Chapter 20
The day went just like the one before it, with all kinds of games, outdoor music, and activities. Josie was thankful that she didn’t have to do face painting again. Nobody asked her, and there was probably a really good reason for that.
Today she was working at the cakewalk, manning the music station. She had been standing there doing it for a while when her daughter appeared.
“Hey, honey. Where have you been?”
“I was helping Grandma with selling hot dogs. Now I stink.”
“Well, it’s for a good cause. Where is Scotty today?”
“He had to help his uncle down in his shop. I think he’ll be here a little later.”
“That’s good.”
“You know, this place is so different from anywhere I’ve ever been. It’s like another time or something. Like on those old TV shows you used to force me to watch.”
Josie laughed. “It is very different. Sometimes it doesn’t seem real.”
“You’re not going to make us leave, are you?”
Josie sighed. “Kendra, you know I’m not ready to make that decision yet. I’m enjoying myself right now, but no place is perfect.”
“Well, it’s perfect for me. I like school, I love our house, and there’s Scotty.”
“Scotty will leave for college soon. You can’t base your whole life around a boy.”
Kendra crossed her arms. “I’m not. But this is the first time in my whole life that I feel like I belong.”
That made Josie feel sad. If there was one thing she had always tried to do for her daughter, it was to let her know she was accepted and loved, no matter what. No matter how many mistakes she made.
“We have a lot of time left before we need to make that decision. Right now, things are going very well with your grandmother. I think we can save the restaurant. There’s every reason to believe that we’re going to stay, but I’m not making any promises just yet.”
Kendra uncrossed her arms and smiled. “And Walker?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Oh, come on. Me and Grandma can tell what’s going on. Plus, I heard that a neighbor saw you kiss under the moonlight last night.” Kendra grinned with pride as she delivered the gossip.
“Oh... Well... What happened was...”
“Relax, Mom. It’s okay. You’re not a kid. He’s a nice-looking guy, even if he’s old. And he seems to really like you.”
“First of all, we’re not old. Second of all, it will take me a long time before I ever get serious with a man again. I’ve got too much else going on in my life. I also don’t make big life decisions, like where to live, based on a man.”
Kendra put a hand on her mother’s shoulder. “It’s okay to start your life again and trust people. Not everybody is going to let you down.”
“When did you get so wise?”
Kendra thought for a moment and then shrugged. “When I moved to Happy Harbor.”
Sometimes, Josie felt like she was the kid and Kendra was the parent. Having a child so young meant they really grew up together, but every day she tried a little harder to lead her daughter to her best life.
* * *
Josie had never seen such a large crowd in Happy Harbor, the main street being packed with people, most she was unfamiliar with. That didn’t include the people who were already inside the concert hall.
Somehow, inexplicably, she found Walker near the door. “What on earth?”
He grinned. “My marketing might’ve been a little too good. I don’t know what we’re going to do.”
“How many tickets have you sold?”
“The concert hall only holds about two hundred people, and we are sold out. All of these people in the street are hoping to get a ticket.”
“Now what?” she asked, getting bumped into as more people handed their tickets to the guy at the door and walked inside.
“I spoke to my contact with the band, and they are willing to do a second show later tonight. Some of these people are going to be disappointed no matter what I do.”
“Do you think this is going to give us the money we need?”
“I think we are already past how much money you need. This will help you get ahead.”
“I can’t believe it. In two days. Just amazing.”
“It’s a testament to how much everybody loved your grandmother, and how much we all want you to carry on her legacy.”
She smiled. “I think you might have ulterior motives.”
“You may be correct about that. Now, you’d better get inside and find a seat before the door is locked.”
“Are you coming?”
“Yes. Save me a seat if you can.”
Josie went in and found a seat that was shockingly close to the stage. She didn’t know if Diane and Kendra had found their way inside, or if they even had tickets. For every person who came in without paying, that was less money, so she assumed that they weren’t even going to try.
A few moments later, Walker joined her, and the music started quickly after. Josie had forgotten just how much fun it was to go to a concert. It’d been many years since she had attended one.
