Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Do you know what today is?” Gram asked, putting her hand to her heart.
Nora gathered her things for her last day of school. The week had been a busy one with all the end-of-year paperwork, finalizing schedules for the next school year, and boxing up her office. She was beat, but tomorrow she would head off to paradise, so she could do anything for one more day.
“Friday?” Nora said.
“Well, yes, but it’s better than just any old Friday.”
“What day is it?” Nora leaned into the fridge and pulled out her packed lunch, tucking it into her lunchbox.
“It’s your gramps’s birthday.”
Nora’s happy buzz instantly disappeared. “Oh, wow. You’re right.”
“I’ve been missing him a lot lately. He keeps coming to mind, but not in the usual way.”
“What do you mean?”
“Yesterday, I could’ve sworn I heard him whistle the way he did when he was working on something. Remember he used to whistle little tunes while he fixed a broken door or changed out a light switch?”
Nostalgia filled Nora as the forgotten memory floated back into her consciousness. “I do.”
“I actually got up to check if he was in the kitchen.” Gram’s eyes became glassy. “And a few weeks ago, I swore I heard him whisper ‘I love you’ just as I was falling asleep. My eyes sprung open and clicked on the light, sure I’d see him.”
“Why do you think he’s coming back to you so often?”
“I don’t know, but that’s why I wanted to go to the coast. I swore; he asked me to go.”
Nora stared at her grandmother. Firmly grounded in her knowledge of how the brain worked, Nora had a very difficult time believing that Gramps was anywhere near them or that he’d asked anything of Gram.
“What made you think he asked?”
“I heard his voice on the wind as I took my morning walk around the apartments.”
“So this whole trip is because of Gramps?” Nora resumed packing her bag, the time getting away from her.
“Pretty much. I feel he wants me to see it. You know, he was planning a trip there when he had his heart attack.”
“Wow. I didn’t know.”
That was why the trip had come to Gram: she missed Gramps and, subconsciously, she wanted to be closer to him, so she decided to act on his wish. Her mind had played tricks on her, and she’d wanted to hear his voice so badly she’d actually conjured it in her mind.
“You don’t believe that I heard him,” Gram said.
Nora slid her bag onto her shoulder. “I believe that you believe you heard him.” She kissed her grandmother on the cheek. “Gotta run. See you tonight!”
Gram’s disappointment shone in her eyes, but she smiled at Nora all the same. “See you tonight, my sweet girl.”
The unfinished conversation weighed on Nora all the way to school.
* * *
“Hey,” Ivy said, coming into Nora’s office at the end of sixth period.
Kim, who’d stopped by during her planning period to catch up, eyed the girl on her way out of the room. Nora had asked Kim’s opinion about her second coffee meet-up with Blaze, but she should’ve guessed that Kim’s motivations were less to do with work and more with Blaze’s fame. When Ivy walked in, Nora still didn’t feel any surer of her decision to meet him.
“Thanks for letting me come early,” Ivy said.
“It’s no problem at all. I figured you wouldn’t want to stay after school on the last day.”
Ivy shrugged. She slipped off her vest and hung it on the chair. The temperature already climbing outside, the hallways were warm.
“I got my car back,” the girl said.
Nora maneuvered around a stack of boxes full of her office materials—all packed up for the break. “I’ll bet you’re excited to be able to come and go on your own.”
“Yeah.” Ivy moved to Nora’s desk and picked up the lone paper next to the pencil sharpener: her checklist. “And Dad told me about your meeting with him.”
“Do you feel any better after talking to him?”
“I guess. He says he’s meeting with you tomorrow too.”
“That’s right.”
Ivy seemed okay about Nora and Blaze chatting this time.
“He thinks the same way about you that I do,” Ivy said.
“Oh? What do both of you think about me?” Nora grabbed two pencils from one of the packed boxes and sharpened them. Then she handed one to Ivy and set the other one on the table.
“That you’re great at what you do.” Ivy sat down at the back table and wrote the date on the top of her checklist before marking which strategies she’d used today.
“I’m glad you both feel that I’m doing a good job.”
“Definitely.” Ivy looked up. “I’m going to miss our time together over the summer.”
Nora sat down across from her. “That might be the best thing I’ve ever heard you say.”
“You’re happy about me floundering around without you?” Ivy allowed a small smile.
“You’ve come a long way in the last few weeks.”
Ivy tucked her pink hair behind her ear. “It’s because of the time we worked together. You treated me like a normal human being.”
“You’re definitely a normal human being,” Nora said with a laugh.
“Is there any way to see you this summer before school starts again?”
“I’m sure we could work something out.”
“What if I need you before then?”
Nora looked into Ivy’s gray eyes. “Your dad found you a counselor, right?”
Ivy sunk back in the chair.
“Don’t discount her. Treat her like a ‘normal human being’ and she might surprise you,” Nora said.
“I doubt it.”
“Give her a chance like you gave me.”
Ivy smirked. “I sort of accidentally gave you a chance. You just have a different vibe from the other teachers.” She held up her coping checklist. “I need to add ‘See Miss Jenkins’ to this list because when I feel overwhelmed, coming to your office helps.”
Ivy’s honesty was refreshing.
“We’ll add it on for next year.”
The teen’s expression dropped. “The summer’s going to be awful.” She picked at her black painted nail.
“I’m sure it will be better than you think. You’ll get to do mission work, if you want to, and you can write songs. Put all that pent-up emotion into your songwriting and you might pen an entire album’s worth. In this town, your songwriting might take you places you never thought it would.”
The bell rang and a streak of fear flashed across Ivy’s face. She stood up but didn’t go anywhere, her lips parting as if she wanted to say something more. She finally pressed her lips together and grabbed her vest off the chair.
