6. Becca
6
BECCA
L ater that evening, Becca stood in the sanctuary of the prettiest little church she had ever seen. There were beautiful stained-glass scenes, simple wooden pews, and a real pipe organ.
The choir was small, but they sounded amazing together. And they were somehow so welcoming that Becca hadn’t felt shy at all about jumping right in.
Being part of the group, their voices melting together and bouncing off the high wooden rafters of the church ceiling brought her back to childhood, and all the fun she’d had singing in the children’s choir.
“That was lovely,” Madge, the music director, told them as they finished “Silent Night.” “Why don’t you all take ten to hydrate, and we’ll try “Joy to the World” when you get back?”
There was a little smattering of applause amongst the group, and then everyone began moving off to grab their water bottles or their phones and chat.
“Come on,” Angela said, wrapping a friendly arm around Becca’s shoulders. “Let’s head down to the kitchen for a nice cup of tea.”
Becca was glad she’d taken the school nurse up on her invite. The night was turning out to be more fun than she’d imagined.
“That sounds amazing,” she said as they headed out of the practice area.
Becca was wearing a thick cardigan that her grandmother had knitted for her, but like most churches, this one was old and drafty. She was definitely happy for a chance to warm up with some hot tea.
The church basement was finished nicely with a tile floor that reminded her of the one in her classroom. One of the other members was also downstairs, a young woman who looked familiar. She was pulling mugs down from the shelf and placing them beside the electric kettle on the counter.
“Hey, Allie,” Angela called out. “This is Becca Hawthorne, the new second-grade teacher.”
“Hi, Becca,” Allie said, wiping her hand on her jeans and heading over. “I’m Allie.”
“Allie is a kindergarten teacher over at the school,” Angela told Becca.
“Oh, are you Cal and Nick’s aunt?” Becca asked.
“Guilty as charged,” Allie said with a big smile. “You’re Cal’s teacher. I’ve already heard all about you.”
“But today was my first day,” Becca said without thinking.
The other three women laughed.
“You don’t know much about life in a small town, do you?” Angela asked her, quirking an eyebrow.
“I guess not,” Becca admitted. “I hope you didn’t hear anything too terrible. I think I annoyed your brother when I called to tell him Cal got a bloody nose.”
“I don’t think so,” Allie said with a funny little grin.
“What’s that smile about?” Angela demanded.
“What smile?” Allie asked lightly, shrugging.
“Is Cal okay?” Becca asked her.
“Absolutely,” Allie said, turning to Becca. “And I don’t think Zane was annoyed, just surprised. Life on the farm is pretty rough and tumble, and the boys are very active. One or the other is always getting banged up a little. It just goes with the territory. So getting a call over a little kickball injury was something new, that’s all.”
“I’m so glad he’s okay,” Becca said, trying not to think too hard about the boys getting banged up a little all the time. She supposed farm life was different from city life.
The three chose their tea bags and Allie poured out steaming water from the kettle into their mugs.
“So, this event we’re practicing for,” Becca asked when they all settled in at one of the little tables. “What’s it like?”
“Oh, it’s the best,” Allie told her. “Everyone in town comes. And the mayor oversees collecting donations for needy families.”
“The night of the event, all the presents are laid out under the big tree,” Angela put in. “And we walk across the park singing before the person named this year’s Christmas Star lights the tree.”
“It’s really beautiful,” Allie said, nodding. “And it feels amazing to be part of it.”
“Some years, you look out and see tears in people’s eyes,” Angela said, nodding in agreement.
“I guess you have challenges in the city too,” Allie said thoughtfully. “Out here, we sometimes have really hard years if the weather doesn’t cooperate. The Christmas events in town are an escape from that, and a big reminder of the community we have here. Folks dig deep to help each other.”
“We do have a lot of people struggling in the city,” Becca said. “And a lot of support too. I guess I never thought about how everyone might have a hard time all at once up here with the farms being so important.”
The other two women nodded with serious expressions.
“Well,” Angela said after a moment. “Let’s think about more cheerful things, like where we want to sneak out for a bite to eat after this.”
Becca shook her head and smiled when she saw Allie was doing the same.
“No way can we go out after this,” Allie laughed. “We have to teach tomorrow, and you have to be in just as early.”
“You two are such party poopers,” Angela teased. “You can’t even come out for a slice of pizza?”
“Not tonight,” Becca said. “I can’t even believe I came to do this after my first day of teaching.”
The thought of all the plans she wanted to write tonight gave her a pang of conscience. She had plenty for the children to do tomorrow, but now that she knew all their reading and math levels, she wanted to make some tweaks. Hopefully there would still be time when she got home.
“We’re so glad you’re here,” Angela told her warmly. “And don’t listen to me. I’m a bad influence.”
“Well, I’m so glad you invited me,” Becca said. “Thank you for helping me feel part of things right away.”
