Chapter 17 Next Step
It was the last day of school before Thanksgiving break.
It was presentation day for our bi-monthly reading project.
Some students procrastinated and did their best not to take part.
Unfortunately for them, I was serious about the grading policy.
I gave the students the option of anonymously reporting anyone who didn’t do their part.
While I fairly gave them a chance to prove otherwise, if they couldn’t, I would reduce their grade by a letter. Everyone started out with an A.
Zachary was the first student to lose a letter grade.
Since he and Shante had been so vocal, they were on a team with two other students.
I was almost certain it was Shante who notified me he wasn’t doing his part.
Once Zachary saw I meant what I said, he got it together.
That particular day, they were the last group presenting to the class.
Zachary would be our first presenter. “I have four takeaways from our book for this month. It discussed how to change your mindset to change your life. One takeaway is having the desire and need to make moves in order to meet your goals. The second takeaway is to have faith. Along with desire, believe in the ability to complete the goal. The third takeaway is using creativity along with knowledge. This can help to create new ideas. The last takeaway is to trust our guts. In business, there is logic and knowledge, but if you trust yourself, you will never go wrong,” he stated.
“Zachary, how do you believe these things will help you be an asset to your community?” I asked.
“I see many people saying they’re entrepreneurs on social media, but I’ve never met one in real life. When I grow up, I want to own a business. Since we have this assignment, I figured this was a good time for me to learn what successful people believe,” he replied.
“Good job on the assignment. Who’s going next?” I asked.
I couldn’t show it, but I was damn proud of Zachary.
He executed the assignment perfectly. The initial resistance he posed seemed to no longer exist. That made me excited about our next project.
It made me excited to hear what the other students got out of the project.
My chest swelled with pride as the class continued.
By the end of the day, the students admitted they understood why I chose the assignment.
Everyone did an excellent job with their presentations.
Part of me wanted to give Zachary the “A” he deserved, but he had to learn a lesson.
He still had all year to get that “A”. The bell rang, and the class emptied quickly.
I grabbed my bag and headed down to grab Reign and Violet.
Micah was busy at the warehouse, so he asked if I could bring Violet home.
I headed to the courtyard to meet the girls. They were waiting outside when I arrived.
“Hey, guys, did you have a good day today?” I asked.
“Best day ever. I can’t wait to show you my party bag,” Reign said.
“I can’t wait to show my dad mine,” Violet said.
“Well, come on. Let’s go so we can show him,” I replied as we made our way to the car.
After a ten-minute car ride filled with laughter from the girls, we pulled up to Micah’s. He came out a minute later. Violet quickly got out of her seat to greet her father.
“Daddy, I want to show you what I got today!” she shouted.
“Just a second, baby girl. Did you say goodbye to Reign and Ms. Harley?” he asked.
Violet turned around and gave Reign and me a quick wave.
Micah walked over to my side of the car. “Thank you for grabbing her for me. What are you about to do?” he asked.
“I think I’m going to take Lucky for a ride. Whenever you’re free, call me,” I replied.
Micah kissed my lips, then waved goodbye to Reign.
A little while later, Reign and I made it home while PopPop was making his usual rounds around the property. When we entered the house, Nana was in the kitchen.
“Hey, did you guys have a good day?” Nana asked.
“I had a great day,” Reign gushed.
“I did too. My students really impressed me today,” I replied.
“I love to hear it. What are you guys getting into this evening?” Nana asked.
“I was wondering if you and Reign would like to take a ride with me?” I inquired.
Nana put the dish down she was washing, then dried her hands. “Let’s go,” she said.
I was a little surprised. Nana didn’t ride as often as my mother and me.
Usually, when I would ask her to ride, she would ask a bunch of questions.
That day, however, she walked toward the barn with Reign and me on her tail.
She didn’t ride stallions like me, but PopPop made sure she had a horse.
He purchased an American Quarter Horse for her long ago.
The horse was one of the best for beginner riders.
Nana walked over to her horse’s stall as I walked over to Lucky.
Lucky had gotten used to me, so I was okay with letting Reign ride with us. We weren’t going far, so we shouldn’t have any issues. I grabbed my saddle and Lucky’s brush. With her hand in mine, she helped me brush Lucky. I wanted to make sure she was comfortable before we rode him.
When I felt she was ready, I walked Lucky out of his stall. In front of the barn, I mounted him. Nana helped Reign mount him next. Once we were ready, Nana mounted her horse.
“Where to?” she finally asked.
“Just follow me. This won’t take long,” I replied.
We made small talk along the path. As we got closer to our destination, I was sure Nana figured out where we were headed. I stopped in front of my house. There wasn’t a stall for the horses here, so we tied their rope to the fence. We dismounted them and stood in front of the house.
“Are you ready to move into your home?” Nana asked.
I nodded, then said, “I think it’s time.”
She looked at me and smiled. “I’m so proud of you. Seems like just yesterday, you and Reign showed up here. Now look at how much you have flourished since returning. I know it’s been an emotional ride, but you’ve handled it all very well,” she declared lovingly.
“I appreciate everything you and PopPop have done for me. Even during my darkest days, you guys never gave up on me. Being back here has turned into a fresh start. I’m ready to complete the process by moving into the house,” I replied.
“My babies can’t move into an empty house. Why don’t we go look around the house for inspiration? Then we can head back home and get your PopPop’s credit card,” she teased.
I shook my head. Nana was a mess. Poor PopPop didn’t even know she was about to burn his card up to furnish the place.
We walked into the big, empty space. I held Reign’s hand as we went from room to room.
The open concept on the main floor made the home feel bigger.
Once Nana got her feel for the downstairs area, we moved upstairs to the bedrooms.
The primary bedroom had an en suite and a large walk-in closet. I remembered everything about the floor plan. The finished room was even better than I could have imagined.
“Nana, we don’t need to go overboard with the decorating,” I said
“Nonsense! Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting to decorate? We will spare no expense,” she quipped.
There was no changing her mind, so we made our way to Reign’s room.
“Nugget, what do you think about this room?” I asked.
“I like it. It’s big. Can Violet come over to visit?” she asked.
“Of course, she can. We can get bunk beds for when she comes to visit,” I replied.
Reign walked around the bedroom, touching the walls. It reminded me of the day we left, the only home she ever knew. A new memory would be much better than the previous one; it was the beginning of the two of us in our own home.
After going around the entire inside and outside of the home, I was exhausted. Reign was hungry, so we headed back to the main house. During dinner, we filled PopPop in on our plans for the house.
PopPop didn’t waste any time going into his wallet and handing over a credit card to Nana. “Go easy on the card, woman,” PopPop said.
“Now, why would I go easy on a card with no limit, honey?” Nana teased.
I looked at both of them and shook my head.
“Don’t worry, PopPop. I won’t let her go overboard,” I confirmed.
Nana looked at both of us. “There will be no expense spared for my babies.”