“You can keep your checklist,” Nora said. “Take it home so you can access the strategies whenever you need them.”
“Thanks.” Ivy opened the door, lingering in the entry to Nora’s office. Then she pulled her car keys from her front pocket.
Nora wished she could do something more for the girl, but she’d already done all she could. It was time to step away and let someone else take the reins.
Ivy turned and stepped through the door.
“Have a wonderful break,” Nora called after her as the halls filled with whooping, excited students, ready to be out for the summer.
Ivy looked over her shoulder and produced a half smile. Were those tears in her eyes? “See ya.”
Then she disappeared into the crowd of students.
* * *
Once a month, a group of teachers from Nora’s school got together for happy hour at a Nashville bar. Most of them had been meeting up for years, but they’d welcomed Nora with open arms when she’d started at Oakland High. Tonight was the last hurrah before they all went their separate ways for the summer.
Nora walked down Nashville’s busy Broadway in her cut-off jean shorts and flowy top, ready to let off some steam. She meandered through the crowds, music from all the bars spilling out onto the sidewalk. The summer warmth had already taken hold, and a warm breeze wrapped around her. Kim was in front of the bar, waiting.
“Everyone’s inside. It was so hot in there I needed some fresh air, so I figured I’d come out here to wait for you,” her friend said when she walked up. “You look so summery!”
“I’m slowly getting into my beach mode.” Nora linked arms with Kim as they went inside.
“When do you leave?” she asked over the music.
A fizzle of excitement swam through Nora. “Tomorrow.”
“You’re so lucky. I’ll be here, frying like an egg in the heat.” Dramatically, Kim fanned her face with her hand.
They reached the table of women who already had their drinks and were laughing together. They cheered over the band that played on stage in the corner when Nora and Kim walked up, and Melissa Edmunds, the chemistry teacher, pulled out a chair for Nora.
“Glad you could come,” Melissa said loudly while she pulled her curly locks into a messy bun and secured it with a ponytail holder.
“Me too.”
“Oh, oh! Nora’s here,” Sheila Rodgers, the orchestra teacher, said as Nora sat down. “We’re all dying to know the latest on Ivy Ryman.”
“She’s actually doing quite well. By the end of the year she was following rules and settling in. There’s not much to tell in the way of drama.” Which was good because they were having to shout over the music.
The waitress came by and Nora pointed to Sheila’s pink cosmo. “I’ll take one of those.”
“There absolutely is drama.” Jill Bryson, the P.E. teacher, leaned into the group, putting her forearms on the table, her eyes wide. “You’ve had meetings with Blaze Ryman! We want to know all the details!”
“Blaze is soooo handsome.” Melissa tipped her head back and rolled her eyes in ecstasy.
“I heard you went to his house,” Sheila said over her cosmo. “What’s it like?”
“Big,” Nora said. But there was so much more to him than a big house and good looks. She already felt she knew him so much more than these women did.
“She’s meeting him for coffee tomorrow,” Kim said.
There was a collective gasp at the table.
“I’m just helping him transition to their family therapist and giving him a few pointers. That’s all.”
Jill lifted her martini. “I’d like to give him a few pointers…”
The women erupted in laughter as the band kicked into high gear, the drumbeat thumping in Nora’s chest.
The waitress returned and set the cosmo in front of Nora. She took a sip of the sweet pink concoction, the alcohol immediately relaxing her. The warmth seemed to affect everyone in its path. The whole atmosphere—her joyful friends, the fruity drink, the heat—made her already feel as if her vacation had started, and she hadn’t even left Nashville yet.
As the night went on, the ladies got up to dance. Nora joined in, forgetting all about school and immersing herself in the lighter atmosphere. She’d switched to lemonade and was feeling positively giddy about what the summer would bring, when out of nowhere, a hand caught her arm.
“Nora?”
She turned around to find Carson with Molly, the woman he’d left her for. Carson blinked repeatedly as if the sight of her was completely incomprehensible.
“I’m surprised to see you on Broadway,” he said. “This isn’t your usual hangout.”
“It is now. Hi Molly,” she said.
Molly smiled uncomfortably while Carson continued to look baffled.
Nora said, “My new teacher friends chose the location. We go to happy hour together once a month.”
“Ah,” Carson said.
Molly excused herself to go to the ladies’ room. She tucked her designer clutch under her elbow and straightened her form-fitting mini-dress on her way—an outfit Nora would never have chosen. This spiked her insecurity, but she didn’t let it show.
Carson leaned in. “Hey, I’m really sorry.”
Nora stopped him. “No need to apologize.”
“Yes, there is. I didn’t mean to?—”
“If we were meant to be, we’d be.”
She didn’t want to admit that they would still “be” if he hadn’t decided she was unfit to be his wife. She squared her shoulders. As she looked into his eyes, she realized she didn’t see anything anymore. There were no fireworks. A new wave of insecurity washed over her: she hadn’t noticed until this moment that she didn’t love him either.
“I feel terrible,” he said.
“Look, our relationship was good on paper, but you and I both know we didn’t have enough to sustain a lifetime together. You were just the first one of us to act on it.”
He nodded, relief flooding his face.
“I hope you’re super happy with Molly,” Nora said.
“Thanks.”
Maybe Nora had romanticized her parents’ relationship, and that was what had kept her from seeing the breakdown of her relationship with Carson. The reasons she’d started dating him in the first place were now overshadowed by the suspicion that she’d been ready to settle for something when she could do better.
When Molly returned, and she and Carson walked away, Nora couldn’t help but feel relief that she’d been spared the heartbreak of a failed marriage. She turned back to the dance floor, focused on the band, and tried to get back into her summer mood.