Most of the music was very upbeat and definitely country. She found herself singing, pumping her arm in the air, and laughing for over an hour. Walker was doing the same right next to her. He actually had pretty good dance moves.
Then, they switched to a slow song. She recognized it from the radio as one of her favorites. Suddenly, Walker turned sideways and put his hands on her hips.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m slow dancing with you.”
“We’re standing in the middle of all these people, and this isn’t a dance floor.”
He smiled, his dimples very pronounced. “It’s a dance floor if we decide it is.” His hands slid farther around her waist as he pulled her closer. She put her arms around his neck and looked up at him as they swayed back and forth.
“Are you always this romantic?”
“I’m just giving you what you deserve, Josie. If that’s romantic, then I guess so.”
“I don’t understand why women aren’t chasing you down the street all day long. This is what every woman seems to want.” She had to talk louder than normal to overcome the music and the people singing around them.
“You mean a man who will move heaven and earth for her? Or a man who will make breakfast? Or a man who will slow dance in the middle of a crowd of people?”
“All of those things. It’s like you’ve been reading romance books.”
He chuckled. “My mother loved those, and I can’t say I didn’t take a peek a time or two. But that’s not what this is. You inspire me to be a better man for you, Josie Campbell.”
“It can’t be this easy. It can’t be this fast.”
“What do you mean?”
“You can’t feel all these feelings and get serious this fast. It’s more like a fairy tale and not reality.”
He pulled her closer, putting her cheek against his chest, his hand on the outside of her head. “When it’s real, there is no timetable. I’m sorry you’ve been hurt.” He leaned down and kissed the top of her head, and she stayed there, quietly swaying back and forth, her eyes closed.
Real or not, she was going to absorb every moment. For once in her life, she exhaled.
* * *
The weekend had been crazy, to say the least. Not only was Josie still exhausted physically, she was emotionally reeling.
She had never felt this way about somebody, even the man she was engaged to. It was crazy how quickly she had fallen for Walker, and it was scary. She didn’t like to feel vulnerable, yet she knew she couldn’t feel such deep emotions for somebody without being vulnerable.
They were still waiting on the final tally to come in from the accountant, but she knew they had to have exceeded it. She was so thrilled to have the money to cover Nana’s debts.
She couldn’t imagine all the work that Walker had put into it just for her. Just so she didn’t leave town. How could he feel that strongly about her so quickly? She knew that was a crazy question because she felt just as strongly about him, even if she didn’t want to admit it to herself or anyone else.
This morning, she was heading over to Kendra’s school for reasons she didn’t understand. Kendra’s teacher had called and asked for a special meeting with her, and she was worried. As far as she knew, her daughter was doing well in school and enjoying her experience there, but what if there was something else? What if she wasn’t getting the full story?
Maybe Kendra wasn’t doing as well as she thought. Josie remembered how there were many times that her grandmother thought she was doing well in school, but she wasn’t. She was getting into all kinds of trouble, and for a while, the teachers tried to protect her. Tried to help her. Tried to keep her from getting into trouble with her grandmother or the authorities.
She got out of her car and walked toward the school, nervously putting her keys into her purse. She couldn’t think of a positive reason that a teacher would call her in for a conference.
“I’m here to see Mrs. Reynolds. I’m Josie Campbell.”
She didn’t recognize the woman behind the desk, so at least there was no small talk that had to be made. Being the granddaughter of Adeline Campbell had made everybody want to regale her with stories of her grandmother. While she appreciated it, sometimes she didn’t have time to stand around chatting for long periods.
A few moments later, the woman waved at Josie and pointed her to the correct room. The school wasn’t all that big, so there were only two parallel hallways with a connecting hallway in the middle. It looked much like a capital H.
Josie walked down the hallway, turning her head and looking into each classroom as she did. This place held so many memories for her, good and bad. She remembered how much she loved art class, even though she was terrible at drawing and painting.
