen.” Grace put down her grading. “How’d your day go?”

“It was okay.” Jen went to wash her hands in the kitchen. “You wouldn’t believe how much homework I have,” she called. “And Ryan and I are going out for dinner tonight. I’ll just have to be up late.”

“Couldn’t you and Ryan reschedule?”

“No,” Jen said. “This is the only day before the weekend that works for both of us. I’ll be so glad when finals are over.”

She disappeared into her room. Grace resumed her dinner and grading. The sauce on the beef with broccoli was becoming overpoweringly sweet and spicy. Good thing Grace had a glass of milk.

Jen came through wearing a sundress, sandals, and sunglasses, and carrying a woven straw purse. Her smooth chestnut hair was pulled into a perfect ponytail. Grace often wondered what it was like to have hair that behaved normally. Her own hair tended to stick out in all directions.

“Bye, Grace,” she said. “Ryan and I are going to the Crab Loft and then to the beach.”

“Have fun. Don’t forget about all that homework,” Grace said.

Jen made a face. “Don’t remind me! I’ll have to drink so much coffee later.”

She went out, leaving Grace alone again with the last bit of her dinner and an everlasting pile of grading. She was getting stiff from sitting in one position.

The air smelled stuffy, too. Grace hauled herself off the floor and opened a window. It let in a blast of warm air, normal for a California May. Grace still wasn’t used to the California climate. At this time of year, back in Michigan, opening a window would let in a delightfully cool piney breeze. Her parents would enjoy the spring breeze all evening after the store closed, sitting on their front porch, reading and talking. Here in California, summer weather began in February.

On the beach where Jen and her boyfriend were going, the weather would be nicer. It was a perfect evening for the beach, but Grace needed to choose her priorities carefully. Jen might be okay with spending her evening out and then sitting up half the night doing homework, but if Grace did that, she’d be tired and groggy at work tomorrow. She didn’t know how Jen managed to survive on so little sleep. The woman must live on caffeine.

Grace cleared her dishes, settled on the flat-cushioned couch that Jen had bought at a bargain sale two years ago, and started on her pile of grading again.

Her head began to throb. Probably eyestrain. Mom always told her to take a break from close-up work and look far away every twenty minutes, but Grace always forgot to do it. She put down the papers and looked at the calendar on the far wall.

It was a quote-of-the-day calendar, and the date read March 15 th . She had forgotten to change the page over two months ago.

The quote was hard to read from that distance, but Grace could just make it out. “There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.” It was attributed to Jane Austen.

First of all, why did people attribute quotes to Jane Austen when they were really quotes from characters in her books? This one, Grace was almost certain, was said by the obnoxious Mrs. Elton in Emma. Furthermore, it was a stupid quote. Staying at home for real comfort? Maybe if one had a lot of leisure time. Grading papers and working out and prepping for National Board certification was good and worthwhile, but Grace wouldn’t call it comfort.

It would be nice to be able to manage both work and recreation, like Jen. Grace had resisted when her sister Katie had worried she was working too much, but maybe Katie was on to something there.

What Grace needed was a vacation. The problem was that there was never time for a vacation. She didn’t make enough money at her teaching job not to work in the summer, especially since she was paying back student loans.

At least working for Shipt would be a change of pace. Grace had done that the last two summers. She was quick at fulfilling other people’s shopping orders—she hadn’t spent so much time working in her family’s grocery store for nothing—and the flexible schedule was nice.

Her phone buzzed on the coffee table. Grace picked it up. She had a new email. The sender was Lucas Taylor.

Why on earth was Lucas sending her an email? They didn’t have any activities together at the school. Only the first few words of the email showed on Grace’s lock screen. “Dear Grace, I hope you don’t think this is…”

Grace unlocked her phone.

“Dear Grace,” the email read, “I hope you don’t think this is forward, but I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me sometime. We seem to have a lot in common, and I’d like to get to know you better.”

Grace hadn’t expected that. Putting the phone down, she flopped against the back of the couch.

She hadn’t thought about Lucas like that. He was just one of her coworkers she’d run into at the school every once in a while.

On the other hand, he was friendly, and he was good-looking, she guessed. From the few conversations she’d had with him, he seemed knowledgeable about a number of topics. And he was Catholic. Grace had been single long enough to know guys like that didn’t grow on trees.

What was the worst that could happen if she went out with him? They might not click? Grace had gone out with guys before and found there was no connection. It hadn’t been the end of the world. Besides, maybe it would turn out that she was more interested in Lucas than she thought. Maybe, as fellow teachers, they had a lot in common. It was worth getting to know him better. And maybe spending time with somebody outside of work would help Grace balance her work and her recreation more effectively.

She’d think about it and reply later. If she responded too quickly, she might come across as someone who was sitting by her phone, waiting for men to email her. Which she wasn’t.

Grace picked up the stack of grading. She was determined to get it done before seven. She still had to go on her run, and she hadn’t even gotten to peek at the National Board certification stuff yet.