“That’s my favorite reason,” I told him.
We hopped out of the car and walked hand in hand into the school building. A few other parents escorted their kids along with us, most of them kindergartners still struggling with the beginning of the school year.
Just inside the front doors, we passed reception. The three office ladies, of varying age and size, huddled together at the front desk, whispering. I was on cordial terms with them as they stood between Max and me should he need to get ahold of me during the day. They were a necessary relationship I maintained for the sake of my son. And I genuinely liked one of them—Becky Calvin. We had gone to school together. She was a year older than me and while we were never exactly friends, there was a mutual respect between us thanks to a lifetime on the outside of popular circles. Her dad was the Baptist preacher in town and she was one of the good girls that high schoolers rarely gave any time.
I liked her though. Plus, she balanced out the other two secretaries. Mrs. Fellows, the dinosaur shrew that had been at the elementary school since before my time. I had recurring nightmares where she marched me through the hallways, tugging on my ear, announcing to everyone that I had head lice and to keep a wide berth lest I infect the whole school. And the other secretary, Gladys Corrington, while younger than Marge Fellows, was ancient compared to Becky and me. Also, she thought she was better than everyone because her husband was on the town council.
I smiled at Becky when I caught her eye as I walked by. She waved me down and lunged forward, arms slightly flailing. “Ruby, hi!” she gushed.
We were nice to each other, but not usually this excited to see one another. I tugged Max over to the receptionist window with me. “Hey, Becky. How are you?”
She smiled, a red blush tinging the apples of her cheeks. She had nearly translucent skin to match her rich red hair and freckles. She was still single and even though she was pretty in the Snow White meets Ariel kind of way, she wasn’t the typical female catch for Clark City. The men here liked their women tall, tanned and trampy. Becky wasn’t any of those things.
“Hi, Max.” She grinned at my son.
“Hi, Miss Calvin.”
“What’s all the commotion about?” I asked, nodding to the other two secretaries with their heads nearly touching as they whispered excitedly about something.
Becky glanced back at them and when she looked at us again, her cheeks were an even brighter red. “Oh, you know…” And then she giggled.
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
Her eyes bugged. “Haven’t you heard?” she whispered conspiratorially. “Levi Cole is back.”
My heart that had been gooey and warm just seconds ago dropped to my stomach like an icicle falling off a gutter. “What? Like today?”
“Last night.” She nodded enthusiastically, emphasizing her point. “That’s what Ava Truitt’s mom said. Denise said she saw him last night getting gas at the Pump and Pantry before heading in the direction of the Cole farm.”
“Huh.” It wasn’t so much a response… more like a disgusted sound I made while grinding my teeth together.
Becky’s eyebrow raised. “Not a fan of our rebel without a cause?”
“Oh, he has a cause.” I put my hands over Max’s ears quickly. “It’s that giant stick he always had up his ass.”
Becky’s eyes widened comically before she burst out giggling. “I can say it’s nice to know someone not completely charmed by Mr. Charming himself.”
“Are you not a fan either?”
She fanned her face. “Oh, no, I’m a big fan. Major fan.” Winking at me, she added, “I’m just happy to know you won’t be competition.”
I laughed out loud because, well, that notion was completely ridiculous. “He’s all yours.” I nudged Max to walk toward his class again, but then something nibbled at my curiosity. “Hey, Becky, how do you know he’s single? What if he’s only home for the weekend or something before he has to go back to his wife and kids?”
She rolled her eyes and reached for some papers on her desk. “Common knowledge, my friend. The Coles called Levi home to take him to task. Word is they want him settled down and ready to take over the farming operation so they can retire. It’s like a straight up ‘come to Jesus’ moment for him.”
I smirked, conspiratorially. “You’re the expert on those, so I guess you would know.”
She snorted and turned to Max. “Have a great day at school, Max.”
“Thanks, Miss Calvin.”
I dropped Max off, giving him three extra kisses. I stood outside the doorway for a while, watching his class through the narrow window. My mom instincts were on high alert and I just wanted to make sure all was well with him.
He seemed fine. He walked into the classroom, talking and laughing with several students, was cordial to his teacher Mrs. Hayes and sat at his desk with a happy expression on his face.
Maybe I was paranoid.
Maybe it was all this talk about Levi and the Coles. The thought of them was dragging bad memories to the surface, memories I had long ago buried and tried to forget about. It had been seven years since I’d had to deal with them and I wasn’t excited about the prospect of seeing any of them again.
