Chapter 9Charlotte Lane
Chapter 9
A New Chapter
Charlotte Lane
C harlotte wasn’t sure whether or not she’d closed her eyes all night. Several times she got up and walked through the cluttered rooms of her new home. It was frozen in the fifties; nothing had changed except the junk that seemed to have grown like mold. But there was no time for her to redecorate or clean now. She had to get to work.
Before the sun came up, she was dressed and ready to step into the new chapter of her life. The last few years she’d felt she’d been sleepwalking on a treadmill that had been as slow and monotonous as combing through Moby Dick for the hundredth time.
In a few minutes Charlotte would walk out of her red door and become Crossroads’s next English teacher. She was in charge of three high school level courses and two middle school classes.
After glancing in an old mirror to make sure all was in place, she caught sight of the small pink diamond earrings she always wore and shook her hair out to cover them. Then, she organized the satchel her mother had given her when she’d finished her dissertation. She looked at the dark leather and thought about how that had been the last time she’d seen her mom. Three months after Charlotte left Kansas, her mom, her only living relative, had died in her sleep. She’d left a note in her Bible.
When I die, I want no funeral. No flowers. No obituary posted. And, to whoever finds this: Tell my Charlotte that she was a good daughter and remind her to live and have fun.
Charlotte looked around at her new home. “Sorry, Mom, this place doesn’t seem like it’s going to be much fun.” She had never imagined being in a tiny town like this. She’d loved being in the big city, but at A I play receiver on the football team.”
“You play football?” Then she thought about it for a minute. She didn’t know what a receiver was, but a four-foot-something kid thinking he could play football wasn’t any weirder than her pretending to coach it.
Charlotte raised her head to thank him, but he was already gone. And in his place stood a sweet-looking woman who seemed like she was made of sugar.
“Good morning, Miss Lane. Welcome, welcome. I’m the home economics teacher, Miss Ollie. I’m out in the second portable.” Her voice was like a falsetto that crescendoed at the end of each sentence. “I’ve been there for years, so I guess the building isn’t very portable.” She chuckled at her own joke. “Neither is the shop beside me. I wish it was, though, because I’d haul it off myself.” Her bright smile disappeared under a frown as she seemed to chew back words Charlotte guessed weren’t very nice. They must be for the shop teacher.
Then her smile was back. Miss Ollie walked toward the communal desk and dropped a loaf of some kind of bread on Charlotte’s pile of papers. “I wanted to bring you a treat for your first day, Miss Lane.”
“Dr. Lane,” Charlotte said very properly.
“Oh, you’re also a doctor? That’s good because, between you and me, the nurse could use some help.”
“No, I have a doctorate in English with a focus in postmodern Western literature.”
“Well, that’s a mouthful,” Miss Ollie said. “My degree is in sewing buttons and baking sweets.”
Charlotte looked out into the hall as she heard Teddy’s voice rambling on about where to find the school’s best water fountains. A tall man with one arm in a sling looked like he was marching through enemy territory. He followed the small kid past her first room.
The ex-soldier looked at her, and Charlotte sensed he was fighting down a smirk as he saluted with his good arm. “Morning, ma’am,” he said, and moved on.
Her cheeks heated. She told herself it was because she had always hated when people called her ma’am. But she supposed it was better than “miss.”
“That’s the other new teacher, Mr. Parsons.” Miss Ollie giggled. “Nice looking, isn’t he? But he’s probably scarred all over. What a shame. Mr. Halls said he’s seen action and when he thinks no one is looking, he limps.”
Charlotte had already figured he was the retired soldier. He walked like one. He may have one arm in a cast and a sling, but she thought he seemed more likely to be alive at the end of the day than she did.
Students filed in as Miss Ollie waddled out, and for a moment Charlotte felt like she was in Little House on the Prairie . Flannels, jeans, and pigtails filled the room. Everyone was dressed like a cowboy, except for the cheerleaders. As always, Charlotte was ready and prepared for her first lecture.
With every new class throughout the day, she gave the same talk. The rules of her classroom, her expectations, what they would all learn over the year. Then she had the students stand up and introduce themselves. At the end of the day, the only kid’s name she could remember was Teddy’s. He was like a jack-in-the-box, popping in every period to take her to another room.
When all was quiet during the last five minutes of lunch, she sat in her temporary chair behind her borrowed desk and wondered if she would still be alive by Christmas. She was used to giving only two lectures a day, a total of four classes a week. Charlotte was sure to run out of words by December.
