Rose
“Thanks so much for giving us this tour, Ms. Fairhaven,” I say, shaking hands with the tall, dark-haired woman in a blue blouse and a knee-length black skirt. “I know you’re busy winding down before the summer vacation.”
Yesterday, I spent a lazy morning in bed with Joel.
We all had breakfast together after I dragged myself out of bed and threw on a sundress.
When Murph, Joel, and Win left for work, I had a long phone call with my mom while Ben ran around the backyard.
It was followed by another, shorter one.
One I’d been contemplating since I spoke with Lina at the diner.
“We can handle a tour, no problem. It’s a shame you missed our roundup in April.
We usually have activities for the kids and parents, and Ben could have met his classmates.
” She sinks down to meet Ben’s gaze. “You must be Ben, the boy I’ve heard so much about.
I’m Ms. Fairhaven, the principal here, and I’m very pleased to meet you. ”
“Hello.” Ben, never shy around meeting new people, shakes her hand after a quick glance at me to make sure it’s okay, and Ms. Fairhaven rises to start the tour.
“Ben did a roundup in Memphis, but our circumstances changed.” When I called the school yesterday to ask about visiting with Ben, I explained a little about me, about Ben, and that we were moving from Memphis due to Ben’s father’s death.
Ben had loved the roundup in Memphis, and I’d loved it too.
It’s a one-day event for parents and prospective new pupils.
I got to meet the parents, the kids could meet each other, and we toured the entire building—including the cafeteria and the playgrounds—without interrupting an ordinary school day.
My eyes scan the bright turquoise-blue walls with colorful pictures and posters as I take Ben’s hand and follow Ms. Fairhaven.
It’s quiet in the hallway, but the murmur of children’s voices drifts from the closed doors we pass as we walk away from the school’s front entrance, where Ms. Fairhaven was waiting to meet us.
“We’ll start with the kindergarten classrooms, and I’ll share a bit about what Ben will learn and what an ordinary day will look like for him,” Ms. Fairhaven says, speaking to Ben and me.
She smiles at Ben. “And if I’ve timed this tour right, Ben might join the kindergarten classes for recess while I answer any questions you have for me, Rose.
It’s too beautiful a day not to spend at least some of it outside. What do you think?”
Ben squeezes my hand, his eyes shining with excitement, willing me to say yes.
All the nerves and anxiety I had about this visit going well melt away, and I smile. “That sounds perfect.”
We spend over an hour touring Rios Elementary School, peeking through the glass-fronted windows of the classrooms as Ms. Fairhaven talks.
It’s a small school that goes up to fifth grade with two kindergarten classes, each with about ten to fifteen kids. Both have pets, and when Ben sees the caramel-colored hamsters with adorably fat cheeks, he’s ready to start school today. I smile, reminded of Joel’s one-man rescue of Waffles.
We end the tour outside as recess kicks off.
As the sun warms my bare arms, Ms. Fairhaven answers all my questions while Ben plays with Harry and the friends he made at Harry’s birthday party.
I even get a chance to meet Mrs. Kane, a lovely newly married beta, who will be Ben’s teacher if I decide to enroll him.
“So, what do you think, Rose? We’d love to have Ben join us this fall.”
Watching Ben have the time of his life with the other kids, I doubt I even need to ask what he thinks. I’ll still ask after he’s done playing, but I know my son. If he isn’t dragging his feet and begging to stay for just a little longer, I’ll eat my purse.
“Ben loves it here, and I do too. Do you have a list of supplies for the new year?”
Ms. Fairhaven smiles, delighted. “We have a Meet the Teacher event in August, right before school starts. That’s when you’ll get a detailed list, but I can give you a basic one now if you’d like to start picking up a few things over the summer.
I’ll also get you the registration forms you’ll need to complete.
No need to rush the forms. You can bring them in after the summer vacation.
We’ll need a copy of Ben’s birth certificate, but I imagine that’s back in Memphis? ”
I make a face. “This summer is going to be crazy. Packing and moving houses is one thing. Moving states is another thing entirely.” My parents will help, but it wouldn’t be fair to leave them to manage it all.
“You mentioned during our call yesterday that you were a teacher in Memphis.”
“Yes, fifth grade.” As the kids hang from the monkey bars and chase each other around, shrieking, I tell her more about my experiences teaching in California and then in Memphis.
“Were you thinking of teaching again?”
