Chapter 6 #2
I stayed where I was, staring at the spot they’d been and feeling like a dick. I was still irritated as heck with Wilder, don’t get me wrong, but I was willing to admit that maybe I’d been too hard on him. It was obvious that he cared for Gracie, and maybe he was doing his best to be a good father.
He just really sucked at it.
Gracie was the last one to class again on Wednesday, but I barely even noticed. I was too busy fending off another crisis.
I gave Gracie and her dad a nod of acknowledgement when they arrived at the door and turned my attention back to the unwelcome phone call I was dealing with.
“No, I understand, Mrs. Walters. Of course. It’s unfortunate, but it’s not like you planned for Bryant to break his wrist. I’m sure we’ll manage to figure something out. ”
Well, that explained why Carol-Ann wasn’t in class today—her older brother had bounced his way right off their trampoline and into a broken wrist. I ended the call, jammed my phone in my pocket, and ran a hand through my hair.
Then I looked out over the sea of faces gathered on the mat and tried to figure out if there was a good way to break sixteen tiny hearts with a single sentence. Okay, maybe I was being dramatic, but I wasn’t looking forward to delivering the news that today’s excursion was canceled.
We were meant to be going to the Goose Run Animal Adventurama—a fancy name for the petting zoo that Bobby Merritt, who was apparently the mayor, ran.
But without Carol-Ann’s mom helping, we were an adult short, and the rules for leaving the grounds were clear.
Unless I could find someone to fill in, we wouldn’t be going anywhere.
I ran my hand through my hair again, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath.
“Everything okay?” a soft voice said, right in my ear.
I jolted and opened my eyes to find Wilder standing next to me, his brow creased with concern.
“It’s… there’s a problem with the outing,” I said.
“Did that fu-flipping goose get out again?” he asked. “Because honestly, you’ll probably have a better time if it isn’t there.”
“No, it’s not—” I took another deep breath and reminded myself that this wasn’t the end of the world. I might as well get it over with. Rip off the Band-Aid, so to speak. I clapped my hands once and the effect was immediate, with the class turning to face me expectantly.
Here went nothing.
“I have some bad news. We won’t be able to go to the petting zoo today,” I said.
An audible gasp ran through the room.
“One of my parent helpers can’t come, and the rules say we need another adult.”
There was a stony silence, and then someone started to cry—a lone hitching sob, cutting through the quiet and stabbing me in the heart.
Okay, now I really was being dramatic.
A second sob, and that one hurt more than the first one. A glance at the class showed me a few more wobbling lips, and I tried desperately to salvage the situation. “What if I find someone for next week and we go then?”
“But we’re supposed to go today!” Gracie said loudly, folding her arms and jutting her chin out.
“I know, but we need an extra person,” I explained.
Her brow creased for a moment, and then her expression brightened. “Daddy! You can come and be a helper!”
Beside me, Wilder froze like a deer in the headlights.
So did I. John Wilder was the last person I wanted coming on this trip.
Even though we were only walking two streets over, I didn’t trust that he wouldn’t get lost on the way.
But of course I couldn’t exactly say that.
So instead I said, “Doesn’t your daddy have to go to work today? ”
Gracie shook her head excitedly. “No, he has some days off, so he can come to the petting zoo!” She turned wide blue eyes on Wilder.
“Please, Daddy? I heard there’s a three-legged dog!
” She said it like it was the most miraculous thing ever to exist, and I had to hand it to her, Gracie was pretty persuasive.
Hell, now I wanted to see the three-legged dog.
And Wilder was apparently just as easily persuaded as I was, because he shrugged and said, “I guess I could help. If there’s nobody else.”
We both looked around hoping that another parent would materialize out of thin air, but no. Wilder, being late as usual, was the only one still in the vicinity.
I was caught between resignation and surprise that he’d stepped up.
And okay, I was almost certain he’d be more of a liability than a help, but a tiny, petty part of me also wanted to see how Wilder would cope with an entire class of five-year-olds for the morning, so I plastered on a smile and said, “Great! Let me just clear it with the principal and we can get going.”
I ducked out of the classroom and hurried to the office and poked my head into Mrs. Freeman’s office. “Hey,” I said, “quick question. Sherri Walters can’t come on the excursion today. Is it okay if John Wilder stands in as class helper?”
She looked at me over the top of her glasses. “I don’t see why not, if it means your class gets to experience the wonder of Bobby’s Animal Adventurama.”
I nodded. “Thanks.” I couldn’t help but add, “Wish me luck. My class helper seems like he’ll be more of a handful than the kids.”
Mrs. Freeman raised an eyebrow. “Don’t be too quick to judge John Wilder, Avery. He might surprise you.”
I nodded and resisted the urge to ask what she meant by that. This was a small town. Whatever it was, someone would fill me in eventually whether I wanted to know or not. Meanwhile, I’d just left sixteen kids under the supervision of a stripper, so I needed to get back to my classroom.
The sight that greeted me stopped me in my tracks.
I’d expected Wilder to be standing aimlessly where I’d left him, but instead he was sitting in one of the plastic chairs, reading a story to a rapt audience, who were all staring at him with obvious delight.
And no wonder. He wasn’t just reading—he was doing all the voices.
When he looked up and caught me watching, he faltered and a blush crept up his cheeks. He closed the book. “Uh, sorry.”
The kids groaned in unison, and Wilder looked startled.
“Mr. Wilder can finish the story after the excursion,” I said, “if everyone is very well behaved.”
The class cheered, and Wilder gave me a terrified look.
“Okay,” I said. “Who’s ready to visit the Adventurama? Everybody find a buddy and line up in pairs. We’re going to hold hands all the way to the Adventurama!”
The kids leapt up from the floor, all diving to secure their buddies for the day. It was like a melee, and I stood well back.
“What do I have to do?” Wilder asked me with an anxious look.
“Just keep count of them,” I said. “We have sixteen kids, so that’s eight pairs.
Don’t think the buddy system is infallible, though.
It works great if one kid goes missing and their buddy raises the alarm, but it’s the criminal masterminds who run off together that you have to watch out for.
Did you ever see that movie about those divers who were lost at sea because their tour boat just left them there? ”
“It’s two blocks over,” he said. “Not the open ocean.”
“No, I’m just saying,” I pointed out. “The buddy system’s not perfect.”
He gave me a dubious look. “Okay.”
I was sure he thought I was overreacting, but this was my first time leading a field trip, and I was conscious of the weight of responsibility on my shoulders.
If anything went wrong, it would be my fault.
And while I loved my kids, I was very aware that they were five, and one of the many things that five-year-olds had no handle on was impulse control.
They were also pretty bad at crossing roads safely, couldn’t be trusted not to fall over and hurt themselves, and if they found something on the ground, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t immediately shove it in their mouths.
Or up their noses. Because five-year-olds were smart as hell, but they were also as silly as geese, and often at exactly the same time.
“Just make sure we don’t lose anyone,” I said. “This is my first field trip.”
I hadn’t meant for that to come out sounding defensive, but Wilder’s eyes lit up with understanding and he nodded.
“Okay,” he said. “I get it. I won’t let any of them out of my sight.”
“Good,” I said, trying to ignore the way my stress levels were building. I could do this. Just… could I do this with a very hot, very distracting guy beside me all day? There was only one way to find out. I smiled and clapped my hands to get the kids’ attention. “Okay! Let’s go to the Adventurama!”
The kids cheered so loudly that the teachers on either side of me would be glad when we finally got the hell out and left them in peace.