By five o’clock the building was silent. She was too tired even to get up, find her satchel, and go home. High school teachers had to do this every day for forty years. She was thinking about getting married and having kids just so she could take time off, when Mr. Parsons walked through her doorway.
As he came toward her, he definitely had an ex-military way about him. He pushed his chest out as if he was proud to be serving the school. And his smile hinted that he was hiding something. Good-looking, but not in a way a high school kid would notice. At forty-three, Charlotte felt she might be having her first childhood crush. Maybe going back to high school wouldn’t be so bad after all.
“You survived the day,” he said with a grin. “I wasn’t sure if you’d make it. You looked pretty green to me.”
She straightened in her chair and smiled back. “I’m the veteran teacher here, soldier. I taught at A&M for fifteen years. I’m Dr. Charlotte Lane.”
“Oh, pardon me, ma’am. I’m a veteran, too, served as a medic in the Army for twenty years. I’m Master Sergeant Wade Parsons.”
“Oh, really? Have you been practicing on yourself?” She eyed the cast plastered on his left arm.
He patted his cast as if he was carrying around a pet. Then he sat down on the corner of her desk, swinging one leg. “No, but I could practice on you if you like. Are you hurt? Need medical attention? Maybe a drink.”
She leaned back. “Are you hitting on me? I think that’s against school policy. But I hear there’s a bar on the other side of town where women are waiting for men like you to drop in. I’m sure there’s plenty of people you could practice on there.”
Was it possible he was flirting with her? Was she flirting back?
It had been so long since a man had noticed her that she had forgotten how this worked. She would have to do some research on it tonight. There was bound to be a book that explained how flirting worked.
“Yeah, I’ve been there. They have the best nachos to go with their beer. I feel like I could use a drink about now. You want to join me?” He ran his eyes over her as if searching for injuries. “I bet you could use one too.”
“No, thanks. There’s coffee in the teachers’ lounge if I get thirsty.”
But real food did sound good. There was nothing in her fridge at home, and who knew how old the food was in her pantry. She was not looking forward to another gas station meal either. “Actually, sure. I’ll go. But this isn’t a date. I’m just hungry.”
She ignored his smile and stood, gathering her things.
“Yes, ma’am.” He saluted her. “That’s fine with me. I’ll even let you pay.”
Well, that wasn’t very romantic. Probably not flirting, then. Darn.
“Please don’t call me ma’am. It makes me feel old.”
He gave her a firm nod, his lips turning up at the corners. “You can call me Wade.”
She eyed him, trying to decide how to deal with him. “Charlotte.”
They walked in silence to the parking lot. A little too close for comfort. Wade’s arm kept brushing hers and she seemed to stiffen with each touch. By the time they made it outside, she was wound tight.
He pointed to an old pickup. “Hop in.”
“That’s okay. We’ll take separate vehicles. You look like the type to go over the speed limit.” She needed some space and the freedom to flee if necessary.
He turned widely, making a show of searching the near empty parking lot. “I don’t see another car. Around here.”
Charlotte picked up her pace as she reached the sidewalk. “I’ll walk home and get my own car. It’s only a few houses down. I’ll meet you there.”
Ten minutes later, having driven there separately, they were sitting at a table. Within seconds a curvy blonde hopped over to take their order. He asked for a beer and an extra-large order of nachos with two plates. Charlotte got a Coke.
She couldn’t help noticing that Wade didn’t seem the least bit interested in their attractive waitress. She reminded herself that it didn’t matter. Wade could look at a pretty girl. They were just colleagues, after all. And besides, they’d only just met.
The waitress brought their drinks and Wade lifted his with a smile for Charlotte. He clinked her glass. “You’re my kind of woman, Dr. Lane.”
She looked at him, surprised. She’d never been anyone’s kind of anything. “What kind is that, Mr. Parsons?”
“The kind that’s sober.”
Charlotte laughed and felt herself begin to relax for the first time all day. They ate nachos and talked about their first day at Crossroads’s school. And she watched him, thinking that she’d made her first friend in Crossroads. Her first friend in a long time.
When he walked her to her car, he politely said, “Thanks, Charlotte, for joining me. I’m glad we’ll be working together. I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”
Wade held the door as she climbed into her car. When he walked away she sighed and almost said aloud, “Definitely not flirting.”