I froze for a second, but I wasn’t exactly shocked. Mom had mentioned she came by the other day, though she’d left out most of the details. Typical.
“Yeah,” I said slowly. “For the diner.”
Kira leaned against the wall, crossing her arms. “Why didn’t you tell me it was reopening?”
I looked at her, then back down at the rag in my hand. “It didn’t seem important,” I answered, a little too honestly. “You don’t even want me volunteering here with you. Why would you care about the diner?”
She bit her bottom lip. “It’s not that I don’t care,” she murmured. “It’s just complicated.”
A bitter laugh escaped me before I could stop it. “Right.” I turned to toss the rag on the counter, then glanced back at her. “So complicated that you tried to get me kicked out of this class. Are you trying to free up a spot for your boyfriend to join you or something?”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Xavier? Not really his thing.” She paused. “Wait, how do you know about him?”
I shrugged, leaning back against the edge of the desk. “Josh may have mentioned it.”
“Josh,” she muttered, shaking her head. “Town gossip, as always.”
“Some things never change.” I tried not to sound as bitter as I felt.
She looked down at the floor, her foot tapping gently against the linoleum. I knew that look. She was trying to find the right words, to be diplomatic. “I didn’t realize you’d be hurt by me saying that to Mary. Honestly, I didn’t expect you to show up today.”
“I’m trying to stay true to all my commitments.”
Kira sucked in a breath and nodded. “Okay then. It’s you and me versus a classroom of hyper children.”
I cleared my throat. “I didn’t mean to ambush your class. I just didn’t expect you to be so dead set on avoiding me.”
“I’m not avoiding you,” she admitted. “I’m trying to figure out how to be around you again.”
That made something sharp twist in my chest.
“Yeah,” I said. “Me too.”
“I don’t know why you’d want anything to do with me at all.” Kira took over my duties of setting up the classroom. “Considering you left with only a note that saidI’m sorry.”
“That’s not?—”
The classroom door creaked open as one of the kids peeked in, grinning, and I straightened, giving him a wave. More and more kids trickled in, filing into the same seats they took last week, even though there were no assigned seats.
The class moved quickly once it got going. The kids were loud, energetic, and somehow managed to spill paint within the first five minutes, but Kira had a calm rhythm to the chaos. I followed her lead and did my best not to get in the way.
At one point, a little girl with pink glasses asked if I was Kira’s husband, and I nearly choked on the sip of water I’d just taken. Kira turned beet red but handled it like a pro, laughing it off with a gentle “No, just a friend.”
By the time the hour was up, the tables were a mess of water cups, finger paintings, and half-used stickers. The kids filed out one by one, waving goodbye and already asking what they’d be doing next week. Kira offered a patient smile to each of them, while I helped stack the chairs and collect the stray crayons that had rolled under the shelves. As the last child skipped out the door, the room fell into a quiet lull.
That was when Mary appeared, her clipboard tucked underher arm and a warm but slightly frazzled smile on her face. “You survived.” She winked at me. “Not bad for round two.”
Kira wiped her hands on a napkin. “Barely,” she teased before reaching for her bag.
“Would you mind doing me a favor, Kira?” Mary stepped closer. “We’re low on some supplies for the CCC. Paper towels, pens, things like that. We should be able to swing a few new paintbrushes, too. If you’re not in a rush, I can lend you my car to pick them up.”
Kira, who’s probably never said no to an authority figure in her life, nodded. “No problem.”
As Mary dug through her purse for her keys, I cleared my throat. “Actually, I’ve got a car. I can drive us. That way Kira has some help.”
Both of them looked at me. Kira blinked, clearly caught off guard. “You don’t need to?—”
“It’s my pleasure,” I said.
