Chapter 3
Chapter Three
K ate parked her still fully loaded car in the driveway of Roland and Nelly's house.
It was a huge old farmhouse, gorgeous in that way of years gone by, where no expense had been spared for the trim and the detail work on the front porch that wrapped around the side of the house like a hug.
Christmas decorations brightened the front of it even more, with a pretty green wreath and sparkling red decorations hung on the front door.
It was obvious the family used the back door, though, and that was where Kate headed as she got out of her car.
She felt like she should be bringing something, a loaf of homemade bread or something, but she'd gotten herself settled in her hotel room and then scoured the internet looking for places she could schedule an appointment to go see, so she could get something to rent as soon as possible.
She hadn't expected to have this much trouble.
She'd been busy wrapping things up at the end of her tenure in Baltimore, and while she had checked out a few places, she hadn't realized it was going to be so difficult. Obviously, she should have been more prepared. But she had been busy preparing her successor to take over her job.
Walking up the back steps, where Christmas lights twinkled on the banister and a sweet nativity display sat sheltered in a corner, she knocked on the back door and tried to tamp down her nerves.
Nelly was one of the nicest people she knew. And she remembered the McBride family as super warm and welcoming from when she’d met them years ago.
"Hello!" an older woman said as she opened the door.
"You must be Mrs. McBride," Kate said, offering her hand and a gentle smile.
"I sure am, Kate. It’s been years since you visited our town with Nelly, but you’ve not changed that much," Mrs. McBride said, ignoring her outstretched hand and instead wrapping cinnamon-scented arms around her and squeezing tightly.
Somehow, the hug felt like home and family, and memories of childhood, warm and soft, floated through Kate's mind. She didn't have a whole lot of good ones, but hugging this woman brought them all to the surface.
"You can call me Marjorie. And you are welcome to come on in and make yourself at home," Marjorie said, pulling the door open further and stepping back so Kate could walk in.
"Kate!" Nelly said, hurrying over. "I'm so glad you could come. I know I promised you that we weren't going to make anything special, but Marjorie insisted on whipping up her homemade baked mac and cheese." Nelly lowered her voice and waggled her eyebrows. "It is so good."
Kate laughed at Nelly's overdramatization. "It sounds like it is," she said. Baked mac and cheese? When was the last time she had that? All of her friends from Baltimore were on low-carb diets. Mac and cheese was definitely on the do-not-eat list. Ever.
Kate really hadn't jumped on that bandwagon exactly, but it was just easier to go along to get along, and she definitely ate fewer carbs than she used to.
Still, baked mac and cheese, along with the cozy interior of the farmhouse—pale blue kitchen cabinets, gray tile floor, and white granite countertops along with a butcher block-topped bar—made the place feel warm and cozy.
Of course, there was a sprig of mistletoe above the door, greenery in the windows, along with lighted candles, and a scented candle burning on the mantle.
This place could have come out of a Norman Rockwell painting, especially combined with the laughter and good-natured teasing of the adults.
"You already know my husband, and I assume Mom introduced herself."
Kate nodded. "She sure did," she said, remembering the hug that Marjorie had greeted her with.
"This is my sister-in-law, Isadora. She lives here with her three kids. I'm sure you'll see them in school," Nelly said, as a beautiful but sad-eyed woman walked into the kitchen.
"It's so nice to meet you. You're the new counselor, right?"
"Yes. I start after the Christmas break, but Principal Stevens and the school board agreed that I could float around for the month of December, getting to know the children and the teachers."
She wasn't making any money, which was another reason why she had to watch her pennies.
Somehow she'd misjudged—she had thought her start date was going to be the beginning of December, but the school district had decided to do some renovations to the counselor's room, and the contract they had offered her began in January.
It was fine by Kate; it would be much better for the children and for her to get used to things.
"I can't believe how different things are here," she said. And it wasn't just the school.
"You spent the day at the school already?" Isadora asked, walking to the sink and washing her hands.