“We’ll knock the flatlander out of her quickly, won’t we?” Angela asked Allie with a big smile.
“Flatlander?” Becca echoed.
“Folks who aren’t from Vermont are called flatlanders,” Angela explained.
“And it’s not very nice,” Allie added. “We probably shouldn’t be throwing that word around.”
“Even if we didn’t use the word, you’d know a flatlander anywhere,” Angela said, shaking her head. “They come up here flashing their money around and expecting things to be done the way they do them in the city.”
“Well, you definitely won’t find me flashing any money around,” Becca said. Lesson plans weren’t the only reason she didn’t want to go out to eat. Trying to make student loan payments on top of rent and groceries was difficult, even with her new salary.
“You don’t have to tell us that,” Angela chuckled. “I feel like I’m living the life if I add toppings to my pizza.”
“We all work for the public school,” Allie agreed, smiling. “None of us make enough to flash. But it’s worth it. The kids are so amazing, and it’s good to give back to this community.”
“And some of the parents aren’t so bad either,” Angela teased.
The mention of parents made Becca think of her own, and she scolded herself for being so forgetful.
“Oh shoot,” Becca said. “I told my mom I’d text her to let her know the day went okay.”
“Go get your phone,” Allie said, waving her on. “We’ll clean this up and see you back up there.”
“Thanks so much,” Becca said, dashing off.
She jogged up the stairs, hoping Mom wasn’t too worried yet. With five kids and a handful of grandkids, her mother had plenty to occupy her time, but she had specifically asked Becca to message today after school.
Becca smiled at the idea of her mother still taking time to worry about and celebrate each member of the family, no matter how big or small the situation.
She reached the cloakroom and slipped inside, grabbing her coat and sliding her phone out.
Me:
Hi, Mama! Sorry I didn’t message you right after school. I was invited to join the choir, so I’m at practice now. The kids were amazing, and I think I already made a friend or two. I promise a real report tomorrow!
Becca was excited to tell her mother all about her first day. Although she would probably leave out the unreasonably gorgeous parent she’d met that morning. She’d found her thoughts going back to him more than once throughout the day. Becca had no idea why he was such a distraction to her, but she needed to focus on her job, and was glad that she probably wouldn’t see much of him.
She was just returning the phone to her pocket when she heard someone else step into the small space.
“Hi,” a low voice said as she turned around and found herself face to face with Zane Lawrence.
The big cowboy stood there, looking at her with that same expression he’d been wearing this morning before he introduced himself. He was holding three coats, two of which she recognized as belonging to the boys.
How can any one man be so handsome?
“Oh, hi, Mr. Lawrence,” she said, horrified that she had gotten hung up on his handsome face for the second time in a day. “I can help with those.”
She reached out for the boys’ coats and their fingers brushed. A little tingle went down her spine, as if the universe were trying to tell her something important.
“Thanks,” he said quietly.
She hung up the boys’ coats while he did his own.
“They’re so small,” she heard herself saying.
He looked over at her, as if in question.
“It’s just funny that their coats are so small when they have such big personalities,” she said, smiling and wondering if he was going to think that was a silly thing to say.
But he chuckled and nodded.
“I think the same thing myself all the time,” he said. “They definitely seem to take up a lot more space than that when they’re in them.”
“Cal is so smart,” she couldn’t help telling him. “And Nick is so protective of his brother. I loved seeing them on the playground together. I mean, not when Cal got hurt...”
“I get it,” he said, saving her from her awkwardness. “They have a really strong bond.”
“They do,” she agreed.
Her words hung in the air between them. But the silence was warmer now, almost like they were two people who knew each other well and didn’t need to fill the moment with talking.
“Cal is excited about the class project,” Zane said. “And I got the note that came home. You wanted to visit the farm day after tomorrow?”
“If that works for you,” she said quickly. “There’s no requirement at all, but I wanted to offer to visit each of the students, especially if their family does anything that’s part of the industry or community of the town.”
“That’s everyone, then,” Zane chuckled.
“I’m starting to get that,” she said, nodding. “What are you here for tonight?”
“Oh, the boys, have aikido in the community room,” he said. “It’s a great way to work off some excess energy, and it teaches them a lot. What about you?”
“Choir,” she told him. “And I probably have to go. I’m sure my break is up by now.”
“Go on,” he said. “I’ll see you day after tomorrow.”
“See you then,” she said, tearing her eyes from his to dash out the door and rejoin the choir.
Her foolish heart was beating a hundred miles a minute for some reason.
Stop that, she told it firmly. That’s your student’s parent—a student who might need extra help.
Getting back into the songs helped to get her mind off it for a while. And by the end of the night, she was hardly thinking about Zane Lawrence at all. She definitely wasn’t even a little bit excited about seeing him again in only two days. And there was no way she was going to go through her closet as soon as she got home to decide what to wear to school that day.