We decided on the food trucks at the entrance to the park. We all were in the mood for different things, so we split up, Elliot and Liam heading to the hot dog truck while Josie and I waited in line for sandwiches.
“Did you have fun today?” I asked her, even though her bright eyes made the question unnecessary.
“I did,” she said, bouncing on her toes. “Elliot told me his favorite books are Percy Jackson. I love those books! I think my favorite one wasSea of Monsters.Or maybe the last one. He said that sometime we could watch the movie together. Do you think we could do that? Do you think his mommy would let him come to my house?”
I stared down at the suddenly happy, excited little girl, wondering where on earth she had come from. Josie had been polite in my classroom, volunteering occasionally, seeming to have fun with Gabby and a few of the other girls when they played. But I had assumed she was something of a wallflower,like I had been. I had yet to see anything like the bubbly, grinning, excited little girl in front of me.
I thought again of how Liam said she was having a hard time, and my heart squeezed for her. If this was her usual demeanor, she had been more down at school than I realized.
As we got our food and headed over to the table Liam had grabbed, I decided I wasn’t going to mention to him how stark a difference there was between her school day demeanor and this one. But I was going to do something to try to draw this side of her out a little more.
“So, Josie,” I told her, once we were all sitting down to our lunches. “I noticed that you like to play at the science center in our classroom.”
She just nodded, mouth full of ham and cheese.
“And I know from your placement tests that you’re really good at math.”
“Doesn’t get that from me,” Liam said, and I shot him a quick smile before returning my attention to his daughter. “I think you would have a really good time if you joined the STEM Gems.”
“What’s that?”
“The STEM Gems is a group I run after school,” I told her. “We do a lot of work on computers and we do fun experiments and take field trips. Pretty much anything cool you can think of that has to do with math, science, or technology.”
“That sounds fun,” she said, cautious.
“It’sreallyfun. Most of the girls are a little older than you, but I bet you’d like it. Want to give it a shot?”
“You definitely should,” Elliot told her, scooping up so much ketchup on his fry it dripped over onto his fingers. “Auntie G always plans the best trips. I’m not allowed to be in the club because it’s just for girls.” At that he made a face at me. “But sometimes she tries the experiments with me first to test ’em out.”
I held out my fist to bump his. “Good job, buddy.” I winked at Josie. “I didn’t even have to pay him to say that.”
She giggled.
“So what do you say? Want to be a STEM Gem?”
She looked from me to her dad before fixing her eyes on me and offering a shy smile. “I think that would be fun. Thank you for asking me, Miss K.”
Oh, my heart. This peanut was such a sweetie. It was impossible not to fall for her. A glance over at Liam told me he was thinking the exact same thing, his chest all puffed out with pride at her manners.
“That’s all settled then,” I told her. “First meeting is Tuesday after school. I’ll see you there.”
“Okay!”
I glanced at Liam again and my breath caught in my throat when I realized he was looking at me with almost the same amount of intensity he’d shown for his daughter. I swallowed, my cheeks immediately going pink, and reached for my iced tea.
“Auntie G,” Elliot said. “Can we go look for hummingbirds?”
A quick check of his plate showed me he’d demolished the hot dog and fries. And I would bet that he’d still be begging me for ice cream on the way home. The kid’s appetite knew no bounds.
“Text your mom first. She wanted you to check in.”
He groaned and sighed and rolled his eyes like it was the worst punishment imaginable, but tapped out a few words before looking up at me hopefully.
“If you stay where I can see you,” I told him. “And make sure Josie stays right with you.”
“We will!” they both called over their shoulder as they ran away from the table.
And once again, I was all alone with Liam.