"Yes. There's so much to learn. But there aren't nearly as many kids in this school as there were at my old one, so I'm pretty confident that I'm going to be able to learn everyone's name."
"That's one of the very nice things about small schools," Nelly said.
She looked around and then said to Marjorie, who was mashing the potatoes, "What can I do to help?"
Isadora had started chopping tomatoes on the cutting board, with a bowl of greens sitting beside her, and Nelly had opened the oven door and was pulling out a delicious-smelling casserole.
"If you don't mind taking the baked chicken that I have there on the sheet and putting it in that bowl, I think everything will be ready."
Kate, happy to have a job, grabbed the tongs that were sitting beside the chicken and started lifting it in, listening as laughter and joking went on behind her.
Isadora had instructed the children to set the table, and Nelly had mentioned that another sibling was going to come for dessert. Apparently that family did therapy, and the mom had a client.
Everything seemed so happy and cozy, and while Kate felt right at home, there was also a little bit of sadness because this was the kind of family she'd missed out on growing up.
Both of her parents had been professionals, and most of their suppers had consisted of takeout, or for a while, her mom had hired a meal service.
But this camaraderie around the kitchen where everybody was helping was new and... compelling.
Somehow everything was ready at the same time, and Kate carried her chicken in and sat down beside Nelly and Marjorie, with Isadora across the table from her.
To her surprise, everyone bowed their heads and said grace before the meal. Normally, Kate said a quiet grace to herself, but how long had it been since she'd been in a home that took the time to thank the Lord out loud?
Even when she’d been growing up, her parents, although they had been regular church attendees—going two or three times a month—had not said grace before their meals.
Everyone said, "Amen," and then began to pass the food.
Kate made an extra effort to learn the names of the children and to use them in conversation. They were included at the table as naturally as breathing, and it was obvious all the adults adored them.
"So where did you grow up, Kate?" Marjorie said with a smile and genuine curiosity, spoken like someone who cared. "I remember you coming home with Nelly when she came home from college one year. I saw you at church a couple of times, I believe."
"Good memory," Kate said, impressed. She had a vague memory of an older woman who'd been especially nice, but she couldn't remember whether it was Marjorie or not.
"I grew up in Maryland, near the shore. The Baltimore area, although I didn't live in the city. We lived in the suburbs until I began teaching in the city after college."
"That's nice. Inner city school?" Marjorie asked, looking impressed.
Kate smiled to herself. She'd always wanted to give back to the community, and she'd thought teaching at an inner-city school for a lower salary would be a good way. It hadn't really turned out that way, though.
"Yes, it was. Those kids just need so much."
"It's great that they have people like you who are willing to make the sacrifice to help them."
"So many teachers are willing to make the sacrifice, but we're hamstrung by red tape and politics."
She didn't want to turn the conversation into a political discussion, although she had plenty to say about it. She was here with this family at this table enjoying their generosity and didn’t want to turn the dinner table conversation into an argument.
"But it was very rewarding in a lot of different ways.
I'll definitely miss the children there. "
She wouldn't miss the administration at all, and walking into this town and this home felt so much different than the impersonal and almost clinical way the inner city school felt. Not to mention, while she was surrounded by people, she had never felt more alone.
Maybe that was her fault somehow, although she did go out with her friends.
Perhaps it was just a relic of Edward breaking up with her.
"I think you'll find a lot of kids at our school will appreciate you being here," Isadora said easily, as though she also wanted to avoid the political discussion.
She couldn't talk to them about the specific children that Principal Stevens had talked to her about that day, although one little girl—she couldn't remember her name—had been mute since her mother died.
That had intrigued Kate. Hopefully she was going to meet the little girl tomorrow when she visited the third-grade classroom.
"Principal Stevens had a lot to say about the children. And it does sound like I could be useful here."
"In more ways than one," Nelly said with a secretive smile.
Kate smiled back, but inside she was curious. What in the world could Nelly mean?