“I miss it, and I’ve been thinking about it more. I’m not showing yet, but I’m pregnant again, so that’s likely to throw a spanner in the works.”
“Not necessarily,” she says thoughtfully.
“Maybe I could tempt you to join us as a part-time assistant teacher. We’re always short-staffed, and you’d have time to decide whether you want to get back into being a teacher full-time.
Think about it over the summer if you like.
We don’t usually hire teaching assistants until closer to the start of the school year. ”
The unexpected offer is surprisingly perfect. I’d be back in a classroom again; I wouldn’t be committing to returning full-time, and I could stop when I had my baby and start up again afterward.
“That’s a very attractive offer, and I’m definitely interested.”
We chat a little more about pay and the school curriculum until recess ends, and, as expected, Ben is ready to join the kindergarten class right away. I pull him away from his friends, and we swing by the administrative office to collect the forms and information I’ll need to enroll Ben.
Fresh from the successful tour of the elementary school, we stop by the Rios playground with ice cream, enjoying the beautiful weather before we swing by the diner to check on Sam’s progress with Nico’s office before heading home.
It’s after 2 p.m., and the diner is past its busy lunch rush.
Ben and I say hi to familiar faces as we make our way to the front counter to grab a stool, where Nico gets Ben a juice box and a glass of water for me.
Win nods a quick hello from the kitchen hatch, but he’s busy finishing a big order for a table of ten, so he can’t come hang out for a bit.
Lina’s just as busy clearing dirty plates, so she flashes us a smile and continues with her task.
I’m sipping my water when Sam thumps onto the stool beside me. He’s in dusty blue overalls and looks exhausted.
“Hey! Want me to order you something?” I note the shadows under his eyes and add, “Coffee or a chocolate shake with more sugar than is good for you?”
He yawns and shakes his head. “No. I’m about to head home for the day. I’m beat.”
“Hi, Uncle Sam.” Ben leans forward to see Sam because I’m sitting between them.
“Hey, Ben,” Sam says tiredly. “What did you guys get up to today?”
“Visited a school,” Ben says, beaming. “I’m going to have a class pet when I start kindergarten. Mrs. Kane has a hamster called Caramel Cookie.”
Before we left, she let Ben hold and pet the hamster, Caramel Cookie, caramel-colored with white and light-brown spots.
She’s utterly adorable, and Ben is obsessed.
He hasn’t stopped talking about her, and I know I’ll be carefully checking his schoolbag when he starts school because I wouldn’t be surprised to find he’d brought her home.
Ben rambles on a bit more about the hamster to Sam, who listens patiently until Ben’s gotten this round of excitement out of his system and returned to sipping his juice box.
“School, huh?” Sam waggles his eyebrows at me. “Sounds like a piece of advice I suggested had a pretty big impact, huh?”
I roll my eyes at him. “What happened to not rubbing it in my face for too long?”
He bounces his shoulder against mine. “I barely did any rubbing at all. But that’s great news. When are you moving all your stuff up here?”
I let out a tired sigh. “Don’t ask. I have no idea how I’m going to manage it, but for today at least, I’m going to pretend angels will fly all our things from Memphis and I’ll wake up tomorrow to find everything unpacked and exactly where I want it.
Anyway, enough about me. How’s the office going? ”
He scratches the back of his neck, avoiding my gaze. "Uh..."
I glance toward Nico’s office. The door is closed, giving me no clue what it conceals, but Sam sure is nervous. “Did something go wrong?”
When I say Sam can work magic, I’m not being dramatic.
He can build almost anything he sets his mind to.
Hell, one glance at the mess Nico’s office was in before, and he had a solution to maximize the space in under five minutes.
But maybe the room was too awkward, and the built-in desk idea he had was more complex than he expected.
“It’s done,” he says so reluctantly that it’s clear he didn’t want to tell me at all. “But I’m not ready to show anyone.”
I consider him for a beat. “Talk to Murph.”
“Murph? Why?”
“His bosses started a construction business not that long ago. They were all freelance construction workers before then. A lot of the fears you’re having are ones they probably had.
They can give you practical advice and maybe even get you some work until you have your own clients.
” I add dryly. “Though I can’t imagine you’ll need any help finding them once everyone sees the magic you worked in Nico’s office. ”
A tiny smile lifts one corner of his mouth. “You haven’t seen it yet.”