Jade just clicked away on the mouse, not giving her mother a hint of a glance.
“I found a new geology website,” I explained as I grabbed a pen and sticky note pad and began to scribble on it.
“Oh.” She rolled her eyes. “That explains it.”
I peeled the note off and went to kneel by Jade’s side. “Hey, kiddo. It’s time to go home now.”
Jade shook her head, her eyes still glued to the screen.
I waved the sticky note. “I have the website written here for your mom so you can go home and play on it there. But you have to get off the computer first.”
Jade turned slowly to look at me. Then she squinted at the sticky note. I had to smother a grin.
“Here.” I held it out toward her mother. “I’ll give it to your mom as soon as you turn the computer off. I promise.”
Jade stared at me for a long time then the sticky note. For a moment, I wasn’t sure if she would take the bait, but eventually, she let out a dramatic sigh and did as we asked.
As soon as Mrs. Allen and Jade had collected all of Jade’s things and were gone, I bounded over to Madison’s classroom, where Madison was wiping down tables.
“Guess what?” I waved the check in the air. “Grad school is a go!”
2
A Little Longer
Derrick
“There. That should do it.” I put my tool down and slowly eased myself out of the cramped space. My hands were covered in hydraulics fluid, as was my shirt. It was a good thing I’d bought another pack of sand shirts the week before. This one was a goner.
“All done in there?” Hernandez called.
“Yeah.” I grabbed my tools, making sure I’d gotten all the extra screws, and made my way down the plane. “She should be good to go.”
Hernandez looked at his clipboard. “Wow. We actually finished early. That means tomorrow we can—”
Before he could finish, another man’s voice sounded from inside the office.
“Who’s that?” I asked, signing Hernandez’s clipboard.
“Sergeant Barnes.” Hernandez gave me a sly look. “You got a date for the ball yet?”
“I asked my fiancée, but I don’t think she can come. She’s coming tomorrow, though, for the awards dinner.” My heart jumped a little. Not because I was getting an award, as I’d been back in Arkansas and in my new squadron less than a month. But showing Amy off would be the highlight of the weekend. Well, that and just having Amy in the same state. Why she’d made me wait until the end of May to do so I still couldn’t understand.
I went to put my tools away. “Why?”
“So you’re the new guy.”
We both turned to see a man coming toward us from the office. His footsteps were heavy but unusually quick for someone wearing steel-toed boots, and his dark eyes were sharp. I got the feeling that this guy didn’t miss much.
“Sergeant.” Hernandez stepped forward and shook hands with the man. “Yeah, this is the new guy, Allen.”
I stepped forward to shake the man’s hand as well. “Derrick Allen, sir.”
“When did you get here, Allen?” Sergeant Barnes asked.
“About three weeks ago.”
The man nodded. His dark, curly hair was mostly black, but gray was beginning to creep up from his temples and neck. He looked to be in his early forties. “Sorry it took me so long to welcome you. I was on leave with my family in Texas for a few weeks to celebrate my nephew’s graduation.” He took out his wallet and removed a picture and held it out to me. He was in the picture, as were a handsome woman about his age and a young woman who looked to be in her early to mid-twenties.