She also remembered how much she hated home economics. She couldn’t understand why she had to take a class about learning to become a good homemaker when she had absolutely no plans to be one. Thankfully, she had gotten through the class and learned enough to run her own home. Maybe there was something to it after all.
She also remembered history class with Mr. Boggs. He was the worst teacher she ever had. So into history, yet so boring at the same time. Once she got older and started watching history documentaries, she realized how interesting it could be. But Mr. Boggs was like watching paint dry, and he expected everybody to remember every single date, fact, and figure about all historical events.
Finally, she came to the room where she was meeting Mrs. Reynolds. She hadn’t met any of Kendra’s teachers before, and this one was new to the school from what she understood.
“Mrs. Reynolds?” Josie said as she lightly tapped on the door and stepped through the threshold.
A young woman, probably around Josie’s age, smiled and stood up from behind her desk. The classroom was empty, as it was lunchtime.
“Josie? It’s so nice to meet you. Come on in.” She pointed to a chair across from her desk. Josie walked over and sat down.
“I hope this isn’t keeping you from eating lunch?”
Mrs. Reynolds smiled and shook her head. “I always bring my lunch from home because, frankly, the cafeteria leaves a lot to be desired.”
“Yes, I definitely remember that,” Josie said, laughing.
“I ate before you got here. No worries.”
“Okay, good. I have to say I’m a little confused as to why I’m here today.”
“I understand. And I know you were super busy this past weekend with the fundraiser. How did that turn out?”
“They are still tallying the figures. I guess that’s a good sign.”
She nodded, smiling. “I was lucky enough to get one of those concert tickets. What a great show!”
“Absolutely. It was wonderful. I don’t mean to rush, but I need to get back to the restaurant soon. Can you tell me what this is all about?”
“Of course. First, I want to say what a pleasure it is to teach Kendra. She’s very good at math and science, both of which I teach. You know we’re a small school, so we have to double up on some classes.”
“Understandable.”
“I haven’t spoken to Kendra about this, but I’ve been talking to some of her other teachers, and we feel like she could benefit from a program we have here.”
“A program? I’m not sure I like the sound of that.”
Mrs. Reynolds laughed. “Oh, nothing like that! Kendra is incredibly smart. We recently did some IQ testing on the students, and she was near genius level.”
Josie’s mouth dropped open. “She was? Are you sure?”
“Quite sure. I know your daughter had some problems in her previous school. She’s told us that. But I think that was more about emotional issues than intelligence. Kendra is extremely gifted.”
Not that Josie didn’t believe her daughter was smart. She absolutely did. But she had no idea she was almost a genius. How could she have missed that?
“So, what are you saying?”
“We are closing in on the end of the school year, and there is an opportunity for Kendra to take some tests that will allow her to graduate early.”
“Graduate? She still has another year of school left.”
“That’s the point. There’s a chance that she could graduate with this year’s class in a couple of weeks. She could start college a year earlier. Or take a year off.”
“But we haven’t even prepared for that. She’s missed all the deadlines to apply for college.”
“Some colleges will make exceptions. Even if she just wanted to start at the local community college to get her core credits out of the way, she could transfer in a year to another school.”
“I’m not... financially prepared... for that.”
Mrs. Reynolds smiled. She pulled a stack of papers out of her desk and slid them over to Josie. “There are multiple scholarship opportunities for a child like Kendra.”
“It seems you’ve thought of everything.”
“Please don’t think I’m trying to be pushy. This is why I haven’t spoken with Kendra about this yet. I thought it would be best if you did that. It’s really more of a family decision.”
“When would you need to know?”
“Monday, actually. I have to set up all of those tests, and that can take a bit.”
“I can’t believe this. I knew she was smart, but I didn’t think...”
“I’ve found that sometimes we can’t always see what’s right in front of us, you know? Sometimes it takes another person to point it out.”
As Josie said her goodbyes and took the information from Mrs. Reynolds, she thought about that. What was she missing in herself that other people were noticing? It was an interesting question, to say the least.