She thought back to their earlier conversation where he agreed with her about relationships at work. There was a sort of wistfulness to his response, as if he agreed with the logic but not in practice.
Many people managed to work with those they dated or married, but her brain argued against an interest in her boss, even though other parts of her were waking up more and more each day.
And every time she felt that tingle around him, it became harder and harder to suppress that feeling.
She watched as Lucas walked around the kids sprawled on the bleachers and the gym floor. It always made her smile to see him with them. He stopped and spoke to several of them, greeting many, laughing, taking selfies, and exchanging odd handshakes. For weeks, she’d watched him pretend to try and learn how to do them, but he always messed them up, much to the delight of the students. He was definitely a relationship-builder with people.
Eventually, he worked his way toward a student in the third row up against the railing. He stopped and talked to the student, whom Elyxandre had noticed was here by himself tonight. It looked like he was trying to engage him in conversation, and it was painfully slow, but after a few minutes, he sat down next to the boy, and they began sharing the popcorn Lucas had brought in with him, the boy eating more of it than the principal.
Ezra’s voice dragged her out of her observations. “My dad’s a good guy.”
He’d noticed her watching his father. She schooled her features and put her eyes back on the crowd. Anywhere but where Lucas was.
“He definitely seems to be.”
“I’m sure you heard, but the principal we had the last two years? He was a real tool. Teachers were quitting left and right. A couple of them left in the middle of the year, and one just up and left his classroom midday, went out to his car, and never came back. That was the year Dad sat on seven interview teams out of sixteen because they had to hire so many teachers. Parents were pissed. Students hated the guy’s guts. I guess things had been bad for a while.”
“Sounds like your dad took on a bit of a mess.”
“No shit.” He looked at her apologetically. “Sorry.”
“No worries. You’re off the clock,” she teased.
Ezra continued, “He doesn’t talk about specific kids at home because that would be breaking confidentiality, but one of his biggest worries is that kids eat enough.” He tossed his head in the direction of the principal and the quiet boy who now had the popcorn in his hands and was eating it solo. There was also a soda bottle and a candy bar next to him that weren’t there before. “If you watch Dad at lunch, he often sits down with kids in the cafeteria, a school lunch in front of him, but he nevertouches it. The contents usually end up going to someone quietly at the table.”
She had noticed that.
“He cares about the students a great deal.”
“Ain’t that the truth. He’s been this way as long as I’ve been able to realize what he was doing, and not just since becoming principal. For years, he’s paid for kids to take AP and ACT tests if they can’t afford them, bought hundreds of dollars in fundraiser items we don’t need, and donated all kinds of items to the school social worker for kids who need things. Coats. Shoes. School supplies. At the holidays, he quietly pays off lunch card balances. I’m pretty sure feeding people is his love language. He’s even a master in the kitchen.” The look on Ezra’s face was oddly innocent when he asked, “Do you cook?”
She smirked. Nope. Subtlety was not this kid’s thing. “I manage to keep myself fed.”
“That didn’t really answer the question. I mean, I’m just saying. You could come over sometime and have dinner with us. He always makes too much food. When he was a teacher, there used to be people over often, and there’d be enough to feed an army. Since he became principal, though, a lot of that’s stopped. I think he’s worried that if he has his teacher friends over, people will think he’s playing favorites or something. Only person we have over now is Jess.”
“Your dad’s… friend?” She wasn’t sure what to call Jess in front of Ezra. She assumed he knew they’d dated, but who knew?
“Just friends, thankfully.”
Okay. So he did know they’d dated. “You don’t like her?”
“I like her fine. She’s fun. But I’m glad they’re just friends because she’s not right for my dad.” They stood in silence—he seemed to be watching the movie as she surveyed the crowd. When he spoke again, his voice was more subdued. “Mom left when I was three. I have no memory of that part, and to behonest, I’ve never felt like I missed having her in my life. Dad will never say anything bad about her to me, and he’s never really talked much about why she left. Just that she needed more attention than he could give her, whatever that means.” She felt the eye roll rather than saw it. “Part of me is extra glad Mom didn’t stick around because it would have sucked to get it from both sides. She was a teacher too. Choir. She teaches somewhere in Florida now.”
“When was the last time you saw her?”
“Long time ago. She calls occasionally, but it’s sporadic. Most of the time, she calls during the day. I think she purposely calls when I’m in class because she knows I can’t answer. She feels like she’s fulfilled her obligation as a mother and is probably relieved she doesn’t have to talk to me and be a real mom.”
There was no sense of unhappiness about the arrangement, just slight irritation at her methods.
The movie credits rolled, and the lights went on in the gymnasium. Students groaned at the brightness after being in darkness, but they were happily chatting as they packed up their gear and headed toward the exit.
“I’ve got to head out and supervise pickups. Good chatting, Ezra. Your dad has done a great job raising you, it seems.”
He grinned, his little devil smile showing again. “Yeah, he’s great. Don’t forget, Officer E. Dinner at our house, anytime.”
She chuckled and shook her head as she turned to go down the stairwell to the lobby.
LIP SYNC BATTLE
